 | An image should appear at this position in the text. To use the entire page scan as a placeholder, edit this page and replace "{{missing image}}" with "{{raw image|John Banks Wilson - Maneuver and Firepower (1998).djvu/294}}". Otherwise, if you are able to provide the image then please do so. For guidance, see Wikisource:Image guidelines and Help:Adding images. |  |
Honest John rocket launcher
between what it had and what it wanted by adopting modified versions of the concept, using new weapons and equipment as they became available. He believed that until the goal of a PENTANA division could be reached, the Army would continue to need infantry, airborne, and armored divisions.[1]
Before Taylor approved the PENTANA study, he had directed the reorganization of the airborne division using a modification of the concept. He judged the existing airborne division incapable of functioning effectively either in an airborne role or in sustained ground combat. It could neither be divided into balanced task forces nor be airlifted. Taylor suggested a division of 10,000 or 12,000 men organized into five battle groups that fielded nuclear weapons. Including such arms in the division, he believed, would both stimulate their development and assist in developing doctrine for their use.[2]
On 15 December 1955, the Continental Army Command submitted a proposal for an airborne division that incorporated features of both the PENTANA and ATFA studies. Each one of its five battle groups would consist of four infantry companies; a 4.2-inch mortar battery; and a headquarters and service company comprising engineer, signal, supply, maintenance, reconnaissance, assault weapons, and medical resources. A divisional support group made up of a maintenance battalion and administrative, medical, and supply and transport companies provided logistical services. The divisional command and control battalion assets included the division headquarters, a headquarters and service company, an aviation company, and a reconnaissance troop. A signal battalion furnished a grid communication system, and a small engineer battalion provided the resources needed to construct an airstrip within forty-eight hours. The artillery fielded three
- ↑ Taylor, Swords and Plowshares, pp. 152–53: John M. Taylor, General Maxwell Taylor: The Sword and the Pen (New York: Doubleday, 1989), pp. 198–99; Ltr, Maxwell D. Taylor to CG, CONARC, sub: Army Organization, 1 Jun 56, Division General file, DAMH-HSO.
- ↑ Ltr, CofS to CG, CONARC, sub: Reorganization of the Airborne Division and the Development of Special Airborne Reconnaissance Units, 20 Sep 55, RG 319, NARA.
