Victory Starts Here: A Short 50-Year History of the US Training and Doctrine Command

By TRADOC Military History and Heritage Office Staff

Published: 2023

The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) reaches its 50th anniversary on 1 July 2023. On that date in 1973, the U.S. Army completed its Operation STEADFAST reform effort with the simultaneous establishment of TRADOC and the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) from the former U.S. Army Continental Army Command (CONARC) and the U.S. Army Combat Developments Command (CDC). Every five years beginning with TRADOC's 20th anniversary in 1993, the command's Military History and Heritage Office (MHHO) has published a short history of TRADOC. This 50-Year edition will update TRADOC's history through the COVID-19 experience, the emergence of Multi-Domain Operations (MDO), and other current topics.

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Nisei Spirit: The Cultural Identity of the 442nd RCT

By David F. Bonner

67 Pages

Published: 2022

The majority of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II consisted of second-generation Japanese Americans, or Nisei. An enduring sense of duty instilled by their families and a tight-knit network of Nikkei communities in the United States shaped the combat motivations of the Nisei soldiers. Author David Bonner examines this strong cultural identity, paired with the task cohesion and the primary group cohesion theories, as it forms a framework for achieving a better understanding of small-unit effectiveness. This is a story of unparalleled fortitude in the face of adversity, ranging from prejudice in the rear to seemingly overwhelming odds on the frontlines.

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16 Cases of Mission Command

General Editor Donald P. Wright, Ph. D.

222 Pages

Published: 2013

For the US Army to succeed in the 21st Century, Soldiers of all ranks must understand and use Mission Command. Mission Command empowers leaders at all levels, allowing them to synchronize all warfighting functions and information systems to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative against a range of adversaries.

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Between the Rivers: Combat Action in Iraq 2003-2005

By John J. McGrath

142 Pages

Published: 2012

Making history useful to the reader – this is one of the missions of the Combat Studies Institute. We strive to produce works that recount historical events to inform decision makers and to enable experiential learning. This collection of events put together by John McGrath, which occurred in Iraq during the 2003-2005 timeframe, addresses that mission.

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Breaking the Mold: Tanks in the Cities

By Kendall D. Gott

146 Pages

Published: 2006

Few lessons are as prevalent in military history as is the adage that tanks don’t perform well in cities. The notion of deliberately committing tanks to urban combat is anathema to most. In Breaking the Mold: Tanks in the Cities, Mr. Ken Gott disproves that notion with a timely series of five case studies from World War II to the present war in Iraq.

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Cedat Fortuna Peritis: A History of the Field Artillery School

By Boyd L. Dastrup, Ph.D.

347 Pages

Published: 2011

From its humble beginnings as the School of Fire for Field Artillery in 1911, the Field Artillery School emerged as a worldwide leader in training and educating field artillerymen and developing fire support tactics, doctrine, organizations, and systems. Recognizing the inadequate performance of the Army’s field artillery during the Spanish-American War of 1898, the emergence of modern field artillery, and indirect fire, President Theodore Roosevelt directed the War Department to send Captain Dan T. Moore of the 6th Field Artillery Regiment to Europe in 1908-1909.

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CGSC Pamphlet 28-1

Dining In

By Command & General Staff College

40 Pages

Published: 1985

The exact origin of the Dining-In is not known, It is believed, however, that the practice dates back to an old Viking tradition of holding formal ceremonies to celebrate great battles and feats of heroism. These ceremonies usually included a dinner of fine foods, drinks, and fellowship. Later this custom spread to the monasteries, universities, and, eventually, to the military ,officers' mess.

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Discussions on Training and Employing Light Infantry

CSI Report No. 8

By MAJ Scott R. McMichael

27 Pages

Published: 1983

In 1983, General John A. Wickham, Chief of Staff of the Army, announced the decision to field one or more new light infantry divisions in the Resular Army force structure in order to improve the nation's capability for strategic response world-wide. Since then, the questions of light force composition and employment have occupied a central place in the wide ranging discussions which were generated by General Wickham' s decision. Historical studies, analyses, wargames, simulations, and seminars have been conducted to create and refine the structure and doctrine of the new light forces.

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Essayons

The Origins and History of the US Army Engineer School

By Staff of the US Army Engineer School History Office

197 Pages

Published: 2020

The Staff of the US Army Engineer School History Office has provided a detailed origins story for one of the most integral aspects of the US Army: it's ability to solve problems on the battlefield and refine them in the classroom. Army engineers have created solutions throughout our nation's history and the schoolhouses that trained them is traced from the colonial era through present day. This lineage of the US Army Engineer school illustrates the path of army soldiers as they evolved technical solutions and the training thereof alongside the nation they protected and served. Essayons!

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Eyes Behind the Lines: US Army Long-Range Reconnaissance and Surveillance Units?

Occasional Paper 10

By James F. Gebhardt

187 Pages

Published: 2005

Eyes Behind the Lines: US Army Long-Range Reconnaissance and Surveillance Units is the 10^th study in the Combat Studies Institute (CSI) Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) Occasional Paper series. This work is an outgrowth of concerns identified by the authors of On Point: The United States Army in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Specifically, these authors called into question the use of long-range surveillance (LRS) assets by commanders during that campaign and suggested an assessment ought to be made about their continuing utility and means of employment.

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Field Artillery in Military Operations Other than War: An Overview of the US Experience

Occasional Paper 4

By Lawrence A. Yates

55 Pages

Published: 2004

The initial conflicts in the Global War on Terrorism, Afghanistan and Iraq, pose significant challenges for the armed forces of the United States and its coalition allies. Among the challenges is the use of field artillery in those campaigns that fall short of conventional warfare. Engaged in a spectrum from full-scale combat to stability and support operations, the military is faced with an ever-changing environment in which to use its combat power. For instance, it is axiomatic that the massive application of firepower necessary to destroy targets in decisive phase III combat operations is not necessary in phase IV stability operations.

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Fire for Effect: Field Artillery and Close Air Support in the US Army

By John J. McGrath

198 Pages

Published: 2010

The Combat Studies Institute is pleased to announce its latest Special Study, Fire for Effect: Field Artillery and Close Air Support in the US Army, by historian John J. McGrath. The genesis of this work was the controversial decision in 2001 to deploy Army combat units to Afghanistan without their supporting field artillery units. Fire for Effect provides a historical survey of the relationship between field artillery and close air support (CAS) in the US Army since World War I.

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From One Leader to Another

By CSM Joe B. Parson (Gen. Ed.)

404 Pages

Published: 2013

This work is a collection of observations, insights, and advice from over 50 serving and retired Senior Non-Commissioned Officers. These experienced Army leaders have provided for the reader, outstanding mentorship on leadership skills, tasks, and responsibilities relevant to our Army today. There is much wisdom and advice “from one leader to another” in the following pages. CSI - The Past is Prologue!

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From One Leader to Another Vol II

By CSM Joe B. Parson (Gen. Ed.)

322 Pages

Published: 2014

This outstanding resource contains a wealth of knowledge from some of the most experienced Non-Commissioned Officers from across our Army. Every NCO can learn important lessons from fellow NCOs and I encourage you to pass on that knowledge to your Soldiers.

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From the Roer to the Elbe With the 1st Medical Group:

Medical Support of the Deliberate River Crossing

By CPT Donald E. Hall

92 Pages

Published: 1991

The seeds of this paper were first planted in early 1986 by Colonel Henry J. Waters, Medical Service Corps (MSC), and the late Lieutenant Colonel Harold G. Block, MSC, then commander and executive officer of the 1st Medical Group, Fort Hood, Texas. Both suggested that I do some work on the group's history; they said that it might be fun. In line with these suggestions, I hope eventually to expand my work to include a complete history of the 1st Medical Regiment-lst Medical Group from 1917 to 1945.

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General Douglas MacArthur Military Leadership Writing Competition Command and General Staff College 2012 Award Winning Essays

Award Winning Essays

74 Pages

Published: 2013

During each session of the Intermediate Level Education Course, the Command and General Staff College holds the General Douglas MacArthur Military Leadership Writing Competition. Students author and submit papers on various leadership topics. Winning papers are selected by a panel of judges and are evaluated on originality, scholarship, writing style and value to the profession.

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Larger Units: Theater Army, Army Group, Field Army

CSI Historical Bibliography No. 4

By LTC Gary L. Bounds

28 Pages

Published: 1984

In late 1983, the Concept Development Directorate (CDD) at the Combined Arms Center queried the Combat Studies Institute (CSl) on the subject of larger unit operations. In response, CSI agreed to prepare a three-part study on larger units of which this annotated bibliography is a part. A search of primary and secondary source material in the Combined Arms Research Library (CARL) produced a substantial holding of subject-related material. A follow-up search of the holdings of the Military History Institute (MHl) revealed additional primary and secondary source material. This bibliography includes holdings from both agencies.

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Larger Units: Theater Army, Army Group, Field Army

CSI Historical Bibliography No. 6

By CSI faculty, ed. Lieut. Col. Gary Bounds

226 Pages

Published: 1985

The current U.S. Army doctrine for larger unit operations predates the AirLand Battle doctrine. As a result, the Combined Arms Center's Concept Development Directorate and the Command and General Staff College's Department of Joint and Combined Operations are updating the older doctrine with a new field manual on larger unit operations. The Combat Studies Institute (CSI) was tasked support this project by preparing historical perspective on the echelons of field army, army group and theater army organization during wartime.

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Light Infantry Forces

CSI Historical Bibliography No. 2

By MAJ Scott R. McMichael

27 Pages

Published: 1984

This annotated bibliography was initially developed in conjunction with the initiative of the Department of the Army in 1983 to develop the force structure for 10,000-man light infantry divisions. Its goals were to provide annotated historical references for the combat experiences of previous light divisions and to list historical sources on the force design process, especially in regard to attempts to lighten the force or to respond to improvements in technology on the battlefield.

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Merrill's Marauders:

Combined Operations in Northern Burma in 1944

By Dr. Gary J. Bjorge

62 Pages

Published: 1996

During World War II, the United States fought as a member of the largest military coalition ever formed. Across the world, millions of American soldiers, sailors, and airmen joined with the fighting forces of other nations to defeat the Axis Powers. As they did so, they wrote many new chapters in the history of coalition warfare and combined operations. Of those chapters, none illustrates the benefits and the difficulties inherent in this type of warfare more vividly than does the story ofwhat happened to “Merrill’s Marauders” in northern Burma.

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Making the Difficult Routine

US Army Task Organization at the Army and Corps Level in Europe, 1944

By Lieutenant Colonel Brian C. North

148 Pages

Published: 2016

Lieutenant Colonel Brian North’s Making the Difficult Routine offers new insights into this history. His study examines US Army forces in northwest Europe in the summer and fall of 1944, focusing on the striking number of changes in task organization at the corps and army levels made in this period of intense combat. After D-Day, as the Allied front moved east and broadened, American commanders had to find ways of reorganizing to accommodate newly arrived units and a constantly changing battlefield. North argues convincingly that the ability to make these changes was a critical element in the US Army’s combat effectiveness.

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Notes on Military Elite Units

CSI Report No. 4

By LTC Gary Bounds

12 Pages

Published: 1984

The attached notes were prepared by the Combat Studies Institute in response to a request by TRADOC Chief of Staff, MG Robert Forman, to assist in formulating ideas on elite forces using a historical perspective, CSI staff members discussed the paper with MG Forman at a working luncheon during his visit to the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College on 16 March 1984. Present at the luncheon were the Deputy Commandant of the College, MG Dave Palmer, and four historians from the Combat Studies Institute.

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Operation JOINT ENDEAVOR: V Corps in Bosnia-Herzegovina 1995-1996

By Dr. Harold E. Raugh, Jr.

302 Pages

Published: 2010

The Dayton Peace Accords, signed on 14 December 1995, formally ended the ethnic and religious conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina and established a framework for full implementation of the provisions of the peace settlement.1 The following day, the UNSC (United Nations Security Council) adopted UNSC Resolution 1031, which authorized the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) “to establish a multinational IFOR (Implementation Force) under unified command and control”2 to help ensure compliance with the provisions of the Dayton Peace Accords.

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Rangers: Selected Combat Operations in World War II

Leavenworth Papers No. 11

ByDr. Michael J. King

91 Pages

Published: 1985

This Leavenworth Paper is a critical reconstruction of World War II Ranger operations conducted at or near Djebel et Ank, Tunisia; Porto Empedocle, Sicily; Cisterna, Italy; Zerf, Germany; and Cabanatuan in the Philippines. It is not intended to be a comprehensive account of World War II Ranger operations, for such a study would have to include numerous minor actions that are too poorly documented to be studied to advantage.

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Red Devils

Tactical Perspectives From Iraq

By Lieutenant Colonel Harry D. Tunnell IV

67 Pages

Published: 2006

LTC Harry Tunnell’s Red Devils is the history of one Soldier’s and one unit’s experience in Operation Iraqi Freedom. War must be studied from a variety of perspectives if one hopes to understand it and profit from that understanding. Like studies of grand strategy and operational histories, personal accounts of war are a critical aspect of understanding that im-mensely complex phenomenon.

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Scouts Out! The Development of Reconnaissance Units in Modern Armies

By John J. McGrath

272 Pages

Published: 2008

Reconnaissance and counterreconnaissance are battlefield missions as old as military history itself and missions for which many armies have created specialized units to perform. In most cases, these units were trained, equipped, and used differently from the majority of an army’s fighting units. Horse cavalry performed these missions for centuries, for it had speed and mobility far in excess of main battle units. Once the horse was replaced by mechanization, however, the mobility advantage once enjoyed by the horse cavalry disappeared.

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Staff Operations:

The X Corps in Korea, December 1950

By Dr. Richard M. Stewart

80 Pages

Published: 1991

The X Corps in Korea was an unusual, one of a kind, organization. All corps are uniquely configured for their missions and thus tend to break many organizational rules, but the X Corps was unusual even by usual corps standards. The corps was activated on 26 August, barely in time for the Inchon landings it was supposedly responsible for planning. Its commanding general, Major General Edward M. (“Ned”) Almond, retained his position as General Douglas MacArthur”s chief of staff of the Far Eastern Command (FEC). This was to lead to some ill will between the X Corps” and Eighth Army’s logistics personnel.

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The 101st Airborne Division's Defense of Bastogne

By Col. Ralph M. Mitchell

56 Pages

Published: 1986

By October 1944, the rapid Allied advance into Germany that followed the breakout from the Normandy beaches had slowed to a crawl. Stiffening German resistance and Allied logistical and communications problems exerted a significant influence on the Allied advance. In the American sector, Lt. Gen. Omar Bradley’s 12th Army Group occupied an extended front, with the First and Third Armies along the Siegfried Line and the Ninth Army facing the Roer River.

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The 4th Armored Division in the Encirclement of Nancy

By Dr. Christopher R. Gabel

34 Pages

Published: 1986

In 1944, the 4th Armored Division played a central role in one of the more remarkable campaigns in American military history-Third Army’s pursuit across France, which was capped off by the encirclement and capture of Nancy. In the course of this campaign, the 4th Armored Division practiced a mode of warfare that has since become known to the Army as AirLand Battle.

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The Brigade: A History

By John J. McGrath

251 Pages

Published: 2004

Boston native John McGrath has worked for the US Army in one capacity or another since 1978. A retired Army Reserve officer, Mr. McGrath served in infantry, field artillery and logistics units, both on active duty and as a reservist. Before coming to work at the Combat Studies Institute, he worked for 4 years at the US Army Center of Military History in Washington, DC, as a historian and archivist. Prior to that, Mr. McGrath worked fulltime for the US Army Reserve in Massachusetts for over 15 years, both as an active duty reservist and as a civilian military technician. He also served as a mobilized reservist in 1991 in Saudi Arabia with the 22d Support Command during Operation DESERT STORM as the command historian and in 1992 at the US Army Center of Military History as a researcher/writer.

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The Rhodesian African Rifles

Art of War Papers

By MAJ Michael P. Stewart

138 Pages

Published: 2012

The Rhodesian African Rifles overcame profoundly divisive racial and tribal differences among its members because a transcendent “regimental culture” superseded the disparate cultures of its individual soldiers and officers. The RAR’s culture grew around the traditions of the British regimental system, after which the RAR was patterned. The soldiers of the RAR, regardless of racial or tribal background, identified themselves first as soldiers and members of the regiment, before their individual race and tribe. Regimental history and traditions, as well as shared hardships on deployments and training were mechanisms that forced officers and soldiers to see past differences.

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To the Last Man: A National Guard Regiment in the Great War, 1917-1919

By Jonathan D. Bratten

284 Pages

Published: 2020

Historian and Army Captain Jonathan Bratten provides the rich history of a Maine National Guard unit, the 103rd Infantry Regiment, and their mobilization, training, and wartime experiences during the Great War. Lessons exist throughout the book and Bratten's storytelling brings to life America's relationship with World War I in the stories of men who left the comforts of home and traveled to the other side of the earth to fight "to the last man."

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Training for Decisive Action: Stories of Mission Command

By Operations Group, US Army National Training Center

174 Pages

Published: 2014

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” and “only the dead have seen the end of war” are famous quotes by George Santayana. These are the driving forces for military professionals to study the craft and learn from those leaders before them. As we emerge from a period of one specific type of conflict, we as a military must retain the lessons from the last 11 years of conflict and remember the capabilities we trained so intensely on that prepared us for the initial interventions into Iraq and Afghanistan.

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U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941

Vol 1

By Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Steven E. Clay

586 Pages

Published: 2010

Steve Clay’s massive work, US Army Order of Battle, 1919–1941, is, in many respects, the story of the American Army, its units, and its soldiers, during a period of neglect by a parsimonious Congress and others who perhaps believed in the notion that a “War to End All Wars” had actually been fought. Indirectly, it tells the story of a diminutive Regular Army that continued to watch faithfully over the ramparts of freedom in far-flung outposts like Panama, Alaska, the Philippines, and China, as well as the many small and isolated garrisons throughout the United States; a National Guard that was called on frequently by various governors to prevent labor troubles, fight forest fires, and provide disaster relief to their state’s citizens; and an Organized Reserve whose members attended monthly drills without pay and for 20 years creatively and conscientiously prepared themselves for another major war.

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U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941

Vol 2

By Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Steven E. Clay

696 Pages

Published: 2010

The purposes of US Army Order of Battle 1919–1941 are threefold. The first is to fill a void in the published record of US Army units documented by Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War published by the Center of Military History and Mr. Shelby L. Stanton’s Order of Battle, U.S. Army World War II. The second is to provide Army command historians, unit historians, and other individuals who are trying to research specific unit histories a basic overview of what these units were doing in the interwar period, where the units were located, and who commanded them. The third is to provide a private individual who had a relative who served during this period, and who wishes to know what that service may have consisted of, an account of the major activities in which the relative’s unit was involved. The scope of the work covers units from the size of separate battalions from all arms and services to field armies, as well as the actual order of battle of each as applicable.

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U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941

Vol 3

By Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Steven E. Clay

705 Pages

Published: 2010

Initially, the major commands for the Air Service consisted of the General Headquarters Air Service (redesignated as the General Headquarters Aviation in 1928), air divisions, air brigades, and wings. The latter three, with one exception, were intended to provide the subordinate command structure for the General Headquarters Air Service. The wing, the one exception, could also be a component of an army air service as well.

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U.S. Army Order of Battle, 1919-1941

Vol 4

By Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Steven E. Clay

1,003 Pages

Published: 2010

The quartermaster train functioned as the logistical headquarters for field armies, corps, and divisions. These headquarters and their subordinate units acquired and hauled the supplies and reserve ammunition needed for a specified period of time for their respective levels of command.

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Vanguard of Valor: Small Unit Actions in Afghanistan

General Editor Donald P. Wright, PhD

222 Pages

Published: 2011

Since 2001, the US Army in Afghanistan has been conducting complex operations in a difficult, often dangerous environment. Living in isolated outposts and working under austere conditions, US Soldiers have carried out missions that require in equal parts a warrior’s courage and a diplomat’s restraint. In the larger discussions of the Afghanistan campaign, the experiences of these Soldiers—especially the young sergeants and lieutenants that lead small units—often go undocumented.

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Vanguard of Valor: Small Unit Actions in Afghanistan Volume II

General Editor Donald P. Wright, PhD

168 Pages

Published: 2012

Beginning in 2009, the United States and many of its NATO-ISAF partners dramatically raised their levels of effort in Afghanistan. The “Afghan Surge,” as it came to be known, was most evident in the number of additional US and allied troops that arrived in Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010. Their mission was clear: To reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government, and to strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan’s security forces and government so that they could assume lead responsibility for their nation’s future

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Victory Starts Here

A Short 45-Year History of the US Army Training and Doctrine Command

By Del Stewart

158 Pages

Published: 2018

Mr. Del Stewart’s concise history of the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) from its founding in 1973 through 2018, with a focus on the major doctrinal concepts and developments that the headquarters refined and implemented within the force through the command’s vast training infrastructure. Includes coverage of concepts, weapons and equipment, and provides an essential look at where the command is headed in the current operating environment, as the Army refocuses on Large-Scale Combat operations and implements the Multi-Domain Operations concept outlined in the recently published Field Manual 3-0 Operations.

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When Failure Thrives

Institutions and the Evolution of Postwar Airborne Forces

By Marc R. DeVore

92 Pages

Published: 2015

When Failure Thrives is the inaugural publication by the Army Press, and its subject matter makes it a particularly fitting work to mark the launch of the new press. In authorizing creation of an Army Press, senior US Army leaders envisioned it as a venue for professional discussion that would examine experiences and challenge conventions and assumptions.

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