Understanding US Army Behavior in War

Abstract

Literature on military innovation in irregular wars finds that the US Army applies a preferred and invariant method of warfare that is maladapted to its environment - the colloquial claim is that the US Army uses conventional tactics in irregular wars. This adherence to a preferred method of war, even in the face of forces that otherwise lead to adaptation, is puzzling. This puzzle motivates this dissertation and prompts a reconsideration of measures of military behavior used within military innovation literature. Redefining military behavior as different types of campaigns, this dissertation shows variation in US Army behavior, even in the critical case for innovation scholars, the Vietnam War. While not dispositive, these findings question our understanding of US Army behavior in irregular wars.