For those of you who served...

[panzergator]

The Pentomic Era The US Army Between Korea and Vietnam, by A.J Bacevich;

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

For those who read the subject of military affairs, the author is likely familiar. If you are curious about the Pentomic period in the US Army, how the Army reorganized, why the Pentomic organization failed, and what it produced, this is a good book. Toward the end, the author discusses how the Army changed culturally during the period, with insight into how we got from the Old Army of long service and as a way of life, to today's Army, good and bad. I read the book earlier and just picked it out to take another look (thus reinforcing my determination to KEEP MY BOOKS FOREVER AND WHY I DO!).

An informational note - At this point, the Army only had infantry, airborne, and armored divisions. There were no mechanized divisions. Armored infantry battalions existed only in armored divisions. The Pentomic concept required that infantry battle groups move rapidly around the battlefield, protected in some degree from radiation and chemical agents, but there were five battle groups in a Pentomic division and only enough armored personnel carriers to move two at a time. These were not organic to a combat unit, but retained, along with drivers, in the division's transportation battalion. Kinda gives you a clue about why the concept failed, doesn't it?

A battle group had five rifle companies and there were five battle groups per division, designed in response to the need for more dispersion on the nuclear battlefield, thus "Pentomic.". Do not confuse the term with the current British term of battle group, which is a battalion-sized combined arms force -the US task force equivalent.

Hope you enjoy the book.

Jim

[redleg]

That's for the recommendation, PG! The pentomic division is another military thing that I think I know the basics of, but I probably know less than I think!

[panzergator]

We ALL know less than we think, but that makes it more interesting. Bacevich is a very good thinker and writer, too.