Occupation is the Occupation: “We’ll Never Have
To Do That Again” Or Will We?
While 38Gs may be deployed to support U.S. operations in a number of circumstances (security assistance, peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, etc.)
the scenario that is most important to the military is
the environment that will exist in the immediate aftermath of major ground combat operations. In such
an environment, it will be essential for the U.S. Government to be prepared to restore order to the civilian
population in the vacuum that results from combat.5
While the idea of the U.S. being an occupying
power may be politically, culturally, and socially untenable in our current environment, it can become an
unavoidable necessity, given the geopolitical realities
that we now face and may encounter in the not-toodistant future. A chronic problem of the U.S. military
has been that we have failed to adequately prepare for
such a necessity, and have massively failed because
of that lack of preparedness; the initial occupation of
Iraq in 2003 is a glaring example. Consider the following all-too-possible scenario:
President Putin invades the Baltic States, which are
members of NATO. NATO decides to honor its commitments to protect the Baltic States from invasion,
and mounts a counterattack. After fierce fighting carried out largely by the US Army and Marines, NATO
ground and air forces force the Russian military out
of the Baltics and secure a buffer zone within Russian
territory. NATO also occupies the Kali