The 1994 Louisiana Maneuvers: Is Back to the Future What Our Army Needs?

This monograph examines current U.S. Army tactical and operational training strategies and analyzes the 1994 Louisiana Maneuver initiative to determine if the 1994 operational exercise can link current operational level training to future Combined Arms Training Strategies CATS. The Army Chief of Staffs 1994 Louisiana Maneuver initiative will be an important peacetime post- Desert Storm step towards fixing a host of Army operational level training weaknesses in the face of an uncertain future. In fact, the 1994 Maneuvers will revitalize the operational training strategy by implementing a futuristic, operational campaign simulation, which parallels the 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers organized and executed by Generals Lesley J. McNair and George C. Marshall. To explore the linkage between Army operational training strategies and the 1994 Louisiana Maneuvers, I first provide an analysis of past and future Louisiana Maneuver concepts. Next, current and emerging Army tactical and operational training strategies are examined, followed by a discussion of the 1994 Maneuver working blueprint being developed by the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.