LTG James M. Gavin: Theory and Influence

This monograph approaches Lt. General James M. Gavin as a military theorist and as a significant influence on the Army as it transitioned from World War II to the Cold War. Gavins theory of future warfare shaped his vision of the functions, organization, and technology required to succeed in future conflicts. His influence shaped the development of tactical nuclear weapons, missiles, air mobility, and organizational transformation following World War II. His understanding of the Soviet threat, and his concepts of firepower, mobility, and control informed his model of how the Army should organize for future warfare. He envisioned flexible division organizations capable of dispersed fighting over significant depth, and enabled by superior air and ground mobility to deliver firepower adequate to prevail on future battlefields. He supported General Ridgways reorganizational concepts, but despite conceptual similarities with the eventual pentomic reorganization under General Taylor, he recognized the pentomic division as a flawed organization that lacked adequate firepower and control. The organization that epitomized Gavins concepts was the air mobile division that developed from his sky cavalry concept. Gavins advocacy for the air mobility concept, and his specific actions to advance personnel and positions to build and refine sky cavalry and air mobility capabilities, were key factors in the eventual development and acceptance of the air mobile division. Gavin clearly influenced military thought about air mobility, as the recommendations by the 1962 Tactical Mobility Requirements Board, known as the Howze Board, follow many of the themes Gavin wrote about from the late 1940s through the early 1960s. While air mobile divisions and sky cavalry would likely have emerged without Gavin, his influence clearly advanced the ideas and shaped the form of the organizations.