new plans<\/a> were outlined in detail when the Pentagon recently published its new 60-page \u201cJoint \u00adPublication No. 3-72 Nuclear Operations\u201d online. The \u00addocument, prepared at the request of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was briefly available to the public but soon removed and placed in an online catalogue of \u201cfor official use only\u201d documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe document reveals a fundamental change from the Cold War-era belief that nuclear war would result in an Armageddon-like catastrophe and \u201cmutually assured destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new plans reflect the modern battlefield where the number of countries with nuclear capabilities is growing rapidly, where asymmetric warfare is increasingly common and where the U.S. military is losing its technological edge over other near-peer military rivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new plan bluntly states that \u201cnuclear weapons could create conditions for decisive results and the restoration of strategic stability. Specifically, the use of nuclear weapons will fundamentally change the scope of a battle and develop situations that call for commanders to win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it calls their use \u201cessential\u201d to mission success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collectively, it amounts to a new \u201cprevail in conflict\u201d or fight to win doctrine, said Steve Aftergood, a national security analyst at the Federation of American Scientists. The Defense Department\u2019s latest nuclear plan may be a reaction to the Russian strategy of using nuclear weapons in an effort to \u201cescalate to deescalate,\u201d Aftergood said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia\u2019s nuclear policy since 2000 has been to use smaller payloads in a conventional fight \u2014 low-yield or tactical \u2014 nuclear weapons to win key battles that could quickly end conflict and prevent full-scale nuclear war, according to a 2012 U.S. National Intelligence Council report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some experts see the doctrinal change as simply a way of getting back to the way nuclear conflict was viewed before the Berlin Wall fell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before the Berlin Wall fell and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, every U.S. artillery unit in Europe was nuclear capable. \u201cEvery battalion had nuclear training,\u201d said David E. Johnson, principal researcher at the Rand Corporation and career Army officer with a background in artillery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That included defending nuclear weapon storage sites, anticipating effects of even howitzer 155 mm nuclear-enabled projectiles and working field exercises in mission oriented protective posture, or MOPP, gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need to recover that capability,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s just a knowledge gap in the force.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Post-blast ground operations <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2019 nuclear doctrine calls for soldiers and Marines trained and prepared to conduct combat operations in a multitheater post-nuclear environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe greatest and least understood challenge \u00adconfronting troops in a nuclear conflict is how to operate in a post-nuclear detonation radiological environment,\u201d the publication states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it highlights the special physical and \u00adphysiological hazards, and psychological effects of the nuclear \u00adbattlefield, but notes that training and guidance are \u00adrequired for troops to accomplish their mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCommanders should know how nuclear weapon effects can affect personnel, equipment, and the dynamics of \u00adcombat power. They should train for and implement survivability measures and techniques,\u201d according to the doctrine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dynamics of a post-nuclear blast environment have changed since the Cold War as the U.S. military \u2014 and its adversaries \u2014 are increasingly dependent on complex \u00adcommunications systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A nuclear weapon unleashes an electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, that could completely disable electronic equipment, crippling communications and platforms, said Bryan Clark, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, former nuclear submariner and previous special assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A nuclear blast detonated in the upper atmosphere would take out low-orbit satellites, which bigger U.S. military systems rely on to communicate across regions and theaters, he said. U.S. commanders or enemy forces could carefully calibrate both the yield of the weapon as well as the height of the blast in a way to specifically target communications systems rather than massive military or civilian casualties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe EMP effect is not the side effect,\u201d Clark said. \u201cIn a lot of cases it\u2019s the primary effect. It gets you massive catastrophic effect on electronics without casualties or infrastructure damage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, Carlisle said, though some capabilities would get knocked out, the services could still operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWould there be degradation? Yes. Would we try to find a way to mitigate it and work around it? Yes. It\u2019s all of those things,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Targeting options <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plan calls for geographic \u00adcombatant commanders to provide guidance to the president regarding choices of nuclear weapons targets and the resulting mitigation of damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The commanders can nominate targets for nuclear options that would support their ongoing operations, according to the publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The doctrine calls for field \u00adcommanders below the combatant commanders to make recommendations while intelligence selects targets, they work as a team, the objectives are then given to STRATCOM, which creates a target list of military objectives for the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn other words, commanders in the field would not only execute orders from the national command \u00adauthority, but they would also participate in battle planning. This tends to normalize the possibility of nuclear war fighting,\u201d Aftergood said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When targeting, the doctrine advises commanders they must consider the yield of the weapon, the height of burst, fallout, what weapon system will deploy the armament and the law of war governing what they can strike and when.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Preparing the force<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Air Force, Marine Corps and Army spokespersons told Military Times that the joint doctrine change has not caused any expansion in their nuclear response mission or training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The smallest branch, the Marines, for example has an estimated<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1,634 personnel whose part or all of their job training is specific to chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear tasks. The Army Guard and Reserve forces also contain entire units dedicated to CBRN response in the homeland and support theater operations in major combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Nuclear Operations publication update as a \u201cdesire to prepare conventional forces to operate in a nuclear environment,\u201d said Ian Williams, deputy director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic And International Studies and a former Army engineer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a reaction to the realities that we\u2019re seeing, the kinds of threats and \u00adadversaries the Pentagon is turning its attention to,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michaela Dodge, a missile defense and nuclear deterrence expert with the Heritage Foundation said the \u00adgeographic combatant commanders have to be aware that with Russian, Chinese and North Korean doctrine, planning for their use of nukes is a reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The document seems to be telling commanders to think about and plan how operations will be impacted should an opponent use nuclear \u00adweapons, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an article titled, \u201cU.S. Army Doctrine Dislocated with Nuclear-Armed Adversaries and Limited War\u201d in the January-February issue of the journal Military Review, Army Maj. Zachary L. Morris criticizes the Army\u2019s most recent Field Manual 3-0 Operations, which covers large-scale combat but neglects to address how enemies with nuclear weapons will be handled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf the United States seeks a decisive victory, often by altering an adversary\u2019s government, there would be little reason for an adversary to avoid using nuclear weapons,\u201d Morris wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Morris points to Russia ending its 2009 annual exercise with a simulated nuclear strike on Warsaw, Poland. And in October 2016, Russia conducted a massive exercise evacuating government from Moscow after a simulated nuclear attack on the homeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He claims conventional strikes on fire and command and control systems in China or North Korea would incentivize those states to use nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c[T]hese are considered a precursor to disarming a first strike or enabling a decisive victory \u2014 increasing a \u2018use it or lose it\u2019 mentality in the target state,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2019 nuclear doctrine may be the most recent change to joint doctrine, but the Army and Marines also have recently updated operational and tactical training requirements for nuclear protection and operations-related work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A February Marine Corps Order laid out how chemical, biological, \u00adradiological and nuclear teams would be assigned for training and missions at the major subordinate commands and down to the battalion and squad level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 2017 Army manual, titled \u201c\u00adCombined Arms Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction,\u201d provides guidance on how to plan targeting weapons of mass destruction facilities and teaming ground combat units with CBRN teams to detect such hazards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like the Nuclear Operations doctrine, the same manual also advises commanders to have both prioritized and predetermined targets but be ready to work on the fly during major combat operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In March 2017, the Marine Corps \u00adintroduced a \u201cCBRN readiness \u00adcalculator\u201d in an administrative message that directs unit commanders to use for assessing their unit\u2019s ability to perform its mission under CBRN conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The message noted that \u201cseveral inconsistencies have been observed in the reporting of CBRN readiness across the Marine Corps.\u201d The calculator is an attempt to provide a uniform way to gauge readiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of these moves indicate a \u00adreprioritizing of nuclear preparations \u2014 both defensive and offensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tactical Nuclear Weapons<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked for comment, STRATCOM directed Military Times to Commanding General John E. Hyten\u2019s statement before the House Armed Services Committee on May 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New low-yield nuclear weapons and their funding was the centerpiece of STRATCOM\u2019s testimony and cited the likely existence of low-yield weapons already in place in China, Russia and North Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hyten said he preferred submarines, rather than aircraft, be the delivery system for low-yield weapons. Because while low-yield payloads can be delivered by air, it is more challenging due to the difficulty of aircraft having to fight through a denied environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those strikes could come from a variety of platforms, but the doctrine \u00adhighlights the flexibility of using \u00adlong-range bombers and dual-capable fighter aircraft for their mobility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tactical nuclear weapons include \u00adgravity bombs, short-range missiles, artillery shells, land mines, depth charges and torpedoes which are equipped with nuclear warheads, nuclear armed ground-based or shipborne surface-to-air missiles and air-to-air missiles. Tactical nuclear weapons have specific features meant to enhance their battlefield characteristics, such as variable yield which allow their explosive power to be varied over a wide range for different situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Out at sea or in the skies<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
While ground troops would have the most immediate problems, the sea and air services face a host of their own concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For sailors that means installing special air filters on ships and having replacements for extended ops. Also, they\u2019ll have to button up the surface, which will need to be decontaminated by crews of specially trained sailors in protective suits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Depending on the level of contamination, some ships might have to be pulled from the fight and even disassembled for cleaning, Clark said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flying airplanes and helicopters in a post-nuclear detonation environment \u2014 for combat and other missions \u2014 means dealing with radioactive fallout, tracking intensity and drift, Carlisle said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Air Force took cues from how the Navy protects sailors who work on nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers and built procedures to quarantine aircraft that had flown through radioactive clouds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Air Force\u2019s experience helping Japan in the immediate aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Plant meltdown could show how it might operate under those conditions, Carlisle said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As part of Operation \u00adTomodachi the Air Force flew a variety of aircraft for weeks, conducting \u00adsearch-and-rescue, reconnaissance, and cargo delivery missions in the broader \u00adtsunami-devastated area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when those potentially \u00adcontaminated aircraft returned to \u00adbases such as Kadena and Yokota, there was a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t taxi that airplane into a ramp alongside all the other \u00adairplanes,\u201d Carlisle said. \u201cSo, you had to do management of the airfield to figure out where you\u2019re going to put the airplanes that need to be \u00addecontaminated, and how you go about decontaminating them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bases cordoned off a few areas \u00adspecifically for cleaning and maintenance of those aircraft, he said. Only people with the right training, \u00adequipment and coverings could go near them and air flow and wind direction had to be monitored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Air Force \u201cnuclear sniffers,\u201d which search the atmosphere for signs of nuclear explosions \u2014 as well as other unmanned aircraft \u2014 would likely be crucial to managing a nuclear battlefield, Carlisle said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While sniffers detect the location and fallout levels, he said, \u00adweather airmen analyze wind and other \u00admeteorological patterns to track and predict how the radiation might drift and dissipate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite decades of practice in the past, from ships to planes to individual troops, the Pentagon has to figure out how to fight in one of the most deadly environments ever envisioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have been working on it for a few years, and we do have more \u00adinformation than we probably had in the height of Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom,” Carlisle said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have anywhere close to all the answers \u2026 and not to the level of detail \u2026 we need,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we are trying to figure it out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
How the military is preparing for full-scale combat operations in a post-nuclear battlefield.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":85863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-featured-layout","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,36,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3481,3412,3263],"class_list":["post-47252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters","category-pentagon"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"I3ONGHQEWNBCHGP57KDQJUJS7Q","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2019\/07\/10\/blast-from-the-past-the-pentagons-updated-war-plan-for-tactical-nukes\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"featured-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n
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