How 9/11 Changed Our Military - Research Paper Example

HOW 9/11 CHANGED OUR MILITARY This paper looks at how the 9/11 attack changed US military. Some of the ways found includes recognition of the role of women in the military, the use of counterinsurgency to minimize causalities and re-structuring of military intelligence. It also found that US military changed fighting tactics towards the new enemy and valued its young personnel who devised ways of minimizing casualties on the battlefield. Similarly, there was increased funding for the military to buy equipments and development of specialized operations. Introduction The September 9, 2011 (9/11) attacks on US opened a new era of war among the US armed forces. It made the military resort to intelligence collection, air strike the suspect’s bases, and manhunts. Osama bin Laden of al Qaeda, led the attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon hence pushing then US president, George Bush, to launch military strikes in Iraq and Afghanistan. Similarly, it drove the US military troops to move to terrorism hotspots with the goal of confronting them. The US troops went to war and were ready for anything for the sake of protecting their nation against terrorism attack. US has a history of fighting, and the 9/11 attack and proceeding battles were just one of the few international wars they have engaged in. For instance, the attack on Pearl Harbor was one of the battles, which gave US authority over other nations following its victory. However, US suffered a defeat in Vietnam War making it rethink its strategy of international war and the command structure. Despite the fall, US military emerged again during the Cold War of the 1980s as it was able to intimidate the Soviet Union and had their way. The more recent 9/11 attack changed the way US military responds to terrorist attacks as well as thinking, planning and fighting. The paper will discuss how the 9 /11 changed US military. Literature Review Pursuit of a new enemy using new tactics The US military changed their tactics since they realized they were fighting an enemy whom they did not know, but felt its effects. The military realized the enemy did not wear uniform, follow rules of war, or match in war formation, making them begin a prolonged struggle against Muslim fundamentalist and Iraq insurgents.1 The US military believed these insurgents and fundamentalist used suicide bombers, ambush among other tactics to defeat US military and other agencies. US military never focused on such terror groups until the 9/11 attack, and they now put focus on irregular war as they shift gears from land war. Valuing and caring for the leaders The operations in Iraq claimed many casualties from US military, and it worsened when the combat entered Afghanistan. Therefore, it forced them to change strategy and turn to young leaders in the field on best ways they could help reduce the number of casualties. Many of them opted for counterinsurgency but did not know ways of conducting it to achieve the best and the desired result.2 The young people serving in the military resorted to the use of the local population to find intelligence information to enable them achieve their mission of flushing out the militia groups responsible for the attack. Similarly, US military created generation officers, which was decentralized and could execute the order in their absence.3 The army, who were on the ground were given more priority than before, since the war was fought in the field where they are trained and equipped to defend the nation. The role of young personnel came to be appreciated so much. Additionally, the Pentagon realized the need for treating soldiers who were under its care. The second thing, which pushed this move, was the Walter Reed Army Medical Centre scandal, which leaked the suffering and neglect of war victims.4 The Pentagon started appreciating the role played by the sick and the importance of treating and paying their bills since they suffered when defending the nation against external attack. Counterinsurgency The US military changed the way they created their bases, how they attacked their enemies or those whom they felt posed a threat to them. For instance, they developed Percolating at Fort Leavenworth was the new plan they adopted to fight insurgents.5 The new doctrine was guided through Pentagon and was later exercised in Iraq among the top commanders. Before the 9/11 attack, US army was staying in their operating bases, launching raids on insurgent and killing before returning to their bases. This tactic towards dealing with insurgents changed since the Petraeus plan made soldiers set up shops within the insurgent territory where they strike and protected the civilians.6 The US military realized that the counterinsurgent works best when through dispersing the force to live among the insurgents since it leads to the collection of intelligence information and protection of civilians. The army developed a new doctrine, which enable them fight rebel since they had not developed ways of fighting new enemies. Similarly, the Marine Corps was still using the small war manuals developed before and surpassed by time. Another change was a reversal of roles where the army became like the Marines and learned new ways of counterinsurgency. Marines also became the second land army, and they set shops in foreign countries with the aim of extending the fights and helping army.7 However, a significant challenge the US military remained with was how to detect improvised explosive devices (IED) since it claimed many casualties in Afghanistan and other bases where the US military operated. The Pentagon responded to this challenge by putting monetary resources on surveillance equipments, robots among others.8 Despite all these attempts and responses, the enemies countered through developing explosives without metals and ignited by pressure rather than electronic signals as traditionally done. The US military had to change its strategy as the death toll rose to an alarming rate. The US military stopped sending its troops on patrols on thin-skinned Humvees vehicle since they were being destroyed by roadside bombs.9 They developed a new strategy, which encompassed augmenting vehicles with more armor and built new troop carrier, which repelled explosives and saved lives. Similarly, US military started making other vehicles, which were resistant to ambush, and sent them to their foreign military mission, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan where they based their operations.10 From this, the US military protected its soldiers from frequent ambush and bombs, which claimed its personnel. Increased funding for the military The traumatic attack on the US soil led to increased financing of the Pentagon in order to shield the nation against any form of terrorism that may emerge again. The increased funding for the defense department changed the military operation and the ways they did things. The increased budgetary allocation saw the military carry different operations aimed at yielding higher results rather than dwelling on one option. Because of this, US military engaged themselves in the longest war in the history of the nation in Afghanistan and the second expensive war after WW II.11 Similarly, US military through Pentagon has been shifting research and development process and sending equipments to warfighters. Additionally, the funding towards Pentagon increased the military operation to other parts of the world in the fight against terrorism as the soldiers went to search for their hideouts. Because of the move, US military together with NATO forces managed to kill the mastermind behind the 9/11 attack.12 Special operations The 9/11 attack was a revolution on how US troops move in the battle zone as every combat unit has a mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP).13 Before the attack, US troops moved in the battled field using Humvees with covered with canvas. The traditional approach saw the military suffer from frequent and heavy casualties as the enemies used IEDs and mines. The continued suffering or experiencing injuries made the US military to change operation and adopt a new system, which could act ahead of the enemies. Although the 9/11 resulted in the transformation for conventional forces, the strike brought instant change to US Special Operations Command (SoCom). SoCom was established to correct the weaknesses realized in 1980 Desert One rescue mission in Iran and it became more bureaucratic than fighting a war.14 It also contributed by buying equipments and training agencies to be ready for the battle. SoCom was reformed by getting support command contrary to its old function, which was supportive. Under the new reforms or change, SoCom was given a command authority of planning and executing direct action command. The command was funded and developed new ways of planning and enlarging its special operations components.15 The Marine Corps also joined SoCom for the first time and nurtured its commandos. The Joint Special Operations command (JSOC) had been secretive in its operations, and it was the home of Delta Force. It trained hostage rescue and had to change its function. JSOC and other commandos began preparing for ways to get and hit the terrorist groups such as the Taliban and al Qaeda from where they hid. The special operations established proved fruitful in their activities since they made impressive progress few months after their reformation. For instance, Army Green Berets led to the invasion of Afghanistan in less than two months as they teamed with anti-Taliban fighters in Pakistan.16 Similarly, they crossed the borders through low flying helicopter to seek the hideouts of the terrorist after the attack. Role of women in military ranks Women have taken significant roles in the front line following the attack. This was aimed at strengthening the force by including women to take and play a central role in the military front line of fighting. Before the attack, it was easier for an individual to note the front line. Today, women are playing vital role in military operations contrary to the past when they were barred from direct combat occupations. For instance, women serving in the military are placed in safe places; serve the military as nurses and supply officers.17 Before the changes happened, women were drivers of military vehicles, and most of them were ambushed. This made the military to change a strategy and place women soldiers in a safe place. Similarly, there are many women wearing military combat today and serving in military across the US operations overseas. Moreover, the US military through Pentagon has removed all gender-based restrictions hence providing a real leap for women to serve in the same capacity as men.18 The cultural shift, which allowed women to take center stage, was because of the perceived role of women in combat since they are capable and assist in areas where male counterparts show weaknesses. Intelligence US military increased the number of its intelligence personnel as one of the changes to counter terrorism. During the 9/11 attack, US military had 45,600 intelligence personnel, and the number increased to 61,000 after the attack.19 Changes were made in the military intelligence that led to the addition of three Ranger companies and other special operations agencies to offer intelligence services to the military.20 US military intelligence also grew as Pentagon introduced over 11,000 civil affairs and support staffs from SoCom to Army reserve.21 Similarly, there was an establishment of undersecretary of defense for intelligence as a new post with the mandate of coordinating information from Pentagon collection agencies. Because of this move, commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan had a way of requesting intelligence assets on certain missions as well as what they felt good for them. Other agencies such as SEAL and Delta Force were also merged into one task force with the name Task Force Orange. One of the successes of the Task Force Orange was the interception of communication gadgets, which led them to the hideouts of the al Qaeda agents.22 Similarly, US military intelligence learned to bring and consolidate resources into their operations and realize a positive result. Conclusion The deadly 9/11 terror attack was one of the events that pushed the US troops to engage in a foreign war since the first one was during WW II. The attack caused many casualties, making the US military to come out and defend the nation against any attack that might follow. One of the significant developments following the attack was changes that took place in US military. It marked a U-turn for the US army operation as they got more funding than before to buy equipments and to carry foreign operations to flush out the attackers. Similarly, military intelligence was re-structured, and women recognized for their important role. Moreover, the military started counterinsurgency as a way of minimizing casualties suffered. There were also specialized operation and change of tactics in fighting the new enemy. Bibliography Burk, James. How 9/11 changed ways of war. New York: Stanford Security Studies, 2013 Duffy, Michael, et al. "How To Fix Our Intelligence”. Time 163, no. 17 (April 26, 2004): 26-32 Jabeen, Mussarat, Muhammad Saleem Mazhar, and Naheed S. Goraya. "US Afghan Relations: A Historical Perspective of Events of 9/11." South Asian Studies (1026-678X) 25, no. 1 (January 2010): 143-173 Miles, William F. S.1. "Deploying Development to Counter Terrorism: Post-9/11 Transformation of U.S. Foreign Aid to Africa." African Studies Review 55, no. 3 (December 2012): 27-60. Morgan, Mathews. The American military after 9/11: society, state and empire. London: Macmillan, 2013 Mulrine, Anna. 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