LITTORAL COMBAT GROUPS: ANSWERING THE NATION'S CALL IN SHALLOW WATERS

Abstract

What is the ideal force structure for a Littoral Combat Group? This thesis examines the threats posed in the littoral environment and recommends a mixture of surface combatants to reduce the risk to forces operating in a contested littoral environment. By examining the major amphibious campaign conducted by the British in the Falklands War, valuable lessons were extracted and applied to this hypothetical combat group. Further analysis was applied to the theoretical work of naval strategists who have considered how littoral warfare should be conducted. The result has been the development of counterarguments to some of the more widely accepted recommendations. This thesis concludes that the Navy and Marine Corps are currently not well prepared for littoral combat, but that the scales can be tipped toward success by feasible revisions to command arrangements and the embarked force structure.