{"product_id":"2940148899471","title":"Boots on the Ground: Troop Density in Contingency Operations","description":"John McGrath’s Troop Density is a very timely historical analysis.\u003cbr\u003eWhile the value of history is indeed timeless, this paper clearly shows the\u003cbr\u003eimmediate relevancy of historical study to current events. One of the most\u003cbr\u003ecommon criticisms of the U.S. plan to invade Iraq in 2003 is that too few\u003cbr\u003etroops were used. The argument often fails to satisfy anyone for there is\u003cbr\u003eno standard against which to judge. Too few troops compared to what?\u003cbr\u003eToo few troops compared to which historical analogy? Too few troops\u003cbr\u003ecompared to which policy maker or retired general’s book?\u003cbr\u003eA figure of 20 troops per 1000 of the local population is often mentioned\u003cbr\u003eas the standard, but as McGrath shows, that figure was arrived at\u003cbr\u003ewith some questionable assumptions. By analyzing seven military operations\u003cbr\u003efrom the last 100 years, he arrives at an average number of military\u003cbr\u003eforces per 1000 of the population that have been employed in what would\u003cbr\u003egenerally be considered successful military campaigns. He also points out\u003cbr\u003ea variety of important factors affecting those numbers–from geography to\u003cbr\u003elocal forces employed to supplement soldiers on the battlefield, to the use\u003cbr\u003eof contractors–among others.\u003cbr\u003eA segment of the American military historian population and policy\u003cbr\u003emakers have been and are enamored with a genre of military history which\u003cbr\u003eseeks to quantify war, reduce it to known variables, and posit solutions\u003cbr\u003eto future military conflicts based on mathematical formulae. It would be\u003cbr\u003etempting to seize upon McGrath’s analysis and brandish it as a club with\u003cbr\u003ewhich to beat one’s opponents. This study should not be looked at in that\u003cbr\u003elight.\u003cbr\u003eThe practice of war contains a strong element of science and social\u003cbr\u003escience, but in the end the practice of war is an art. This study cannot be\u003cbr\u003eused to guarantee victory by simply putting a certain number of soldiers\u003cbr\u003e“on the ground” relative to the indigenous population. The percentages and\u003cbr\u003enumbers in the study are merely historical averages, with all the dangers\u003cbr\u003einherent in any average figure. One would do well to remember that old\u003cbr\u003eadage about the six-foot tall statistician who drowned in the river, which\u003cbr\u003ewas on average only five feet deep.","brand":"ReadCycle","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47162437730544,"sku":"2940148899471","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940148899471_p0.jpg?v=1763715536","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940148899471","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}