Military Review English Edition January-February 2017 | Page 45

EXPEDITIONARY LAND POWER

maneuver through rapid deployment and transition to
operations,” and “overwhelm the enemy physically and
psychologically.”3 Beginning with border skirmishes along
the Rio Grande and ending with the occupation of
half of Mexico from San Diego to Veracruz, the Army,
in concert with the Marine Corps, the Navy, and the
diplomatic corps, employed unprecedented joint unity
of effort, robust “total force” cooperation between professionals and volunteers, and relatively sophisticated
foreign governance policies to achieve strategic objectives. Although the casus belli remains controversial, the
efficient implementation of joint force effort across the
continent established the United States as the dominant
nation in North America.
Future U.S. forces will need to achieve mastery of
force projection methods reminiscent of successful operations in the contested cities of Los Angeles in 1846 and
Mexico City in 1847, while incorporating twenty-first
century technologies to project land power effectively. While the modern U.S. military could potentially
replicate massive mobilizations similar to the Second
World War or the substantial deployment of the Persian
Gulf War in the near future, it is more likely to conduct
forced entry and security efforts along accelerated political timelines with limited but tactically effective joint
and combined arms teams.

Campaigning in Mexico
The Mexican-American War and its relevance to
the Army’s current interests in the Middle East, Eastern
Europe, and East Asia can be readily assessed according
to modern U.S. military doctrine. The operational phases
of shape, deter, seize initiative, dominate, stabilize, and
enable civil authority, as outlined in Joint Publication 3-0,
Joint Operations, provide a ready conceptual framework
to contextualize the nineteenth-century confrontation.4
While all historical engagements must be assessed as
unique events within distinct panoramas, the sequenced
invasions and occupations of north, west, and central
Mexico by land and sea followed a campaign pattern
similar to phased models that regionally aligned forces
may potentially apply during forced-entry operations in
the twenty-first century.
The first, and enduring, phase of U.S. military operations abroad centers on shaping the security environment. According to joint doctrine, aligned forces conduct
continuous missions, tasks, and actions to dissuade or
MILITARY REVIEW  January-February 2017

deter adversaries and assure friends while “influencing
adversaries’ and allies’ behavior.”5 These efforts often
focus on robust security cooperation by partnered
elements to reinforce and enable political objectives. As
seen in Europe, the Persian Gulf region, and the Korean
Peninsula since the rise of American global leadership,
expeditionary operations by combined arms teams remain a primary instrument for influencing foreign affairs
in accordance with national interests.
For decades before the Mexican-American War,
the Army shaped the North American security environment by operating in dispersed contingents as it
secured frontiers and coastlines against both tribal and
nation-state competitors. Similar to contemporary deployments by regionally aligned detachments, America’s
mid-nineteenth-century ground formations rarely
united for large-scale training maneuvers or campaigns.
Instead, under constant fiscal constraints, they focused
on economized security efforts that, contrary to popular
belief, often included partnership with Amerindians and
territorial militias.6
When shaping operMaj. Nathan Jennings,
ations prove insufficient,
U.S. Army, is a student in
joint forces conduct
the School of Advanced
intensified posturing
Military Studies, Fort
and maneuver to “deter
Leavenworth, Kansas. His
an adversary” through
previous assignments
demonstration of “friendinclude assistant professor
ly capabilities and the
of history at the U.S. Military
will to use them.”7 The
Academy, headquarters
current positioning of
troop commander and cavrotational American and
alry troop commander in
allied brigades in eastern
the 1st Cavalry Division, seEurope and South Korea,
curity force platoon leader
for example, underscores
in the 1st Infantry Division,
how military deterrence
and cavalry scout in the 2nd
through physical presArmored Cavalry Regiment
ence remains viable in
(light) with Operation Iraqi
the twenty-first century.
Freedom tours in Baghdad
While effective messagand Kirkuk. Jennings earned
ing can emanate from a
an MA in American history
variety of instruments of
from the University of
national power, ground
Texas at Austin. He is the
forces often provide the
author of Riding for the
most credible demonstraLone Star: Frontier Cavalry
tions of national resolve.
and the Texas Way of War,
As argued by Lt. Gen.
1822–1865.
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