Joint Task Force Design to Conduct Sustained Counterdrug Operations Along theSouthwest Border

摘要

This study designs a joint task force of Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corpsforces to conduct sustained counterdrug operations in support of law enforcement agencies along the southwest border (SWB) of the United States. The study reviews the impact of drugs on society, the specific SWB drug threat, the geographical area defined as the SWB, the national strategy for fighting drugs, the historical involvement of military forces, and the legality of military operations in support of the war on drugs. The analysis used in this study reviewed support requests completed by military forces in support of law enforcement agencies during fiscal year 1995. Support requests were sorted into related battlefield operating systems (BOS) . They were further sorted by service component responsible for completing the support request. For each service component within each BOS the average number of personnel deployed per day was calculated and then used to select a force structure to complete support requests for an operational tempo of thirty days. The study concludes that a brigade size joint task force could conduct sustained counterdrug operations to support drug law enforcement agencies efforts to interdict the flow of illicit drugs along the SWB.