by LTC Gregory A. Grimes, Small Wars Journal
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Hap Arnold had it right: give the enemy time to recuperate and your efforts are wasted; relentless engagement crushes an enemy's morale and will to fight. General Arnold recognized the value of persistence in attack, but in his day persistence meant persistence in effort, keeping up the fight day in and day out. Despite a commander's best efforts the fight could be interrupted by bad weather preventing movement of friendly forces, by the logistical demands of feeding, resting and re-arming men, or by terrain that granted cover or concealment to an enemy. Lulls between engagements were often measured in days, sometimes weeks. The bombing raids of Germany during World War II were considered 'persistent' even though the bombings were only daily at best, leaving many hours of respite for the enemy between attacks. The applicability of persistence is changing now as technological advancements have bridged the previously unavoidable gaps. The apex tool for commanders, true persistent offensive engagement, is now possible. This paper therefore argues for persistence as the 10th Principle of War.
What makes true persistence now achievable? The answer lies in the appearance of a new system on the battlefield, the armed Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). UAS's provide an unprecedented capability to match continuous target tracking with offensive strike capability. The key achievement of UAS's, the step that makes true persistence possible, is the removal of the human pilot from the engagement loop. Humans still control the process but are no longer integral to its execution. In the past, persistence meant persistence in effort; it now means persistence in engagement. Military strategists have long recognized the human pilot as the limiting principle of aerial platforms. The need for life support systems and the physiological limits of human endurance inherently limit piloted platforms. And in the arena of large force-on-force engagements the logistical demands of feeding, resting and re-arming men are a constraint; as necessary as they are unavoidable. The modern commander now has an asset to bridge those engagement gaps. Armed UAS's provide the critical tool to fill the inevitable gaps in human-on-human warfare.
