This study investigates the NATO multinational corps to determine the advantages, disadvantages and consequences of US participation in these corps. The investigation is conducted in three steps. First, the study analyzes US participation in coalition warfare in World Wars I and II, the Korean War and Desert Shield/Storm. This analysis indicates that the benefits and obstacles to fighting as part of a combined formation seem to transcend both time and technology, that the US seemingly opts to fight as part of a coalition and that an analysis of these coalitions provide criteria from which to evaluate combined formations. Second, the study analyzes the NATO multinational corps to determine what advantages, disadvantages and consequences these corps have for NATO. The study reveals that the combined corps are militarily viable multinational formations which furnish NATO several advantages and address many of the problems inherent to combined formations. Third, the study investigates US participation in the multinational corps. The investigation reveals that the corps afford the US many advantages, few disadvantages, and have the ultimate consequence of providing a training ground and test-bed for the US, in consonance with its national military strategy, to better prepare to fight and win as part of a combined force.

ADA 312698 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)