Observations on Occupation and Military Governance An Analysis of the American Occupation of Japan and Germany in World War II

Prior to the current Global War on Terror (GWOT), the United States military had not participated in occupation and military governance mission on as a massive a scale as that experienced in World War II. From that period on until the start of the GWOT, the military had either forgotten this experience or chosen to avoid this type of mission wherever possible. Since the start of the GWOT, and in particular the occupation of Iraq, the U.S. military has entered a period of resurgent study and production of doctrine, now under the current moniker of Stabilization, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction. Those who work at the operational level can benefit from studying the two seemingly disparate occupation missions in post-WWII Germany and Japan. By reviewing with a simple ends, ways, and means analysis, a few keys to success begin to emerge: the establishment of a base educational level in SSRT operations for officers; the importance of placing enough "boots on the ground" in order to fill any potential security vacuum and pacify a territory; the creation and employment of specialized teams (i.e., military government teams) in sufficient quantities; and the concept of "indirect rule" in order to empower a defeated populace to rebuild itself.