Operation Gyroscope

Operation Gyroscope was a US Army program implemented between 1955 and 1959. This Cold War initiative modified the system of troop rotation, adjusting how divisions versus individuals rotated in and out of combat zones. The program also applied to smaller non-divisional units and was used primary to exchange units between the United States and Germany under United States Army Europe. It aimed to increase retention rates by boosting morale and unit cohesion, with the added incentive of improving military family stability by keeping soldiers together for most of their careers. Although the program initially increased morale, the Army was unable to keep its promises to the soldiers, and the expected benefits failed to materialize, resulting in the early termination of the program after just one of the planned three-year rotation cycles had been completed.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.