What is the History of the Combined Arms Combat Developments Agency (CACDA)?
Fort Leavenworth has, since the 1880’s, been tasked to answer the basic combat development questions: How should the Army fight? How should the Army be equipped? How should the Army be organized? From 1973 to 1994 these questions were answered through CACDA. CACDA’s primary foci were concept development, force design, battle command and the integration of the efforts of other combat developers. The primary material developer for the Army was and remains Army Material Command. TRADOC reorganized in 1994 and moved most of its personnel slots to Fort Monroe, but most CACDA missions existed here before its creation and have remained or returned since its demise. The students and instructors at the Command and General Staff College, as one of the major “brain trusts” of the Army, have long been influential in developing a vision for the future of the Army. In 1946 the War Department formally charged CGSC to study all developments in warfare and recommend changes in Army methods and doctrine
