U.S. Army commanders seek to balance the requirements to conduct offensive, defensive and stability operations simultaneously. Within this framework, commanders have also had to balance the conduct of traditional military actions and non-military...
In early October 1990, President Bush asked General Colin Powell to present him with military options to liberate Kuwait. For General Powell, the President's request significantly altered his approach to the crisis in the desert. His problem had...
The marked changed in the types of wars fought over the last ten years in Afghanistan and Iraq have demonstrated the need for commanders at echelons below the campaign level to develop and continuously refine operational approaches to guide their...
This monograph examines Operational Maneuver from the Sea (OMFTS), the U.S. Marine Corps' latest warfighting concept. The evolutionary outgrowth of the sea services' most current white papers, OMFTS focuses on the littorals. The paper initially...
This monograph defines blitzkrieg as a way of operational-level systems thinking that evolved over a twenty-year period. In the on-going debate over whether blitzkrieg was operational or tactical in nature, much of the discourse centers either on...
Today, many analysts predict China’s growing economy and military strength will eventually create a peer competitor for the United States (US). Others fear China’s globally expanding influence will threaten US national security interests and...
This monograph examines the US Army tactical staff. Although the staff's importance to tactical success is recognized, it remains the product of evolutionary development. Rather than adapting in a proactive manner, changes in staff structure and...
This monograph analyzes the modern doctrinal concept called operational art with regard to its practical utility for operational level commanders and staffs. It uses three campaigns, examined in light of criteria which form the component parts of...
The maneuver warfare theory became the basis for Marine Corps doctrine in 1989. The maneuver theory represents a fundamental change in the way the Marine Corps plans to fight future wars. From the balanced combined arms force prior to 1989, this...
The United States military has conducted counterinsurgency campaigns against violent Islamic extremists for the last eight years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. However, communication-minded, technology-savvy, insurgencies...
Terms such as "operational art" and "operational level" are prevalent in US military space doctrine. However, no research exists that analyzes the applicability of operational art in the space domain. The use of operational terms in US military...
This monograph examines the relationship between reconnaissance and the application of operational art. The operational artist requires reconnaissance to arrange tactical actions in time, space, and purpose to achieve an overarching strategic...
This monograph presents a method for military planners to operationalize an adversary's culture during conceptual planning. To present this methodology, the monograph asks the question, is a Western way of war distinctly different from a...
Using the Joint definition of operational art, and in the context of the historical development of operational art, evaluation criteria are developed to examine an historical naval operation of sufficient extent and scope to have required some...
The purpose of this monograph is to examine the development of the 1998 FM 100-5. The primary research question is: Do the changes proposed in the coordinating draft of the 1998 FM 100-5 mark a return to the concept of operational art? This...
The US needs a strategic partner in Asia to promote both regional stability and the security of the US homeland and to prevent the rise in the influence of a powerful Asian state from opposing US interests. Therefore, one must have a better...
Editorial. Operational doctrine. The new FM 100-5: a return to operational art. Major Michael McCormick, US Army FM 100-5 and information age warfare. Major John M. Spiszer, US Army Paying the price for versatility. Colonel Steven P....
The 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review directs the Military Services to develop, within their general-purpose forces (GPF), the capability to conduct security force assistance, more specifically to train, advise, and assist foreign security forces....
This thesis examines the relevance of joint intelligence preparation of the battlespace (JIPB) process, as published in Joint Publication 2-01.3, Joint Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Battlespace, 24...
In 1993, the Bottom-Up Review (BUR) concluded that the United States could fight and win in two nearly simultaneous major regional conflicts (MRCs). Nearly simultaneous required that the two MRCs be spaced at least 42 days apart to allow adequate...