As the ability of organizations to process information accelerates, and technological advances facilitate ever more rapid decision-making, organizational leaders sacrifice the time once available for careful reflection on the nature of problems and...
This monograph examines the limited success achieved by the U.S. Army in implementing mission oriented command and control. Evidence from the National Training Center (NTC) suggests that there is a problem with intent communication and effective...
The United States Army has a long history of advising foreign security forces with its general purpose force, despite a perception that its special force is the primary force with which it undertakes advisory efforts. Ad hoc selection and...
This monograph posits that military practitioners have a theoretical and doctrinal gap in understanding operational art. This threatens to separate tactical action from strategic purpose resulting in battlefield success that is orphaned by...
This monograph examines how the U.S. Army can restructure the decision making process to release initiative on the battlefield. Army tactical units execute missions on a chaotic, uncertain, and disorderly battlefield. Leaders' actions are guided by...
The 1993 version of FN4 100-5, Operations, formally added the theoretical term of decisive points to our professional warfighting lexicon without providing a useful methodology for their identification. This monograph undertakes a study of decisive...
This monograph examines tactical initiative and the types of information the commander's intent should provide to guide it. initiative became increasingly important beginning in the l8th Century as the dispersed, fast-paced nature of the modern...
An irregular enemy opposing US and partner forces in an expeditionary, nonlinear battle space defines the contemporary operating environment and post-modern warfare. This environment calls for improving our methods of operating, identifying, and...
The United States once again demonstrated its capability to defeat any nation state’s military forces as evidenced by the actions of the Joint Forces of the United States in the decisive victory in Iraq. However once again, we see that the...
On board U.S. Navy, Military Sealift Command and the U.S. Coast Guard vessels, Inspection and Survey routinely conduct inspections. The successful completion of these Inspection and Survey (INSURV) inspections has always been considered a major...
This monograph argues that the idea of nested concepts is an inviolate principle which will be even more critical on the future battlefield. The primary research question is: will the future battlefield's environment still require nested concepts...
This paper analyzes the doctrine of maneuver warfare promulgated in FMFM-l Warfighting. This analysis begins by establishing the relationship between military theory and doctrine. Once that foundation is established the author critiques the...
This monograph answers the question: Is the term, decisive operations, as defined in the Final Draft of Field Manual (FM) 100-40, Tactics, consistent with Joint and U.S. Army doctrine? This monograph concludes that the definition for decisive...
A gap exists between how logistics planners and operational planners see the military environment. This leads to asynchronous planning and flawed solutions. The central theme necessary to merge these two worlds is the common operational picture. By...
This monograph examines operational risk in the United States Army and the tendency to subordinate risk because of an institutional focus on aggression, offensive action to seize the initiative, and a reliance on firepower. The tendencies of the...
With the publication of the 1982 FM 100-5 operations, the U.S. Army officially adopted the concept of decentralized operations. Based on the recognition that success in future warfare would demand soldiers and units capable of fighting on a...
This monograph examines why many commanders continue to have problems writing effective commander's intent statements. Doctrine writers reintroduced "Commander's intent" to United States Army doctrine with the 1982 version of FM 100-5, Operations....
This report presents a statistical summary of United States War Department lend-lease activities reported for the period March 1941 through December 1945.
Historically, fog and friction have exacerbated the best laid battle plans of even the most intuitive wartime commanders. To mitigate these ever-present elements, the U.S. Army emphasizes the decentralized execution of AirLand Battle. Paramount to...