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...
Operational pauses are part of campaign design and remain relevant in 21st century expeditionary warfare. The United States should maintain the military in a subordinate role as only one element of national power. Where this is infeasible, use of...
During the Interwar period, the Soviet theory of “deep operations,” like Soviet military science as a whole developed in parallel with Soviet armed forces organizational reform, including rearmament and preparation for current threats. The...
This monograph addresses the theory of operational art and discusses where it can be applied. As American military forces prepare to enter into the 21st Century it is clear that they will be involved in a wide range of operations. The collapse of...
FM 25-101 defines the After Action Review (AAR) as "a review of training that allows soldiers, leaders, and units to discover for themselves what happened during training, why it happened, and determining solutions to correct the problem." The AAR...
This monograph investigates operational defense with particular emphasis on future major regional contingencies. Theory, history, and modern U.S. Army doctrine and training are explored. The first portion of the monograph investigates what three...
First introduced into U.S. Army doctrine in 1982, the operational level of war developed to remove politics from an inherently political process. American writers absorbed Soviet writing on the subject and translated it into existing doctrine...
While hundreds of volumes exist on the Gettysburg Campaign, most examine the battle’s tactical framework and focus on the activities of brigades and regiments. However, of more interest to the serving military professional may be an analysis of...
This monograph describes the history of the planning and execution of Operation JUST CAUSE. It focuses on the operation's relationship to the theory and doctrine of operational art to answer the question: Was Operation JUST CAUSE an application of...
The United States' military power and capabilities are singularly enabled by unequaled sustainment capability and reach of our transportation and logistics systems. The current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are highlighting an emerging trend in...
The purpose of this paper was to study the practice of military art at the operational level of war. The story of Wellington's ultimate success against Napoleon's Marshals was selected as a case study as it seemed rich in the application of mental...
General Matthew B. Ridgway’s astonishing ability to visualize a military campaign matured based on his leader development, the lessons that he learned from failure and from personally mastering operational art. During World War II, Ridgway...
Are the US Air Force and US Army envisioning, and thus preparing for, the same future of warfare? This paper analyzes this question through examination of the common canon of military theory shared by the services, leadership statements, funding...
Since the end of the Cold War the United States Army has found itself conducting more and more operations that fall under the category of "Military Operations Other Than War” (MOOTW). Additionally, our National Security Strategy states that these...
This monograph considers whether operational art and the operational level of conflict are viable constructs for Canada or other middle-powers. Like most of America's close allies, Canada quickly followed the US lead by adopting these operational...
This paper addresses the current misunderstanding surrounding the term known as strategic maneuver. Strategic maneuver is considered many different things to include: preclusion operations, moving units from theater to theater, and the use of...
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...
This monograph discusses planning for the post-conflict phase of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. More specifically, it examines whether a disparate focus on war-fighting operations during the planning and execution phase of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM is to...
This monograph conducts a doctrinal analysis of Red Army planning and execution of the Soviet-Finnish War to determine if poorly developed doctrine was the cause of Soviet failures. Military doctrine is critical to a nation. Sound doctrine will...
The Army needs more logisticians who are operational artists and know what operational art is and how to use it. Operational art represents the cornerstone of United States Army doctrine. Its concept represents the common thread that focuses...