The most important role the commander plays in any Army unit, According to FM 6-0 Mission Command and Control of Army Forces, is that of combining the art of command with the science of control. This is accomplished through visualizing the...
Complexity theory has attracted considerable interest from operational artists in recent times. However, because it is still an emerging field, there are few -- if any -- historical case studies that show how complexity applies to military...
From the Classical Period until the Seventeenth century, the study of warfare was practiced predominantly using the vehicle of history. The scientific revolution, ushered in by Newtonian laws, had a major impact on Western military thinking. By...
Military forces conduct information operations against one of the most complex, adaptive systems – the human mind. Linear thought processes, prevalent in the military, correspond to, and understand well, the linear mathematics that measure the...
This monograph shows how understanding three conceptual tradeoffs of complex versus complicated, complexity at large-scale versus fine-scale, and exploration of potential problems versus exploitation of known solutions can help the military...
This thesis examines the application of the principles of chaos and complexity theory to the analysis of ethnic conflict. In the post cold war era, the United States continues to become entangled in ethnic quagmires throughout the world. However,...
Years of U.S. Army involvement in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have underscored the complexity of contemporary operating environments. This complexity within the current operating environment requires U.S. Army leaders not to make simple...
Self-synchronization is an idea that comes directly from Network-Centric Warfare but its foundations lie in complexity theory and the ideas of self-organization and emergent behavior. In order to understand self-synchronization the basics of...
A common perspective among U.S. interagency partners today is that any step towards more effective and coordinated responses to contemporary security challenges requires an improved and shared understanding of the nature of the conflict and the...
This work proposes a novel approach to military transformation, 'Adaptive Transformation,' that accounts for an inescapable reality in the current and future operational environment: uncertainty. Military planners and decision makers have to face...
A network is a system of sensors, information processing and decision-making centers, and firing platforms connected by communications lines. The concept of Network-Centric Warfare originated to solve operational level problems at the joint...
On 12 October 1999, the U.S. Army began a journey down a new path to innovation, when General Eric Shinseki presented his vision of Army Transformation at the 45th annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army. In this speech, General...
The purpose of this monograph is to answer the question: Can the Army increase its strategic responsiveness in order to narrow the current gap between Army capabilities and requirements? To arrive at an answer, this paper begins by examining...
This study analyzes the theories of Pragmatic Communications, Cybernetics, and Perturbation under the framework of the Pragmatic Complexity Model to illustrate how two Presidential administrations beginning in the 20th and 21st centuries used 'new...
Conflict in the twenty-first century involves a complex interaction of variables. Equally complex are modern stability operations that occur concurrently or immediately following war or combat operations. This study examines planning methodology...
The examination of land warfare within the conceptual framework of complex adaptive system (CAS) theory and fourth generation war (4GW) theory offers a unique perspective and provides valuable insight into optimal capabilities and characteristics...
The purpose of this monograph is to justify the change in staff structure for Army brigades in order to mitigate the complexity of the Peace Operations environment. With peace operations increasing in frequency, Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) will...
Military operations are complex and chaotic phenomena. Current theoretical models inadequately deal with the increasing complexity and inherent uncertainty of modern warfare. Relying on mechanistic paradigms and reductionist methods of analysis,...
In 1996, Joint Vision 2010 (JV2010) established a template for transforming the armed forces that continues to define sustainment transformation within the U.S. Army, while the publication of Network Centric Warfare in 1999 provided the theoretical...
The U.S. Army is on the brink of a revolution in military affairs (RMA). Significant advancements in informational technologies and precision warfare are providing unprecedented potential for future warfare. These changes challenge the...