This monograph explores the US Army's recently announced goal of quick decisive victory. This concept has emerged in the wake of US victories in Operations JUST CAUSE and DESERT STORM and reflects one of the National Military Strategy's principles...
This monograph is meant to inspire military professionals to approach Prussian military history as a source of concepts with enduring relevance for modern armed forces. Reference point for the examination is the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) and...
This monograph is about planning strategy for the conduct of military intervention. Using popular, but often misunderstood or misquoted theory from some of the most popular strategic theorists, this monograph attempts to dispel the myth that...
The information sphere is an integral part of the current environment. The center of gravity (CoG) theory currently is matched for conventional, linear, industrial age warfare in the physical domain. The CoG concept is thus not suited to work in...
The Australian Army has commenced a process of transformation to meet the demands of the increasingly complex operational environment in which it is currently operating, and will continue to operate in the foreseeable future. The Australian...
This study analyses the influence of the German idealist philosopher G.W.F. Hegel (1779-1831) on the method and thought of the Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz (1780-1831). The study contends that a complete understanding of the...
It is dangerous to assume that in today's operating environment, a universally accepted definition of what war is, and what war is not, is readily available. While most Soldiers and policy makers claim to know war, "knowing it when they see it," is...
This monograph examines the question can modern metaphors, based on late twentieth century nonlinear scientific thought, better explain concepts described by Clausewitz, using early nineteenth century linear scientific thought. Clausewitz...
American military doctrine and professional literature in the past decade have stressed maneuver warfare and the operational level of war. This monograph traces the evolution of maneuver theory and its conceptual opposite, firepower theory, and...
This study analyzes the concepts of dominant maneuver and precision engagement at the operational level of war as defined in Joint Vision 2020. The analysis begins by establishing the relationship between today’s geostrategic environment,...
The security force framework devised for prosecuting a counterinsurgency campaign is essential. A security framework identifies roles and responsibilities for the different organizations that comprise the overall counterinsurgent force. Part of...
This study analyzes the concept of simultaneity developed by Russian military theorists, V.K. Triandafillov and M. Tukhachevskii, for application at the operational level of war with respect to non-linear full-spectrum operations. The study begins...
Efforts to measure progress in the US War on Terror are frustrated by a complex strategic situation and a shadowy network of enemies. The “Long War,” as the conflict is referred to by many public officials, is likely to remain costly in human...
Makers of modern strategy have an unprecedented challenge in our complex world. American strategists have been criticized for strategic failures since World War II. Congressional investigations have been initiated to examine the strategic education...
This monograph establishes a theoretical foundation for stability operations doctrine. It defines a tactical approach to ‘limited warfare’, applicable across a wide range of stability scenarios, with the hope that the reader will gain a higher...
The purpose of this research is to define centers of gravity in a way that meets the needs of all branches of service and focuses center of gravity analysis in a way that makes joint staffs more effective.
The research concludes that a joint...
The United States failed in both Lebanon in 1982-1984 and Iraq in 2003, to achieve its political objectives. While there are many reasons for this, perhaps the greatest is that the government failed to coordinate and direct all of its resources in...
In the aftermath of World War II, many Western armies studied the German Blitzkrieg success. They concluded that the German mission command philosophy was a cornerstone to lead and command troops in fluid and uncertain combat situations. This...
This monograph examines the dynamic relationships between the strategic, operational, and tactical levels. Current Army doctrine in FM 100-5, Operations depicts the relationships of the levels with a vertical hierarchy, defining the operational...
This study refutes the claims by many air power advocates that Operation Desert Storm stands as a revolution in warfare. According to their logic, the success of the Gulf War air campaign proves air power has become the dominant force in modern...