Military officials often utilize the PMESII-PT acronym (Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information, Infrastructure, Physical Environment, and Time) as an analytical start point to assess an operational environment. However, the linear...
American policy in Afghanistan has evolved since the initial engagement of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. It has become increasingly clear that strategic focus must include a plan to concentrate upon and continue development of a stable and secure...
This study assesses the validity and general utility of selected instances of physical metaphor in tactical military theory and doctrine. An analytical framework is built upon the curriculum of the Advanced Military Studies Program, US Army Command...
The U.S. Army underwent significant doctrinal changes in the years following the Vietnam War. The 1976 edition of Field Manual (FM) 100-5, championed by General William DePuy, attempted to guide the Army's actions necessary to defeat the Soviet...
U.S. military, Department of State, and Iraqi officials face many challenges moving a unified Iraq forward. This paper attempts to answer a critical question: Can local Iraqi grassroots councils facilitate a strategic endstate like achieving...
One goal of the United States (US) is a capabilities-based joint force designed to quickly achieve success along the continuum of conflict ranging from peace operations to war.' In support of this goal, US Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) authors...
Few checklists exist for the operational level of war. One of the reasons Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) published TRADOC Pamphlet 11-9, “Blueprint of the Battlefield,” was the intent of assisting in filling this void. The Blueprint...
This study explains the recent evolution of U.S. Army doctrine. During the last two decades, the Army revised its capstone manual -- FM 100-5, Operations -- three times: in 1976, 1982, and 1986. A fourth revision is underway in 1991. This thesis...
The emphasis on the changing global environment, the complexity of emerging military operational requirements, the U.S. Army's Transformation Campaign Plan concept, and combined U.S. Army conventional and special operations forces operations has...
This thesis focused on the fundamental changes to logistics mandated by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld through his designations of Defense Logistics Executive and Distribution Process Owner. The primary research question of this study was:...
The relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been a tenuous one following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The research question investigates what type of threat Iran poses to Saudi Arabia and how the Saudi's will respond. This threat is not...
U.S. Army Field Manual 100-5, Operations (FM 100-5), the keystone warfighting manual, lists the culminating point as one of the three key concepts of operational design. It also states that the concept is applicable at the strategic, operational...
"Since the invention of gunpowder, fortification has received various improvements, and many have been the books wrote upon this subject, which might incline one to think, that it was arrived to its utmost perfection. . . "
Strategic leader transitions constitute narrow windows of opportunity marked by high pressure, high expectations and general lack of organization awareness for many new leaders. During the transition period, an incoming leader must effectively...
This monograph studies the use of the term battle damage assessment (BDA) within the Army, Air Force, and Joint communities. The monograph uses history, official publications, and materials published by military personnel or contractors to assess...
Changing doctrine to keep pace with the evolving world situation is imperative. The U.S. Army is updating its operational doctrine by rewriting FM 100-5 Operations. The authors of the new doctrine have attempted to balance necessary change and...
In the early 1990s the Belize Defence Force (BDF) was instructed to provide manpower support to the Belize Police Department's (BPD) crime control efforts in Belize City. This resulted in a drastic reduction in criminal activity; followed by a...
From the initial invasion in 2001 through the ongoing counterinsurgency (COIN) operations in Afghanistan, the U.S. Army has been challenged with truly understanding the socio-cultural dynamics of the local populace which has become known as the...
Many Americans associate the fall of Rome with Alaric and the Visigoths and other warrior peoples from the north, but serious students understand that Rome’s decline was slow and from within. Ralph Peters writes, “In its confident years, the...