This monograph began as an investigation to determine if either Effects-Based Operations (EBO) or Systemic Operational Design (SOD) should replace the traditional Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP). It soon became clear that the approaches do...
This paper explores the capacity of an airborne division to inflict operational shock in mid to high-intensity conflict as part of a Joint Task force (JTF). The United States faces a multi-faceted and complex security environment in its new role as...
The Armed Forces of the Netherlands are currently in a reorganization process in order to improve the balance between tasks and capabilities. Specific materiel is being disposed of and organizations are downsized to achieve this balance. The...
The premise of this monograph is that the Elements of Operational Design are incapable of linking the tactical employment of forces to strategic objectives and that Systemic Operational Design is a viable alternative. This monograph introduces the...
Sorrells, William T., Downing, Glen R., Blakesley, Paul J., Pendall, David W., Walk, Jason K., Wallwork, Richard D.
Systemic Operational Design (SOD) is an application of systems theory to operational art. It is an attempt to rationalize complexity through systemic logic employing a holistic approach that translates strategic direction and policy into...
The Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has pursued a nuclear program since 1985. In February 2006, with the last round of international negotiations having failed and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) having reported the dossier to the United...
Ethnic and sectarian conflict is a prevalent form of conflict today. Most of the conflicts on-going today and in occurring the past twenty years have been internal wars between rival groups with ethnic or sectarian identities. Though its causes...
Bias caused by organizational culture is a constant companion of military planning. Cognitive models dominated by Newtonian, mechanistic, and reductionist thinking, have all but entrenched bias at the operational level of war where contextual, or...
Operational design is an intellectual exercise that draws on the creative vision, experience, intuition, and judgment of commanders to provide a framework for development of detailed operation plans. Recently, a number of authors have questioned...
The military is increasingly using and relying on the term "narrative" in its lexicon. United States strategic guidance documents generally implore commanders to "shape the narrative," doctrinal publications recommend commanders to "exploit a...
Since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the United States has been the sole superpower of the world. In concert with its allies, the United States has been able to act with relative impunity militarily around the globe. The most recent example of...
The study of insurgency and counterinsurgency over the years provides a valuable tool for analysis in the current Global War on Terrorism. Failure to take into account and accurately assess political and military actions in such environments can...
The strategic and operational environment in which the United States military will operate in for the foreseeable future is characterized by its complexity. Historically the United States military has taken a linear approach to understanding the...
Combat operations in the urban area are not new to warfare. The United States' military conducted large-scale urban operations in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. During the last sixty years, the United States' Army approached the urban area by...
This paper examines the question whether systems theory, and the concepts of systems-shock and the center of gravity are compatible and have any utility in military planning. Currently there is a debate between systems theory proponents who argue...
Operational level commanders and their staffs require relevant and current joint doctrine that articulates the critical function of operational design and its role in the Joint Operation Planning Process (JOPP). Since operational design is the...
With the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, the grip of
superpower strictures loosened resulting in an increase in complexity and dynamism that marks today's security environment. The rapidly changing and uncertain...
The purpose of this monograph is to determine the applicability of the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) COMPSTAT crime control model to restoring order in Iraq. The Iraqi Police Service (IPS) performs similar police functions to those executed...
The crux of the debate as to whether the United States (US) should immediately field space weapons is not whether another nation will eventually field like weapons of its own. Rather, the primary issue is whether an immediate space weaponization...
In 1969, President Nixon started the now well-known "War on Drugs." The reason behind his "declaration" of war was the increasing national security threat posed by the transnational drug trafficking organizations. With the aim of making as much...