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...
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...
The Ukrainian Army is in a transition period which requires flexible, adaptive leadership with a contemporary vision. The problem of improving unit effectiveness is now very topical, because old leadership does not correspond to modern requirements...
Joint Doctrine, explicitly, and Army Doctrine, implicitly, recommend that military commanders and staffs exercise systems thinking in operational planning and execution. However, current Military Doctrine fails to fully explicate and apply a...
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...
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...
President Karzai, in his February 2011 speech to the Munich Security Conference, argued that the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) have performed below expectations due to conflicts in goals and coordination among the various organizations,...
In all its modern wars the United States has fought as a member of a multinational coalition. Multinational operations are a key component of the National Security Strategy of the United States, which is built on the imperative of engagement....
Whether adjusting to a new environment or to an evolving threat, America's Army of the 21st century must be adaptable and become more innovative. The operational environment is becoming more complicated and complex. Societal trends, such as...
The Army is becoming increasingly dependent on technical communications systems for command and control although the systems are vulnerable to failure, interception, or interference. The technical complexity of communications systems present new...
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...
The United States has now invaded Iraq on two separate occasions. These invasions offer some interesting similarities such as occurring on nearly the same terrain with similar equipment and against Iraqi forces under the leadership of Saddam...
The post-cold war operating environment, the strategic corporal phenomenon, the war on terrorism, and the increased public demand for ethics and professionalism in the Canadian Forces present significant challenges for the Canadian Defense Ethics...
History has demonstrated that amphibious assaults are among the most complex and challenging of all joint operations. The myriad of factors that evolved independently throughout the war did not become fully integrated until the winter of 1864-65....
This monograph directly addresses design, and incorporates elements of Engineering Design Theory to the codified, social act of campaign creation using art, science, and craft. The monograph gives a definition of design and discusses the...
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...
From its beginning in the American Revolution to its current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States (US) Army has had to deal with tribal societies. In order to succeed in tribal societies it is essential that the US Army understand...
As a result of the Allied bombing campaign against Nazi submarine bases during the Second World War, the cities of Brest, Lorient, and Saint Nazaire were nearly completely destroyed. Despite thousands of bombing missions, all three submarine...
This monograph analyzes the potential of the military campaign planning process to unify the national interagency counternarcotics effort. Currently, DoD's antinarcotics mission includes the detection and monitoring of the aerial and maritime...
U.S. tactical units are organized with weapon systems of varying mobility, firepower, and protection characteristics that must be combined to develop combat power. Differences among these capabilities are most apparent in units organized with armor...