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...
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...
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...
The U.S. Army is engaged in operations as part of the global war on terror. This presents a difficult and complex problem that requires the best possible methods to address. Although this is not the first time the Army has faced complex problems,...
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-Media Relationship: A Dysfunctional Marriage? Thom Shanker and Major General Mark Hertling, U.S. Army: In the information age, the first casualty of war is often trust--between those who fight the wars and those who report them. A...
The Mobile Assault Company (MAC) concept--the technique of employing the Marine Infantry Battalion’s Weapons Company as a fourth maneuver element--is currently being employed successfully during counterinsurgency and Stability Operations in...
The term "disruptive technology" is used to in the 2004 US National Defense Strategy and 2006 US National Security Strategy as a concern of the US Government. A study of potential disruptive technologies that will affect the way war in the future...
Causal claims are unavoidable in military affairs. However, causal claims are also insufficient when attempting to understand and intervene in complex environments. Hence, notions of conventional causality must be supplemented with an understanding...
The Unites States Army is an institution that competes in a complex, dynamic environment. Although the core competencies of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) organizations have not dramatically changed over the past forty years, the demands placed...
The recognition of the failure at the strategic and operational levels of war during the Global War on Terror, specifically in Iraq, has resulted in a quest for intellectual solutions to complex operational and strategic problems. To date this has...
In the aftermath of the air campaign that began Operation Desert Storm, the US Air Force sought to measure US success in the military-technical and organizational innovation that occurred during the Gulf War and its impact on the future evolution...
Since the end of Cold War in 1989, international crisis and conflict management have gained considerable importance. Worldwide soldiers have served together with civilian agencies in order to guarantee security, to develop economy, and to...
This monograph examines whether or not the current U.S. Army Operational Design methodology could increase the effectiveness of airpower. Analysis of existing design literature provides a common understanding of the U.S. Army’s design methodology...
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a national debate emerged regarding the ability of the federal government to coordinate the actions of multiple departments and agencies. Obstacles to effective interagency cooperation include cultural differences,...
There are a variety of military decision-making frameworks that provide useful sequences to problem-solving. However, planning groups rarely engineer creative answers by simply following the checklist steps of frameworks such as the Army’s...