Kugler 3 Mar22

Joint Operational Concepts for Transformation and NCO: 

Joint Operational Concepts for Transformation and NCO Dr. Richard Kugler Director, Transformation Short Course Distinguished Research Professor, NDU-CTNSP March 22, 2006 Marshall Hall 155A

Operational Concepts : 

Operational Concepts Operational concepts are ideas or principles of how military forces operate in peace, crisis, and war Help provide guidance on how transformation is pursed, how future forces are built, and how wars are fought

Operational Concepts Today: 

Operational Concepts Today The operational concepts that guide transformation and U.S. military forces today are significantly different from those of the Cold War Bigger emphasis on expeditionary warfare, joint force operations, NCO, and effects-based operations Much greater reliance on information, shared awareness, precise targeting, high lethality, and rapid maneuver – all of which help substitute for traditional mass and attrition

Operational Concepts for the Cold War : 

Operational Concepts for the Cold War Land Warfare: positional, continental warfare in Central Europe Linear defense of inter-German border with 11 corps Reliance upon firepower and attrition, not maneuver Slow deployment from CONUS Air Warfare: emphasis on winning Air Battle; marginal impact on land battle Air Forces locked avionics, sensors, and munitions to influence land battle Naval Warfare: emphasis on controlling seas and defeating naval adversaries Joint Warfare? Mostly service components fought separately, not jointly

Transition of the 1990’s: Desert Storm and Kosovo War : 

Transition of the 1990’s: Desert Storm and Kosovo War Desert Storm (1991) – introduced expeditionary warfare in Persian Gulf Fast deployment and offensive counterattacks Coordinated multi-component campaign Sequential attack: air-bombardment followed by ground attack Initial use of modern communications, sensors, smart munitions, laser targeting

Transition of the 1990’s: Desert Storm and Kosovo War: 

Transition of the 1990’s: Desert Storm and Kosovo War Kosovo War (1999) – employed air bombardment to coerce Serbs into leaving Kosovo U.S. air forces flew 70% or more of the sorties Expanded use of communications, sensors, and smart munitions

New Operational Concepts from Joint Vision 2010/2020 : 

New Operational Concepts from Joint Vision 2010/2020 Joint Expeditionary Warfare for Full-Spectrum Dominance Expeditionary war is a temporary journey to a distant place for specific purposes Subordinate war-fighting concepts Advanced C4ISR Dominant maneuver Precision engagement Full-dimensional protection Service-endorsed concepts Network-centric warfare (NCW – USN) Rapid decisive operations (RDD – USA) Effects-based operations (EBO – USAF)

Growing Impact of Joint Operations on US Principles for Land Warfare: 

Growing Impact of Joint Operations on US Principles for Land Warfare Cold War: 80% of firepower for land warfare come from USA and USMC; only 20% from USAF and USN Current Era: 60% comes from USA and USMC; 40% from USAF and USN Bottom Line: New era permits joint operations because major air and naval threats are lacking New era also mandates joint operations because ground forces can win only if air and naval forces help them Joint operations enable all components and make them synergistic

War on Terrorism: Afghanistan and Iraq : 

War on Terrorism: Afghanistan and Iraq Operation Enduring Freedom: defeats Taliban and al Qaeda through new forms of warfare SOF, GPS target designators, standoff strikes by fighters and bombers, Northern Alliance ground troops Operation Anaconda (2002) exposes strains in joint force operations

War on Terrorism: Afghanistan and Iraq: 

War on Terrorism: Afghanistan and Iraq Operation Iraqi Freedom: introduces new era of joint offensive warfare Speedy deployment of relatively small, dispersed, parallel ground force (5 divisions) Simultaneous joint offensive quickly unravels and overpowers larger enemy force Major use of information networks, sensors, and smart munitions Quick, easy win in war-fighting phase followed by prolonged struggle in S&R phase

Current Capstone Concepts for Joint Operations : 

Current Capstone Concepts for Joint Operations JOpsC Joint Operations Concept (JOC) Joint Functional Concepts (JFC) Joint Integrating Concepts (JIC) e.g. MCO, Stability Ops, Shaping Ops, Homeland Security e.g. battle-space awareness, NCO, force application forcible entry, global strike, joint logistics, joint urban operations

Key Features of Joint Operations: 

Key Features of Joint Operations Fundamental Actions Establish, expand, and secure reach Acquire, refine, and shape knowledge Identify, create, and exploit effects Supporting Action Act from multiple directions and domains concurrently Conduct integrated and interdependent actions Project and sustain force Act directly and decisively on target system Control tempo and transitions Manage perceptions and act discriminatingly Key Warfighting Goal Fracture enemy’s cohesion and decision-making in order to win attrition battle

Key Characteristics of Joint Forces : 

Key Characteristics of Joint Forces Knowledge empowered Networked Interoperable Expeditionary Adaptable/Tailorable Enduring/Persistent Precise Fast Resilient Agile Lethal QDR 2006 also emphasizes these characteristics for wide spectrum of missions

Impact of Network-Centric Operations : 

Impact of Network-Centric Operations Networked combination of intelligence, operations, logistic support, and information grids greatly enhance shared battlespace awareness Among all command echelons and components Shared battlespace awareness produces better force employment decisions and strengthens all characteristics of joint force operations The result is better joint pursuit of effects-based operations

Lingering Issues : 

Lingering Issues Are new networks being developed, deployed, and employed at proper place? Is the U.S. military becoming so confident of airpower, overhead fires, and standoff fires, that it is unwisely diluting its ground forces and close-combat capabilities? Now that the U.S. military can win wars quickly, can it win the peace afterwards? MCO vs. S&R Ops