We in the military, in my opinion, follow the Behavioralist school of political theory as an institution- quite consciously, are unconscious Positivists in philosophical outlook- both individually and institutionally, and yet we pretend to be Rational Choice Theorists. Strategically, that failure to understand the human factor is the root of the abject failure that the Army, Marines, and SOCOM are determined not to repeat.. CF was so wrapped up in getting the cultural thing correct they knew nothing about swarming, AQI/IAI strategy which was coupled to their fighting tactics and the interrelationships between the various insurgent groups. What I find interesting is that Kilcullen was correct in using it---and then say John Robb fleshed it out with his standing orders and his use of the term "open source warfare" which really caused some heartburn in the various agencies. Because the underlying social rules and mechanisms are created by humans, they are constantly evolving over time and geography. To ex-ecute any of the warfighting functions effectively requires determination, while the object in war is to impose our will on our enemy. Warfighting Functions: The seven mutually supporting military activities integrated in the conduct of all military operations. Ancient pyramids inscribed with weathered glyphs and characters from the most advanced ancient alphabet in the western hemisphere now sit abandoned, obscured by centuries of jungle growth. In order for SOF to best contribute to operations within the human domain I assert that we have to do two things: 1) ensure our doctrine and concepts support a more nuanced and dynamic approach to operations at the conceptual level and, 2) mimic at the operational and strategic levels the same kinds of things that make us special at the tactical level. Nothing terrible here, very human stories of parties and attaches and looking for housing and going to a local bazaar and all the politics you all must deal with when you are in a different country. Maneuver is the employment of forces in the operational area through movement in combination with fires to achieve a position of advantage in respect to the enemy in order to accomplish the mission. I'm not so sure the world is a safer or better place than it was 12 years ago. B. flower cultivation was indicative of a society with leisure time. Special Operations Forces (SOF) have a problem: in order to be more effective in the human domain we have to paradoxically dump the concept. In other words, the mission has only one solution: make local/paramilitary forces more lethal and reform local governance to distribute the political and economic power so that X does not consolidate power in the resulting imbalance that our support would createi.e. When 9-11 happened and you moved quickly into Afghanistan, this mood, this background, this context, these connections, this forgotten yet still present military institutional emotional history, alive even if buried deep within, surfaced only at the time of the OBL raid. The American way of war places a premium on the physical aspects of conflict. The effect of having a generic UW capability throughout SFin the 60/70s was that when one left VN and returned to other Groups ie the 10th or Det A in Berlin one was right back into UW and FID without missing a beat or having to retrain. Or, 2. So today we, as a nation, are facing an opponent who has recognized our power base and is determined to defeat it in such a way as to have a favorable outcome for their end state. b. Since the "old" individual SF soldier as well founded in UW it was easy to shift between the various Projects, Mike Forces,and A Teams and one did not loss a single minute---AND one did not "feel" that one was being degraded if one shifted from say SR back to a CIDG team or to a Mike Force. Combat Power= mission command+fires+intelligence+protection+sustainment+movement & maneuver+leadership. [xli] For just one example of how this affects SOF: US Army Special Forces (SF) majors are compared to Conventional Force (CF) majors for promotion to lieutenant-colonel as well as battalion command. While that may be correct, I did not list it here because I believe Special Operations itself, uses the six above, which would make it a unit using the system. The CIMIC aspect of the WFF is a command led function in order to ensure coordination with the mission objectives, and that the military efforts of the force are coordinated as part of the comprehensive approach. The insurgent does not have to observe small America in order to understand our fielded units as we tended to in Iraq and AFG export our life styles into the enemies own territory making it easy for them to "know" and "understand" us. That globalization is adding echelons of wealth concentration doesn't necessarily mean something "new" is happening. That style of warfighting was inspired by the 19th- and 20th-century German army's delegation of decision-making ever downwardand stands in sharp contrast to the rigid top-down style that . ing functions. I think there needs to be some re-evaluation about these issues. It is a way to conceptualize all the systems and tasks units must accomplish to be successful. There are no platoon outposts there. Indeed, in any stability op or war scenario beyond covert support/sabotage of an indigenous government it is the CF that will lead the main effort and take the majority of the blame for screwing it up (rightfully so). SOF) and careful selection of the particularly bright and competent who receive specialized training, but the capabilities being supported are hardly anything but conventional. Coupled with a chain of command that exploits their multi-generational familial ties, tribal ties and 30 years of shared camaraderie the HN practice a tactical and operational methodology they call Jihad and we call Mission Command. Because we did not "understand he enemy" we exported what we thought were successes to AFG only to have them basically fail. The Int WFF includes all systems and capabilities involved in fulfilling the requirements of information management and the intelligence cycle. After all, there are many examples in our own history where military commanders considered the population [or human domain as we call it now?] What could be more logical, I think, than looking at human emotion and motivations, as tricky as it is to understand such things, perhaps even impossible and too mysterious? 6. or so it seems. I have even gone so far as to suggest that in knowing oneself (specifically one's political objective) one can: b. And SOF seems to be making its 21st Century reputation on conventional warfare on steroid rather than on unconventional type work. "This was true for the SF of the 60/70s---the ability to "understand the mission, understand your enemy and understand yourself" before one is dropped in with no support from the outside world.. Interesting assessment on what I'm calling asymmetric surveillance approaches and much more. Human populations, however, are characterized by different viewpoints and limiting oneself to only one view of the world can be disastrous if trying to make sense of things and initiate a desired effect. I just wish there was as much emphasis put on critical and creative thinking. It was the application of human nature to a military situation. Why the seven warfighting functions are important: Obtain maximum impact when we harmonize all warfighting functions to accomplish the desired strategic objective in the shortest time possible and with minimum casualties, Unit 2: Basic Kinesiology and Biomechanics, Unit 1: Hypertrophy and Adaptations to Streng, Edge Reading, Writing and Language: Level C, David W. Moore, Deborah Short, Michael W. Smith, Literature and Composition: Reading, Writing,Thinking, Carol Jago, Lawrence Scanlon, Renee H. Shea, Robin Dissin Aufses, The Language of Composition: Reading, Writing, Rhetoric, Lawrence Scanlon, Renee H. Shea, Robin Dissin Aufses, Utah Real Estate Exam Prep Practice Exam 3. Social learning-in-action would emphasize the requirement to learn while we are acting, although social entanglement (merging quantum entanglement with social efforts) might be more descriptive of the reality. [xv] COL John Boyd famously said (and I paraphrase): The military has a strategy. This is juxtaposed with an operation like Desert Storm in which the objectives were clear and limited in both scope and time, even if they were limited somewhat artificially and ignoring the obvious connection to Operation Iraqi Freedom. This largely unconscious effect is to be expected: any large organization experiences it quite naturally. Thus they are able to remain mission-focused and results-oriented. A warfighting culture is exactly that, it's a culture. If one thinks about it, the 7th WfF and the human domain, defined as the totality of the physical, cultural and social environments that influence human behavior to the extent that success of any military operation or campaign depends on the application of unique capabilities that are designed to fight and win population-centric conflicts, [xi] border on tautologies. All of which must be done in a lawful manner. Information Briefing Format II. My empiricism is not the empiricism that you sometimes criticize, is it? One organizations human domain is not how the ACoS uses it. That is, unconventional tactics (e.g. Without that systemic logic- the system was doomed to strategic failure. Unfortunately, most people in the military are unaware of their own philosophy- or, at the least, the institutional philosophy that their doctrine, planning constructs, and systems and processes are founded upon. It accomplishes this by engaging with non-military elements, conducting support and development activities to and with them, and coordinating actions between them and the force. For the . (Thus as one might, in my day, have been required to explain one's ideas and proposals within the context of containing communism, likewise today might one benefit from explaining one's concepts and proposals within the context of promoting the Western way of life and governance?). and ask: a. where there is no, as yet, defined and identifiable enemy. The position supports the Joint Staff J8 Warfighting Analysis Division (WAD) to understand, model and interpret U.S., ally, partner, and adversary . All warfighting functions possess scalable capabilities to mass lethal and nonlethal effects. In other words, it's special tactics in a very conventional, multi-party, though not industrial scale, war. When I was able to get a BCT to change their behavior every single day ---then we started getting a changed battlefield as we were forcing the insurgent to delay or stop planned attacks until they figured out why we suddenly changed---plain old fashioned UW that has not changed much in the last 100 years. Also see his book: Wrong Turn: America's Deadly Embrace of Counterinsurgency. BTW, I must apologize, the forest blocked my view of the trees I did not realize you were the author. With this understanding of (1) our national goal and objective and (2) the problems and responsibilites related thereto, and with an acknowledgement that the resources we have to accomplish these missions and to deal with these problems and responsibilities have been greatly diminished, now let us consider thoughts on the "human domain" generally and the ideas presented by LTC Martin specifically (re: participatory observation, critical realism, less rather than more troops, etc.) The success of unified action depends on the application of capabilities that influence the perceptions, understanding, and actions of relevant populations To operate more effectively in the land domain while fully accounting for the human aspects of conflict and war, the Army requires a warfighting function to capture the tasks and systems that provide lethal and nonlethal capabilities to assess, shape, deter, and influence the decisions and behavior of a people, its security forces, and its government.. QUOTE: IA also includes the sub-function Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC). Perhaps in steps pertaining to Analysis & Comparison. These two occurrences arguably have brought Special Operations to a level similar to the rest of DoD wherein the most important priority among the hierarchy is the growth of the bureaucracy. These movements may be partial or complete. What keeps them in the fight is they are observant and patient and both of those come free. Right now it has yet to be named, although some of the early candidates have included Influence, Engagement, and Shape. [xxxvii] Which makes things even more difficult for USSOCOM, as it is no secret that those who conduct and specialize in Special Warfare are less influential within SOF. Therefore many in SOF will call a Special Forces (SF) Group a tactical level organization. The CIMIC aspect of the IA WFF is composed of all systems, capabilities and elements tasked to support or otherwise engage with the non-military communities, including dedicated CIMIC units. [xxiv] Just to head off any protests, I realize this dual-natured description is disingenuous, however I am constraining myself to the two choices our society presents us with and their respective approaches. [xxiii] UW is defined by US SOF as support to resistance (insurgent) forces to overthrow or disrupt a government or governing entity. Why Protect Mass Graves? These arent mechanized divisions we are attempting to outflank or terrorists we are killing in the human domain, these are very contextual-dependent groups of people whose values we are attempting to appreciate and either influence or employ to some effect. [iii] To best enable the forces that are engaged in this socially non-visible world, or the missions SOF call Special Warfare,[iv] it is my contention that we must discard the philosophy the military normally uses and turn towards something Curtis White calls the sublime in his book The Middle Mind: less of a faith that science and data can unlock the puzzles of humanity and more of a reliance on art. If you have watched the borderland beat site for over the last few years---we in the watching the failing of a major "democratic" country directly on our immediate border with TCOs driven their trade deeper into the major cities using violence much like AQ in Iraq. What I don't like is the idea that as long as it is hard we should not try and simply leave it to others to figure out. These tasks are interactive and often occur simultaneously. commanders to balance their command and control duties, Four Tips to Help You Prepare for the Army Warrior Leader Course, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM): 10 Cool Facts, and Army Trial Counselor in a Maneuver Enhancement Brigade: My Experience, Army 18F MOS: Special Forces Operations & Intelligence Sergeant, 7 Great Military Tactics And Strategies That Worked. I would agree that we (the U.S. Military types) don't know what to do with all this stuff we currently can't measure. They all belong. Maybe I'm just becoming cynical in my old age, but it bothers me to no end that so many great people and huge amounts national capital have been expended in basically accomplishing what? [xxxvi] This is because, if anything, surgical strike missions are very limited in time and scope and their objectives are clear and unambiguous. Democracy is a bottom-up political ideology. 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