Applying Operational Art to the Joint Operational Access Concept (JOAC).

摘要

The proliferation of anti-access and area denial strategies threatens the capability of the United States to maintain its global influence with its expeditionary joint force. In response to this emerging threat, the U.S. Department of Defense published the Joint Operational Access Concept (JOAC) in January 2012, stressing that the United States must maintain operational access to maintain global influence. The purpose of this study is to analyze the JOAC through the lens of operational art. The study proposes that the proper use of operational art is critical to maintaining operational access in areas contested by anti-access and area denial strategies. Operational planners must now translate the concepts outlined in the JOAC (e.g., distributed operations, simultaneity, and operational tempo) into operational plans that meet this emerging threat. Planners must prioritize scenarios by likelihood and importance before any presentation to policymakers. The primary deficiency that currently limits the expeditionary capability of U.S. forces is the lack of a secure distributed basing network. In an environment of finite fiscal resources, planners must present basing options to policymakers that will make Congress allocate funds to the highest priority bases, ones that will be valuable in multiple scenarios. The study finds that a survivable distributed basing network will facilitate attacks at multiple decisive points with simultaneity and an operational tempo that are capable of defeating anti- access systems. Joint Forces can then reestablish operational access, supporting the strategic goal of maintaining U.S. global influence.