Raiders of the Lost Art -- Recovering and Implementing the Intellectual Lineage of Campaign Planning for 21st Century Joint Planning

摘要

The rise of prevalent irregular warfare challenges to United States instruments of national power, more especially its military power, has brought to light the renewed importance of campaign planning. Challenges from rogue states, the rising military power of other states, and transnational threats representing violent extremist ideologies have all highlighted the need for an intellectual rebirth of campaign planning. A specific focus on campaign planning has been largely missing since World War II. Notwithstanding ambiguity in current joint doctrine that warrants correction, principally in Joint Publication 5-0, campaign planning exists as a unique and distinct type of planning that more easily adapts to the operating environment; provides the potential for better integration with the interagency process; and establishes creative linkages among operational, theater-strategic, and strategic-level objectives and end-states. A renewed emphasis on campaign plans and more strategic-centric planning, as evidenced in the new 2008 GEF and JSCP, is critical for the 21st century and provides additional emphasis for more thorough development of campaign planning methodology.