Living Military System On The Verge of Annihilation

摘要

The explanation to the phenomenon of how a military unit, which seemingly on the verge of annihilation, still manages to survive and fight effectively, lies in the understanding that a military organization is a living system. Recognizing the parallels between a living system and a military system's need to survive and prosper within an environment full of positive and inimical changes, this study explores the world of living systems to identify the mechanisms and processes for surviving and sustaining combat effectiveness within a military system. The emerging understanding of living systems provides a valid theoretical framework for the exploration. The theory of living systems, as developed by Dr. Fritjof Capra, and the Santiago theory of cognition, as developed by Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, form the foundation of the analysis. Subscribing to the notion that the concept of self-preservation and self-organization of a living system are analogous to the terms of living, surviving, and prospering, the explorative study analyzes military systems at the tactical level of war. The emerging paradigms discovered in the study of chaos, complexity, and non-linearity, are leading people to shift from seeing the world as a machine to seeing it as a living system. For military planners, they need to follow the trends and begin to see the enemy as a living military system. The shift in view allows planners to develop innovative and creative military operations to compel the enemy to a desired will. Perhaps this shift of mind gets planners closer to attaining, what Sun Tzu called, the 'acme of skill' the skill to subdue the enemy without fighting.