Effects-Based Targeting and Operational Art in the 21st Century

摘要

Network Centric Warfare, Joint Vision 2010, Precision Engagement, Information Warfare, a veritable plethora of operational buzz words for the 21st century. No one can argue in these days of force reduction, the purpling of the military, limited defense budgets and metamorphosing threats, that continuous reviews of operational concepts are essential or the U.S. to remain dominant in the new millennium. One concept which has re-emerged that has value for current and future operational planning is effects based targeting or EBT. This article addresses operational scenarios and time space force factors which the operational commander currently faces, or may face in the future, and develops a doctrinal template that will support the integration of EBT in operational planning and employment. Additionally, the proposed codification of this EBT template into joint doctrine ensures operational commanders have general guidance when employing EBT in operational art.