Joint Targeting: Improving the Playbook, Communications, and Teamwork.

摘要

Throughout modern military history, joint targeting has been contentious. Service components have not embraced the lessons learned. Operation Desert Shield/Storm provides clear evidence many issues remain unresolved. This paper reviews these issues, joint doctrine, the C41 systems being developed to conduct joint targeting, and provides needed recommendations. Specifically, this paper reviews the organizational structures needed to conduct joint targeting, and provides justification for trained and ready standing targeting organizations. Additionally, recommendations include the need for standardizing within joint doctrine the target sets, their components, the target numbering system for mobile targets, the attack and destruction criteria. Having these available to joint force commanders (JFC) will facilitate their ability to provide a clear, succinct, and graphic commander's intent, and clarify for subordinates what JFCs want done to the enemy. Finally, this paper concludes with recommendations concerning the need to ensure the C41 system of systems being built incorporate the standardization discussed so that once the decisionmakers decide on the priority targets he wants attacked, the appropriate intelligence and attack systems are tasked through automated systems to track and attack these targets. Having a smaller military demands we fix the unresolved issues; this paper provides some of the needed fixes.