Through Rose Colored Glasses: Targeting in Its Heyday

Abstract

This thesis explores the historical development of targeting. It discusses how the targeting enterprise was shaped to ensure the successful application of airpower and assesses the effectiveness of targeting during two of the most successful conflicts of all time: the Second World War (WWII) and Operation Desert Storm. Targeting studies in the last 12 years focus on the decline of targeting, and everyone that knows anything about targeting thinks that we have lost ground, but have we really lost as much ground as we think? This thesis will offer a depiction of targeting at potential high points in its history and seeks to answer whether the art of targeting has deteriorated since WWII and 1991. If it has not, what persistent challenges still face the targeting community today? The WWII case study describes the origins of targeting leading up to and during the Combined Bomber Offensive, and highlights the clear antecedents of present day targeting principles and practices. While many challenges were surmounted as the concepts of modern targeting came of age in 1944 and the years immediately following WWII, with these advances came many other targeting challenges we still struggle with today. Similar challenges with organization, processes, training, and force management are evident in the Operation Desert Storm case study. Although the importance of targeting was identified early in its history, efforts to solve targeting lessons learned in WWII were of mixed emphasis and success. As a result, although Desert Storm is viewed as one of the most successful campaigns of all time for the United States, the targeting portion was not as successful as many might expect. Challenges with organization, processes, training, and force management again hindered targeting throughout the conflict and into the post-war era.

Document Details

• Document Type: Technical Report
• Publication Date: Jun 01, 2018
• Accession Number: AD1079488

Entities

People

• Sarah E. Gee

Organizations

• Air University

Tags

Communities of Interest

• C4I
• Energy and Power Technologies
• Human Systems
• Space
• Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

• Aerial Warfare
• Air Defense
• Air Force
• Air Power
• Bombing
• Cameras
• Contingency Operations (Military)
• Electric Power
• Employment
• Geography
• Intelligence Cycle
• Lessons Learned
• Military Force Levels
• Military Organizations
• Military Science
• National Security
• Personnel Management
• Reconnaissance Aircraft
• Second World War
• Students
• Surveillance
• United States Central Command
• War Colleges
• Warfare
• Weapons Effects

Readers

• Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
• Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.