An Examination of Force Ratios

Abstract

The US Army is currently undergoing a transition from focusing on counter insurgency operations to large scale combat operations. As it undergoes this transition, the organization should reflect on its current doctrine and the use of heuristics such as force ratios. Therefore, the primary research question asks whether force ratios and quantitative models are valid tools for commanders and planners going forward. The underlying thesis of this study argues that force ratios are invalid and their continued use may develop unwanted mental constraints. By understanding the origins of force ratios and their evolutions, this study identifies a complete lack of consensus about the applicability of force ratios at various levels of war as well as challenges with common planning tools often associated with force ratios.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 23, 2019
Accession Number
AD1083211

Entities

People

  • Joshua T. Christian

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Civil War
  • Combat Operations
  • Combat Simulations
  • Computer Programs
  • Databases
  • Doctrine
  • Lanchester Equations
  • Mathematical Models
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Nato
  • Operations Research
  • Second World War
  • Spreadsheet Software
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerodynamics/Aeronautics.
  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Systems Analysis and Design