Coping with Complexity: Analyzing Unified Land Operations Through the Lens of Complex Adaptive Systems Theory
Abstract
In 2017, the United States Army published the latest version of Field Manual (FM) 3-0, Operations. The publication emphasized that victory during large-scale combat operations resulted from the destruction or defeat of an adversary's conventional capability and will to resist. However, the concepts articulated in the US Army's current operating concept, Unified Land Operations, do not provide clear guidance on the employment of combat power during large-scale combat operations to defeat or destroy an enemy force. Thus, on the surface, the US Army operating concept appears to lack a coherent basis in sound, clearly communicated theory. Complexity science offers a theoretical foundation for the development of a clearly articulated doctrine for fighting and winning in a complex operational environment. A study of complexity science concepts and a comparison to military theory and US Army doctrine suggests a need to restore the centrality of the concept of positions of relative advantage to the current operating concept, to emphasize the limitations of anticipation during planning and the requirement for adaptation in execution, and to reframe current conceptualizations of mission command in order to increase an organization's adaptive capacity.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 23, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1083415
Entities
People
- Alan P. Hastings