Calculated Audacity: Case Studies of Special Operations During Large Scale Combat Operations

Abstract

During the Global War on Terror, the United States relied heavily on Special Operations in order to achieve operational and strategic objectives globally. This phenomenon changes somewhat when the nation engages in Large Scale Combat Operations. Maintaining appropriate criteria for planning or accomplishing special operations, or committing special operations forces, becomes vitally important to achieve operational or strategic objectives, and to maintain force readiness and optimal capability. By examining four historical case studies of special operations against the backdrop of Large Scale Combat Operations, this research study determines under what conditions and based on what principles special operations may be employed in order to optimize operational success. Using a combination of principles established by joint doctrine and military theorists, the Jedburgh and Chindit operations along with the Doolittle Tokyo and Vermork Norway raids are qualitatively compared in order to offer conclusions on the effectiveness of special operations.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 14, 2019
Accession Number
AD1104951

Entities

People

  • John J. Campion

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Counter WMD
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Combat Areas
  • Combat Operations
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • Gray Zone
  • Green Berets
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Second World War
  • Special Operations Forces
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design