Addressing the Fog of COG: Perspectives on the Center of Gravity in US Military Doctrine
Abstract
At the conclusion of this rather heated and professional debate, several faculty members agreed to put their pen-to-paper. Maybe, they thought, they could induce a larger audience to join them in the debate and persuade them to proliferate their ideas throughout the Army. They are passionate about this subject, and believe their view of center of gravity is most appropriate for the future of the US Army. Therefore, we have this terrific collection of articles in this pamphlet focused on the center of gravity and driven by various opinions on the concepts utility today and tomorrow, and on how to improve or replace it. The various authors poured their enthusiasm into the enclosed articles, which is quite evident. Moreover, they provide some limiting stakes to their argumentsall you have to do is to read the articles, stake out your own position, and then enter the debate. The anticipated intellectual discussion on this subject will be healthy for the Army. It will most likely stimulate relevant criticism as well as produce some current and recent vignettesboth positive and negativeon the center of gravity, the use of center of gravity analysis, and ways to directly or indirectly apply that analysis. The authors of these articles hope you are as excited about this topic as they are. They look forward to your comments and suggestions, and anticipate professional dialogue. The joint force and the Army might possibly benefit from your insights and contributions to this discussion. Regardless of how current doctrine addresses center of gravity, you can contribute to its modification to help ensure doctrine remains relevant to conducting operations in future complex and undefined environments. The time to engage is now.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- AD1117725
Entities
People
- Celestino Jr Perez
- Christopher R. Paparone
- Dale C. Eikmeier
- John T. Kuehn
- Jonathan Klug
- Kurt P. Vandersteen
- Phillip G. Pattee
- Stephen L. Melton
- William J. Jr Davis
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College