Subterranean Operations and Operational Art

Abstract

Subterranean networks riddle the landscape of current and future US military battlefields. Guerilla fighters and conventional armies leverage subterranean networks to counter the technological supremacy of the United States. The primary research question asks how does the US military properly leverage operational art against subterranean networks in a joint environment. The underlying thesis of this study reasons that three of the tenets of operational art (basing, tempo, and risk), when properly managed in conjunction with airpower through the effective use of command and control, are effective in defeating the subterranean networks. Combatants in Vietnam and Afghanistan utilized subterranean compounds in an asymmetric environment to negate the technological superiority of the United States. Understanding the two examples highlights the need for an integrated approach.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 23, 2019
Accession Number
AD1132924

Entities

People

  • Aaron B. Payne

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

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

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Airframes
  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Civil War
  • Combat Areas
  • Combat Operations
  • Command And Control
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Force Levels
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Munitions
  • Precision-Guided Munitions
  • Tactical Air Support
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.

Technology Areas

  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control