Mastering Operational Art: Russian and Contemporary Understandings to Foster Creativity
Abstract
Operational art is a fundamental planning activity that most of the world's Western ground forces study, and aspire to practice, and execute at senior officer levels to ensure that tactical actions on the battlefield reflect strategic logic and purpose. Success is inevitably determined by the achievement of strategic goals and military leaders must effectively develop and manage campaigns that link tactical actions with strategic objectives to fulfill policy level end states. However, the complex nature of operational art is not always fully understood by its practitioners, especially the staff officers. This monograph will address the following core questions: What is operational art? How does systems thinking relate to the employment of operational art in campaign planning and management? What cognitive challenges do senior leaders and their staffs encounter when employing operational art? Operational planners have difficulty employing operational art in the planning and management of combat operations because operational art is not fully understood through a systems thinking perspective which produces the creative thinking required to satisfy strategic aims.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 21, 2020
- Accession Number
- AD1159689
Entities
People
- Augustine H. Paul
Organizations
- School of Advanced Military Studies