Strategic Concepts for the 1980's.
Abstract
Any US strategist preparing military plans must be aware of the impact that contemporary strategic concepts will have on his design. The interrelated concepts of national purpose, national interest, national objectives, national strategy, and military strategy establish the framework within which the strategist operates. The emergence of three distinct, although interrelated types of military strategy--national, coordinative, and operational--reflects the complexity of the emerging strategic environment. An appreciation of the fundamental elements of military planning and of the constraints acting upon the strategist is necessary to an understanding of how contemporary strategy is developed. Beginning with the strategic concepts developed in Chapter 1, the strategic regional trends of the midterm are analyzed for their impact on achieving the fundamental national interests of the United States. Then six strategic guidelines--Independence of Action, Flexibility, Preparedness, Integration, Dislocation, and Selectivity--are postulated and examined for their relevance to the development of contemporary military strategy. Chapter 2 concludes with a discussion of the current military strategy and, using the strategic guidelines developed earlier, proposes a military strategy for the 1980's. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA099114
Entities
People
- William O. Staudenmaier
Organizations
- United States Army War College