A Study of Intent

Abstract

One of the most critical elements of an operations order is commander's intent. Today the Army is emphasizing the detail associated with intent but, unfortunately, most of the discussion and instruction is taking place at the tactical level of war. Our future leaders are not receiving instruction on how to express intent at either the operational or strategic levels of war. In this paper I have done a comprehensive study of selected campaigns of Napoleon, Grant, and Ridgeway. The purpose of the study is to point out the differences in intent at all levels of war, regardless of the technology available. The essay concludes with some hints on how to relate ideas to subordinates properly, as well as some ideas on how to give better instruction on formulation and communication of intent in the Army's formal education system and in professional development programs.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 23, 1987
Accession Number
ADA183759

Entities

People

  • Leroy R. Goff Jr

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Battles
  • Casualties
  • Command And Control
  • Far East
  • Geography
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Education
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Training
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Instructional Design and Training Evaluation.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Theoretical Analysis.