Decision Making in Contingency Operations: Different Conflicts, Different Challenges

Abstract

This monograph deals with decision making in contingency operations. It begins with the observation that contingency operations are the most frequent method by which the United States projects power worldwide. Studying three areas which appear to differentiate contingencies from conventional operations, the author examines if these differences impose unique decision making challenges on leaders. The author uses three cases studies as evidence for the research question--Operation BLUEBAT, the 1958 intervention into Lebanon; POWER PACK, the 1965 intervention into the Dominican Republic and URGENT FURY, the 1983 intervention into Grenada. Through the use of elementary decision analysis and game theory, the differences observed in contingency operations are modeled and explained. The author concludes that differences do exists, and these differences are worthy of study. Keywords: Military operations; Military strategy; Contingency operations; Joint doctrine; Joint and combined operations; Decision making. (KT)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 1989
Accession Number
ADA215766

Entities

People

  • Mark T. Kimmit

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artillery
  • Case Studies
  • Classification
  • Dominican Republic
  • Game Theory
  • Governments
  • Human Behavior
  • Intervention
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Motivation
  • New York
  • Security
  • Task Forces
  • United States
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Education

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.