War Termination Criteria and JOPES: A Dangerous Omission in U.S. Crisis Action Planning,

Abstract

Military analysts say that winning the peace after a modern war may be the most difficult of all tasks. Some joint doctrine (especially Joint Pub 3-0) recognizes that one key to winning the peace is to have the National Command Authorities (NCA) give a well thought out end-state with definite termination criteria to the military commanders and planners as early as possible in a crisis. Yet this important dialog is overlooked in crisis action planning doctrine. U.S. military planners use the guidance and checklists in Joint Pub 5-03.1, Joint Planning and Execution System, Volume 1 (Planning Policies and Procedures), - JOPES - to respond to a crisis, yet nowhere in JOPES are planners reminded to foster this exchange of critical information between the NCA, the Joint Staff, and the theater commander. The authors point out where the gaps in doctrine are and recommend refinements to all six phases of the current crisis action planning procedures. They conclude that JOPES must be modified now or else the United States will unnecessarily continue to enter every crisis with a built in handicap.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 25, 1994
Accession Number
ADA323641

Entities

People

  • John S. Haven
  • Kevin A. Shwedo
  • Robert R. Soucy

Organizations

  • Joint Forces Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Power
  • Combat Operations
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Data Processing
  • Data Processing Equipment
  • Department Of Defense
  • Governments
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Commanders
  • Military Operations
  • Military Strategy
  • National Security
  • Processing Equipment
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Educational Psychology
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.