Measuring Operational Success: Establishing Criteria to Benchmark the Point of Culmination.
Abstract
This paper specifies a descriptive methodology for analyzing military missions. More specifically, it identifies the apparent disregard that US doctrine has for the establishment of criteria that measure operational success on the battlefield. This void, in-turn, impacts directly on the operational commander's capability to identify his point(s) of culmination. Numerous studies exist describing how to identify a culmination point so that one can know when to bring the battle to fruition. What is lacking, however, is the matching of criteria with objectives at every level of war to determine what the measurement is that ultimately defines victory. Therefore, there is no method to benchmark the culminating point prior to battle. This paper will first explore the Clausewitzian 'contradictory nature of war' and then (1) establish a methodology for defining measurable objectives at the operational level of war and (2) correspondingly define guidelines for establishing discernible criteria that will benchmark not only the success of the objectives but also the point of culmination.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 07, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA325136
Entities
People
- Dominic J. Caraccilo
Organizations
- Naval War College