Force Protection: Casualties, Consensus and an Operational Commander's Dilemma
Abstract
As American forces have become more involved in less traditional roles the American people appear much less tolerant of the casualties that are the costs of military intervention. As a result, operational commanders may find that it will be force protection failures, rather than battlefield defeats, that deny America her strategic objectives. America's enemies see large numbers of casualties as a critical vulnerability through which they can strike at America's center of gravity: the will of the American people, and achieve a strategic victory. However, their conclusion is only half-right. American support for military operations, and the willingness to tolerate casualties, are based upon a sensible--and Clausewitzian-- weighing of benefits and costs. As a result, in limited wars and MOOTW operations that do not involve US vital interests, force protection becomes paramount to preclude a tactical failure from turning into a defeat with strategic ramifications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 17, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA370658
Entities
People
- Randy R. Smith
Organizations
- Naval War College