Operational Reasoning: The Overlooked Aspect of Operational Art in Peace Operations

Abstract

With the American revolution as the precedent, one might surmise an equal affinity in the military for missions ranging from war to MOOTW. Yet MOOTW and peace operations are viewed as second rate missions. The system of joint doctrine, training and education focuses on war, particularly in the operational art area. But, the complexity of MOOTW is significantly different from war. Peace operations require conceptual knowledge of political, social, economic and other intangible factors that contribute to the operational environment. The new concept, "operational reasoning" incorporates empirical and conceptual knowledge with analysis and synthesis to lead to situational understanding. Situational understanding and operations area conceptualization are required for commanders to employ the correct forces, and make the right decisions at the right times. Incorporation of operational reasoning as part of a unique operational art for peace operations will alleviate the systemic planning and execution problems that have occurred over many previous MOOTW.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 18, 2001
Accession Number
ADA395086

Entities

People

  • Carolyn A. Stewart

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Civil Affairs
  • Combat Operations
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Deployment
  • Doctrine
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Military Operations
  • Military Science
  • Psychological Operations
  • Reasoning
  • Security
  • Situational Awareness
  • Training
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design