The Continuing Utility of Phasing Constructs in Operational Planning
Abstract
Some Military Commanders have recently asserted that the nature of warfare in the current operating environment has changed in such a way that phasing in military operations has outlasted its utility and become problematic, requiring it to be eliminated or replaced. This monograph attempts to evaluate whether phasing in U.S. Military doctrine and operational design still has utility in planning military operations. Phasing has been utilized to assist U.S. Military commanders and planners in visualizing plans and arranging forces to conduct military operations since the creation of operational design in the 1920s. Phasing has been applied in planning conventional as well as unconventional military operations. Recent criticisms of phasing have surfaced in the aftermath of Operation Iraqi Freedom's failure to rapidly stabilize Iraq in Phase IV of the operation. This paper begins by analyzing phasing in terms of its theoretical and historical underpinnings. Phasing is then reviewed from its first appearance in the 1920s to the present, and historical examples of its use are provided. One of those examples, Mao Tse Tung's use of phasing to visualize his strategy for conducting China's Protracted War against Japan, is analyzed to determine what influence it may have had on U.S. Military doctrine. Criticisms of phasing are presented, and proposed alternatives to it are scrutinized through Systems Theory, Complexity Theory, Logic, and Doctrine. Recent changes to phasing in U.S. Military doctrine are analyzed to understand the logic behind the changes. Specifically, emerging concepts such as Operational Net Assessment, Effects-Based Operations, and Net-Centric Warfare are analyzed through a "system of systems" approach to understand the influences they are having on U.S. Military doctrine and phasing. The author concludes that warfare has not changed enough to make it necessary to eliminate or replace phasing in military planning.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 25, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA450635
Entities
People
- Scott L. Taylor
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College