The Evolution of the Joint ATO Cycle
Abstract
This study presents a historical look at the evolution of planning and conducting air operations to meet operational and strategic objectives of the combatant commander. It investigates how airpower was utilized to meet Theater's Strategic campaign objectives since the birth of military aviation. The paper shows that the command and control process in current Joint Doctrine evolved over time to with particular attention paid to meeting the land component objectives using AirLand battle doctrine. The current Air Tasking Order (ATO) cycle is the result of continuous change throughout airpower's short history. The change process strived to meet the operational needs of the combatant commander and to achieve political goals of the U.S. Air Force. Ultimately, the time driven/current ATO cycle has become a relic of the Cold War and does not capitalize on the flexibility of airpower. This paper demonstrates that rather than devoting time and resources to restructure the planning process, doctrine has institutionalized new roles and missions, like Time Sensitive Targeting in order to circumvent the entrenched process of the Air Tasking Cycle. The paper concludes with a critical analysis of current Joint Doctrine from air apportionment to execution and offers some recommendations for significant improvement.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 14, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA451239
Entities
People
- Robert P . Winkler
Organizations
- National Defense University