War Termination Planning: The Joint Force Commanders Role
Abstract
The United States military has overwhelmingly succeeded on the battlefield during recent conflicts, only to be stymied during post-conflict Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction (SSTR) operations. As a result, the U.S. has repeatedly struggled to meet desired national strategic objectives. In sharp contrast, U.S. post-conflict operations were highly successful in Germany and Japan following World War II. This paper will analyze why there is a huge discrepancy between more recent war termination results and post-conflict nation building efforts. Specifically, the paper will define war termination, as distinguished from conflict termination and conflict resolution, and then highlight the Joint Force Commander's role in war termination planning using experiential conflict lessons and current policy guidance as a framework. After establishing the Joint Force Commander as the appropriate lead for war termination planning, an analysis of the experiential lessons will detail organizational and environmental obstacles to the Commander's successful war termination planning. The paper will conclude with recommendations for addressing these obstacles and improving overall war termination planning during operational design development to ensure our nation's strategic objectives are satisfactorily met.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 06, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA476519
Entities
People
- James R. Echols
Organizations
- Naval War College