Turning Battlefield Victories into Strategic Success
Abstract
An issue facing the future of the American military is the American way of war and its inability to effectively turn military victory into strategic success. Senior Military leaders must embrace this fact and develop strategies that effectively integrate other agencies and tools of national power into later phases of the battle plan that will ensure overall strategic success. The recent military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq are examples of astonishing battlefield victories that illustrate the prowess of American fighting forces. Yet, military operations are still ongoing, casualties continue to climb, and every day the media paints a dismal picture to remind us that we have not yet succeeded. A vivid illustration comes from U.S. Army Colonel Harry Summers' conversation with a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Colonel when Colonel Summers reminded the NVA Colonel that the NVA had never beaten the U.S. Forces on the battlefield and the NVA Colonel merely replied, "That may be so, but it is also irrelevant." Future success lies in a better understanding of war as an extension of policy and specifically the roles and inter-relationships of the people, the military, and the government, to include other departments and agencies outside the military.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 17, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA479067
Entities
People
- Joseph P. Granata
Organizations
- United States Army War College