Obstacles to Effective Joint Targeting

Abstract

No foe can beat the modern-day American military machine in combined arms warfare, yet this machine is subject to strategic targeting vulnerabilities that military and policy leaders would do well to appreciate. Indeed, to succeed in joint warfare, commanders and staff must understand both the critical need for effective joint targeting and its inherent limitations. Notwithstanding the most precise and capable weaponry ever, any targeting effort absent coherent strategy or executed outside the art and rules of war can spell campaign defeat even amidst tactical successes. In analyzing Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the war on terror, the varied methodologies employed across Services, components, headquarters, and intelligence centers demonstrate several challenging obstacles to achieving the aims of joint targeting: efficiency, effectiveness, and strategic success.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA480949

Entities

People

  • John Patch

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Intelligence

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Air Force
  • Artillery
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Department Of Defense
  • Doctrine
  • Interagency Coordination
  • Iraqi-War
  • Lessons Learned
  • Munitions
  • Satellite Guided Weapons
  • Standards
  • Targeting
  • Task Forces
  • Training
  • United States Central Command
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Strategic Security Studies