The Operational Trilogy

Abstract

With the 1982 revision of the Army's basic manual on doctrine, Field Manual 100-5, a new term officially entered the Army's lexicon. The official recognition that there was such a thing as the "operational level" of war was long overdue, but the appearance of this "new" term in conjunction with the promulgation of a new doctrine-AirLand Battle-quite naturally led to a presumption that the two concepts were related. They are not. Airland Battle is a tactical doctrine, a doctrine essentially oriented on how to fight. The operational level of war is, by definition, above tactics. The operational level of war links tactical activities to strategic goals. It defines what is to be accomplished, now how to do it. To a large degree the 1982 revision of FM 100-5, with its new concepts, was a sign that the Army finally was coming to grips with the lessons of Vietnam. That these new lessons are simply restatements of the old is a fact that still has not been fully accepted.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1986
Accession Number
ADA521555

Entities

People

  • John F. Meehan Iii

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Availability
  • Classification
  • Contracts
  • Doctrine
  • Information Operations
  • Instructions
  • Monitoring
  • Recognition
  • Security
  • Standards
  • War Colleges

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