Applying Operational Art in the Space Domain
Abstract
Terms such as 'operational art' and 'operational level' are prevalent in US military space doctrine. However, no research exists that analyzes the applicability of operational art in the space domain. The use of operational terms in US military space doctrine is an ancestor of the operational theory the US Army developed for Cold War land warfare in Central Europe. Since its original codification, the lexicon migrated through US Army, US Air Force, and US Joint doctrine manuals and schools until it reached space doctrine. This monograph traces the historic evolution of operational theory prior to its implementation in Cold War US Army field manuals in order to distill essential attributes of operational art. The paper compares these attributes with the current context of US military space operations to determine if any of the attributes of operational art are applicable in the space domain. This monograph has six major sections. The introduction sets the foundational question of this monograph, "Is operational art applicable in the space domain?" and describes the knowledge gap between the historic development of operational theory and its application in the space domain. The first main section evaluates three historic periods for context and operational responses. This evaluation shows that nine historic attributes of operational art evolved between its emergence in the Napoleonic period and its full maturity in the post-World War I Soviet Union. The second section describes the context of Cold War Central Europe and demonstrates why Soviet operational theory was useful to the US Army in developing new operational concepts. The codification of an operational lexicon in US Army field manuals, primed the concept for transfer into other US doctrinal manuals. This migration is the subject of the third section, which shows how a Cold War land concept eventually c
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA536557
Entities
People
- Z. W. Jackim
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College