A Tale of Two Design Efforts (and why they both failed in Afghanistan)

Abstract

This narrative gives as honest a description of what some staffers thought about and concluded during several Design efforts. Some of it can be used to attack the strategy or the operations of the commands, and some of that might be warranted. But the real value, in my opinion, would be to take this as some feedback on a few Design efforts that were attempted in theater. The first lesson, and the most important one, in my opinion, is that the leader has to be involved--and involved in a personal way. It has to be his Design effort. He has to lead it and give it support and direction. Only the commander can clue his staff in to the missing pieces of the politics, the priorities and the hidden logic behind the command's actions and efforts. Only the commander can make conclusions turn into action.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 07, 2011
Accession Number
ADA545381

Entities

People

  • Grant Martin
  • John F. Kennedy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan
  • Air Force
  • Department Of State
  • Doctrine
  • Education
  • Governments
  • Judiciary
  • Military Families
  • Military Operations
  • Military Science
  • Motivation
  • Personnel Management
  • Psychology
  • Students
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Systems Analysis and Design