Comfortable with Chaos: Operational Design in the Naval Special Warfare Planning Process

Abstract

The Naval Special Warfare (NSW) mission planning process is an incomplete decision making paradigm that lacks the necessary conceptual components to provide solutions to interactively complex problems in an evolving "multi-nodal" world. The strategic environment is becoming more complex: the world power distribution is shifting as new coalitions form based on diplomatic, military, and economical self interest. Additionally, adversarial state and non-state actors will resort to irregular forms of warfare to challenge the primacy of U.S. Military power. These threats will attempt to gain legitimacy and influence over populations by exploiting the complicated interplay of cyber, energy, economics; technology and the globally connected domains. The interactive complexity of the strategic realm requires NSW leaders to attain a holistic understanding of the environment that their activities impact. Naval Special Warfare must incorporate operational design into its doctrine,processes and organization in order to ensure mission success, maximize effectiveness and maintain its overall relevancy in the strategic domain.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 08, 2011
Accession Number
ADA603349

Entities

People

  • Richard A. Zaszewsi

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Classification
  • Complex Systems
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Department Of Defense
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • Environment
  • Information Operations
  • Military Operations
  • Military Science
  • Personnel Management
  • Power Distribution
  • Students
  • Tactical Training
  • Training
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Maritime and Naval Warfare Studies
  • Strategic Security Studies

Technology Areas

  • Cyber