For all the efforts at "understanding the culture" of the environments we are working it failed and I mean totally failed because we did not "understand the culture of the enemy". Within Internalized Social Change, the social anthropological method of Participatory Observation is closest to the function of what SOF, and others acting within the Human Domain would be involved with: one would literally be involved in participatory action, observation, learning, and influencing- the emphasis being on participatory: meaning that one would be influenced just as much as the other being observed. Not to compare the two leaders, but you could say the same thing about Hitler's bombing of London. Decisions need to be made and executed quickly. Going on offense (engagement and enlargement) re: the "different" lesser and remaining states and societies. The first historically recognized terrorists, the Jewish Zealots, targeted the temple priests and wealthy elites, the people who held the power. [ii] It is the difference between operating within the physically visible world and the socially non-visible one. Where is that quote from? I am amazed at the ACoS's "what was missing in Iraq" comment ----what was missing was the Army's decision to rush head long into Iraq to accomplish what recently one member for the former NCA termed "we wanted to kick someone's butt", WITHOUT understanding exactly what was on going inside Iraq --this is the single major failure that is today not even understood by those that claim the surge worked and or those that think by recreating a new field of discussion ie human domain that is the future way forward. Similarly, what is Marine Corps doctrine? Maya descendants still inhabit the Yucatan, but the technology, religion, and practices of the ancient civilization must now be slowly exhumed and catalogued by archaeologists-a difficult task considering the Maya had no central ruling capital. -- as produced by the enemy -- seems to be a step ahead of our own? This human domain/participatory observation concept looks like it is to be accomplished in times of peace (today and the immediate future?) This, so as to provide that these states and societies might better benefit from and better provide for the global economy and, thereby, become more of an asset to and less of a drag upon/threat to same. In the past, it was the communists who denied various populations these benefits. You and I are not using logical in the same way, your use of the word seems to be more rigid than mine, probably because I make things up and don't worry too much about formal definitions. This greater and more exact knowledge of our goals and objectives helping to explain why artistry, innovation and mission command -- as produced by the enemy -- can seem so natural for them and, therefore, seem to be a step ahead of our own. I think you have made many valid points and more importantly direct personal observations based on your experiences. This was true for the SF of the 60/70s---the ability to "understand the mission, understand your enemy and understand yourself" before one is dropped in with no support from the outside world. I recently read a quote from COL Boyd of Boyd's OODA Loop fame: "The Pentagon has a strategy, and that strategy is maintain the flow of money" (or something to that effect). What are the movement and maneuver warfighting function tasks? It had only a marginal military impact but that was not his intent. Indeed, one could make the argument that in todays uber-professional and regimented American military, the only levels in which critical and creative thinking routinely happen are at the tactical level.[xxvi]. It was designed to break the will of the population and force the Churchill to sue for peace. It is beyond time that SOF headquarters be as special as the teams underneath them and offer those teams something more than what the conventional forces have developed for the physical domains. The goal, re: the human domain generally and participatory observation specifically, has less to do with "knowing one's enemy" and more to do with developing and maintaining relationships with indigenous personnel; this, so as to be able to (1) defeat the enemy (a resistant standing government or a resistant population group as the case may be) and (2) achieve our objectives without (3) the use of large numbers of U.S. trooops. With that being said, there has been a push to allow our warfighters greater freedoms with these tools because its being argued that we are losing the message and by allowing greater freedom with these tools we are allowing our warfighters to get the positive message out. The related tasks and systems that move and employ forces to achieve a position of relative advantage over the enemy and other threats. Obviously I would give the M1E multiplier a greater weight than most but I dare suggest that seeing, smelling, hearing and even touching, talking and drinking tea with personnel within the target perimeter will boost your chances each and every day. It is also a mistake to apply it equally in all situations. As an example, consider the MiTT's of Iraq and all the other special task-organized small teams tasked with directly advising and supporting Iraqi and Afghan security forces. Without that systemic logic- the system was doomed to strategic failure. As for warfighting potential, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) asserts a rather broad utility for offensive cyber operations. The CF and SOF officers both operate in "human domains" (can we retire this term, as it seems specious at best?) Hed joined up Coz the brothers from the Mosque promised to teach me Kung Fu.. Preserving the force includes protecting personnel (combatants and noncombatants) and physical assets of the United States, unified action partners, and host nations. The self, the psyche, must be involved somewhere. When someone asked him a difficult question, Walt _____ because he did not know the answer. The Sublime: The Paradox of the 7th Warfighting Function, (Or why SOF cannot eat our function and have it too). 2. Effective maneuver requires close coordination with fires. It only has to be a tiny increment for the difference between 10 days and 10,000 days for the odds to stack up very heavily in HNs favor. This fact is the real ball-breaker. Others, more inclined toward and adept at reflection-in-action, nevertheless feel profoundly uneasy because they cannot say what they know how to do, cannot justify its quality or rigor.. [xxxvi] This is because, if anything, surgical strike missions are very limited in time and scope and their objectives are clear and unambiguous. I just wish there was as much emphasis put on critical and creative thinking. 6. 7 . Instead it would encourage critical and creative thinking, demand a multi-framed approach at the most fundamental of levels, and require learning-in-action or reflective practice. He stumbled across a Facebook entry from a soldier somewhere in Iraq who was in front of his gun truck boosting about the Duke---then he Googled more about jamming and then reported back to the team. The opposition in AF are not fit, they are poorly trained and they have clapped out gear. We are convinced we can measure everything we do, to the extent that we talk about things like measures of effectiveness and measures of performance as if effectiveness is something one can always measure (the problem of sufficient causation and original causes). The commander and staff leverage the intelligence enterprise, coach and train the intelligence core competencies, implement the operations and intelligence processes, and direct the intelligence effort through the intelligence capabilities. Desert Storm was largely a result of our impressive logistical system. ~ Army U Press. Certainly an insight into the latter three can be gained from understanding the local culture. It is this fundamental characteristic that defines land force operations. The insurgents currently have the M1E which they use as effectively as they can to trip us up, now imagine the M1E further enabled with digitized surveillance and smart weapons. [xvi] See Donald A. Schon, The Reflective Practitioner: How professionals think in action. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Overthrow a resisting local government that is standing in the way of where the United States wants to go and how it wants to get there or. [vii] When combined with the other functions- movement and maneuver, fires, intelligence, protection, sustainment, mission command- and welded together through leadership, the Seventh is supposed to enable decisive effects and ultimately success on the battlefield. In plain English, the 7 th WfF is all of the tasks and systems that military units would need to do or have to influence people, taking into account the "socio-economic, cognitive, and physical aspects of human activity". Will any of these concepts help us to (1) separate the native from his native way of life and native way of governance and help us to (2) attach him and make him dependent upon our way of life and governance? It cannot, however, lead to certainty about future outcomes.. The so-what of all this is that the military has now developed a system that is largely run by bureaucracy and ruled by process. [xiii] Freeburg, Sydney, J., After 10 Years Of Abject Failure, Army, SOCOM, Marine Leaders Focus On Strategic Landpower, Breakingdefense.com, 10 AUG 2013. Protection efforts must consider and account for threats and hazards in all directions, at all times, and in all environments. In addition to having the most advanced medical and surgical techniques of the ancient Americas, the Inca constructed more than 12,00012,00012,000 miles of roadway and aqueducts to supply taxpaying and labor-contributing tribes throughout the empire. If our adversaries had that capability our TTPs in Afghanistan would have to rapidly and drastically change. we turn to our warfighting philosophy found in MCDP 1, Warfighting. Aztecs, Inca, and Maya who escaped the iron swords and gunpowder of the Europeans instead suffered the old world diseases that accompanied the explorers. If any kind of mission was conducive to a technically rational approach, it would be surgical strike missions.[xxxvii]. He is a Ph.D. candidate at North Carolina State Universitys Public Administration program with special interest in researching the organizational obstacles within SOCOM and DoD to effective Irregular Warfare. [xxxviii] USDA, Special Operations, ADP 3-05, 2012, 8. Movement is necessary to disperse and displace the force as a whole or in part when maneuvering. Manage Consent Preferences. Attempting social change of populations through military engagement throughout all of the activities leading up to and including war and its aftermath (human domain stuff) is arguably self-defeated by a bureaucracy. In terms of our personnel system, at the tactical level we make up for the lack of flexibility by being able to rely on young, uninstitutionalized NCOs and officers who, because of the way they are normally deployed, we fortunately find it very difficult to micromanage. The guerrillas M1E is the one piece of equipment that is just as sophisticated and capable as our own. IMHO in UW unless we champion the critically of the M1E and recognize the limitations of digitization in our planning process we dont have a prayer. And, I'd add that this was the conclusion of a large group of international officers who were intent on seeking explanation and meaning- and not seeking blame. b. Critical realism can be used to describe current or past situations. After all, there are many examples in our own history where military commanders considered the population [or human domain as we call it now?] In order to be effective when dealing with things like social influence,[xxxii] the requirements are literally something that SOF has been getting further away from being able to do since at least 1987, but especially since 2003. that are part and parcel to these such state and societal breakdown and rebuilding initiatives? Manoeuvre elements may then exploit the advantage gained through that terrain action to destroy the threat in close combat. The Mission Command function allows commanders to balance their command and control duties while integrating the other Warfighting Functions. Sustainment. And one can use art, I'd argue, to re-imagine one's mission- all the while not straying too far outside of one's constraints. The use of this scenario in order to drive critical thinking by ODAs who are planning an UW/SW deployment is a given---it offers a massive amount of free play on the planning side as well as not being able to tie it to COIN as one cannot actually get into a clear hold and expand concept. The Fires WFF is composed of the architecture, systems and capabilities required to deliver and coordinate Fires from land or joint elements across multiple domains. In your case in Iraq any place where there were loads of screens. Supporting the autodefensa doesn't look much like supporting the Maquis in their sabotage and intelligence campaign against Nazi Germany (the archetype of unconventional warfare). This may include information from groups that are not the focus of military intelligence, such as allied forces, government agencies, and non-governmental organisations. Many times good intentions morph into concepts that are meant to communicate vision, but instead drive questionable acquisition and funding strategies. WFF are the physical means that tactical commanders use to execute operations and accomplish missions assigned by a superior commander. commanders to balance their command and control duties, Four Tips to Help You Prepare for the Army Warrior Leader Course, U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM): 10 Cool Facts, and Army Trial Counselor in a Maneuver Enhancement Brigade: My Experience, Army 18F MOS: Special Forces Operations & Intelligence Sergeant, 7 Great Military Tactics And Strategies That Worked. [xxii] Doctrine applied to the world of tacit knowledge makes little sense and I would argue makes things more confusing. Those always struck me as SF-light. So where are the pilots? Strategically, that failure to understand the human factor is the root of the abject failure that the Army, Marines, and SOCOM are determined not to repeat.. It accomplishes this through the collective and coordinated use of kinetic and non-kinetic joint fires and effects in support of a manoeuvre plan, employing these means to delay, disrupt, or destroy enemy forces (adapted from RNZA Duties in Action). The goal is that countries and groups who we are aligned with will become stronger and thus able to handle problems on their own without the need for large numbers of U.S. troops, which arguably get in the way of long-term progress anyway. Command Deck . After doing some research online, here is the best definition I could find. If I am to do artestry, then I must at least know what is the subject matter. To this was added a few things arguably unique to SOF campaign planning as well as a very explicit link to the Army Special Operations (ARSOF) 2022 vision. You should have resurrected your SF VN R&R party trick and set Flashbangs everywhere rear echelon personnel were real assholes. The warfighting functions are the physical means that tactical commanders use to execute operations and accomplish missions assigned by superior tactical- and operational-level commanders. But- point taken- and agree. These arent mechanized divisions we are attempting to outflank or terrorists we are killing in the human domain, these are very contextual-dependent groups of people whose values we are attempting to appreciate and either influence or employ to some effect. Indeed, all indications point to SOCOM positioning itself as America's Rapid Reaction Force, a decidedly conventional role that will bring with it its own momentum to accommodate the scale that mission requires. 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