The Operational Commander's Role in Planning and Executing a Successful Campaign
Abstract:
The rise of industrialization coupled with the growth of technology have contributed to creating a complexity to modern warfare that far exceeds the primitive conditions of earlier periods. Defined as the creative use of distributed operations for the purposes of strategy, success at the operational level requires that commanders practice operational art. Although current doctrine recognizes that the operational commander must link theater strategy to tactical operations through operational art, it fails to provide an adequate description of the commander role in campaign planning. Thus, this monograph examines the operational commanders role in planning and executing a successful campaign. The monograph begins by describing how industrialized societies and technology affected the evolution of warfare thus creating a new medium known as operational art.