Or, 2. Because we did not "understand he enemy" we exported what we thought were successes to AFG only to have them basically fail. I think to a certain extent things are still not too bad at the team level. At this point I thought it might be easier to influence SOF- and then perhaps CF would take some lessons from us. This example was taken straight out of the website "borderland beat" which treats totally the Mexican and Central American transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs)--AND if you think beheadings were a thing of AQI in Iraq---one will see the actual bodies in the web site and if one thought Hezbollah had a corner on social activities in Lebanon think twice when one looks at Mexico---if one thinks that the TCOs do not tangate the US check recent reports out of Tulsa OK. 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". Just how many deploying BCTs were trained on the strategy and thinking of AQ---they did in fact have a strategy something the Army did not have and still AQ today drives on strategy ---recently updated as released in September 2013---how many CF personnel have read and understood every word of that General Guidance? The exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission. Within this context, you then move to the more practical, scientific, logical, whatever you want to call it. Also see his book: Wrong Turn: America's Deadly Embrace of Counterinsurgency. The intelligence warfighting function tasks facilitate the commanders visualization and understanding of the threat and other relevant aspects of the operational environment. We must continue to plan, synchronize, and deliver sustainment warfighting function capabilities. One organizations human domain is not how the ACoS uses it. Mr. White might be horrified to see his term associated with the military, as he is decidedly anti-militarism. The CIMIC aspect of the WFF is a command led function in order to ensure coordination with the mission objectives, and that the military efforts of the force are coordinated as part of the comprehensive approach. Only now, at least in the west, the population holds the political power and they become the targets. Knowingly or not, we in the military are governed largely by a system of systems that theoretically ties the Presidents security strategy to everything the military does, from the way the Army organizes into brigades to the type of rifle infantrymen carry. Know and define one's friends and allies. D. the Aztecs had no calendar to determine the best time to grow flowers. When all came back in I was chastised for not running to the bunkers---my response was they were over 500 meters away and walking away from the initial impact point---a lot of dumb looks and a few questions as to what I meant by "walking" rounds and walking away from the impact point and how did I know it was 500 meters---this was 2005/2006 and I am betting it has not improved much since then. A warfighting function (WFF) is a group of tasks and systems united by a common purpose that commanders use to accomplish missions and training objectives. The Inca Empire shared a fate similar to that of the Aztec, but at the hands of a conquistador more sinister than Cortez. Art isnt something one does while coloring within the lines and SOF shouldnt be looking for a methodology to assist us with it. Were learning what their culture is so next time we come back in, they understand who we are, and we understand who they are. What could be more logical, I think, than looking at human emotion and motivations, as tricky as it is to understand such things, perhaps even impossible and too mysterious? [xx] Robert K. Merton, Social Theory and Social Structure, Free Press, 1968. So what essentially we have done is gone from: a. [xviii] Positivism is a philosophical approach that assumes an objective world in all aspects and that humans can discover that objective world through the scientific method. 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. It was designed to break the will of the population and force the Churchill to sue for peace. What is then the difference in the use of human terrain teams say from the term human domain recently used by the ACoS? 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. RantCorp---lack of observation skills by the Force is also another problem-especially from our side--there are a number of basic infantry skill sets that have largely disappeared that no one seems to recognize. I made a distinction for a few reasons: I am in the SOF community and am hoping to influence the SOF community as we begin an effort to more closely tie in with CF. Operational art for SOF should touch on the key components of the sublime and not on a methodology for approaching operational design. Perhaps in steps pertaining to Analysis & Comparison. That is, unconventional tactics (e.g. The human domain implies the social realm: a dominion of non-visible abstractions that, although mostly falling outside of the scientific are nonetheless real, if real means to have an effect on others. The function includes tasks associated with force projection related to gaining a positional advantage over an enemy. SOF) and careful selection of the particularly bright and competent who receive specialized training, but the capabilities being supported are hardly anything but conventional. [xxxiv] White, Curtis, 7. Risk can be taken in IT platforms, vehicles, C2 systems, and airframes. Combat Power= mission command+fires+intelligence+protection+sustainment+movement & maneuver+leadership. If any kind of mission was conducive to a technically rational approach, it would be surgical strike missions.[xxxvii]. ~ Lightning Press. BTW, I must apologize, the forest blocked my view of the trees I did not realize you were the author. The exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commander over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission. This philosophy, for instance, leaves us enamored with metrics and attempting to quantify the unquantifiable. In plain English, the 7th 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". Lastly, all of these capabilities would be used to develop an innovative approach to complex problems, those problems that are inherent when the military attempts social change. To ex-ecute any of the warfighting functions effectively requires determination, while the object in war is to impose our will on our enemy. 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]. After doing some research online, here is the best definition I could find. The job, during this lull, seems to be related more to "building friends and influencing people" and building "trust" and building the capacity of local military, police and intelligence forces. This process is ongoing and commanders use tasks in: to obtain this intelligence. LTG Cleveland calls for the establish[ment of] a Special Operations Campaign, Design and Theory Office at SWCS which will partner with the School of Advanced Military Studies and other advanced schools for military operational art as well as Develop ARSOF concepts, [and] validate through robust experimentation., [xxxi] Paparone, Christopher and Reed, George, The Reflective Military Practioner: How Military Professionals Think in Action, Military Review, MAR 2008, 66. That's my working theory and I see a lot of current books on this topic so maybe I'm not totally crazy. Dont have the answer, just believe we have been approaching the problem from a myopic viewpoint. I think as well that the difference between the 60s and now is the length of rotations---we had a year to gain experience---AND the replacement process was individual replacements not team replacements--this allowed a sizeable amount of institutional knowledge to remain inside the team all the time---now whole teams come and go thus the institutional knowledge disappears if not passed on extremely well during RIP/TOA. All of which must be done in a lawful manner. replace any of the time-tested warfighting functionsit will enable each of them. For their purposes what happens inside the wire or small town America matters not a jot. Inca architecture still dots the Andean mountains and highlands as the timeless endeavors of a lost people. I am of the opinion that the entire concept that the CF threw into the fight---the Human Terrain System actually caused more problems than helped---yes they focused on the actual population but did they give a BCT a single insight into the enemy's thinking and acting---not really. Command & Control 2. IF in fact we "lost" the IED fight then in fact we never did damage the "network". Effective maneuver requires close coordination with fires. What came after was different. When 9-11 happened and you moved quickly into Afghanistan, this mood, this background, this context, these connections, this forgotten yet still present military institutional emotional history, alive even if buried deep within, surfaced only at the time of the OBL raid. The IA WFF is composed of all actions, systems and capabilities that contribute to the narrative produced by the force. I must add that many would say that Special Operations is a separate Army Warfighting Function. For instance, the emotional patterns I am talking about matter as much to what you did in AfPak as the brutal logistics of the campaign, the solid logical engineering and the arty emotional parts, all pieces of the puzzle, one without the other meaningless. The IA WFF also includes tasks undertaken within other WFF that directly influence a target group as well as specific influence actions such as Public Affairs, PSYOPS, and deception. In typical UW fashion he pulls his entire team together and they go over in detail all the circuits and devices---found nothing and went out to attempt it again. Warfighting function America 's Deadly Embrace of Counterinsurgency is the best definition could. Force projection related to gaining a positional advantage over an enemy strike missions. xxxvii. Realize you were the author other relevant aspects of the operational environment the problem from a myopic.... At least in the use of human terrain teams say from the term human domain recently by. 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