Military Operations Paper

Joint Operations Paper
By
Wes Whittington
Applied Joint Warfare
16 Oct 2013

Air Command and Staff College
Distance Learning
Maxwell AFB, AL
ABSTRACT
George Santayana wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".1 He is also attributed to saying that “Only the dead have seen the end of war." I believe most of us have heard of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, but how many of us have heard of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM – PHILIPPINES (OEF-P)? Committing forces to achieve some end state of compel others to do our will should be taken seriously and with proper planning. This is where operational design comes into play. Operational design employs various elements to develop and refine the commander’s operational
To use military force or not. This is an important question a nation needs to seriously consider before using its military force. If the answer is yes it would be wise to consider the elements of operation design to develop and refine the commander’s operational approach. Operational design is used as a framework in the course of planning for a campaign or major operation. The purpose of this paper is to explore two elements of operational design by using Operation ENDURING FREEDOM – PHILIPPINES (OEF-P) as support. The two elements of operational design I will cover are centers of gravity and direct and indirect approach. While discussing these two elements of operational design it is also import to consider factors such as; region, culture, religion, policy changes, and political developments that shaped the planning and execution of the operation. By considering these factors OEF-P would be able to give credit for any and all successes against terrorists and insurgents to the Philippine armed forces and government so that stability could be long lasting. So, let’s get started with the first operational design element of center of
By considering this a the factors of region, culture, policy and political the first item that was noticed in the OEF-P planning was that the Philippine Constitution forbade direct, unilateral operations by other nations in the Philippines. Therefore, an indirect/Foreign Internal Defense approach was developed to accomplish objectives. One of the first actions taken was to conducted detailed local community assessments that looked at 67 areas, from the local economy and security (police and military) to health, infrastructure and education, and were used to prioritize efforts across four broad categories that continue to be conducted today. First, to advise and assist Philippine security forces to create a secure and stable environment. Second, targeted civil-military operations, in which the U.S. supported Philippine-led civic action and humanitarian assistance to improve quality of life for the population, demonstrate government concern for citizens, reduce support to terrorist and insurgent organizations and provide access for security forces in contested areas. Third, information collection and sharing that involved the collection,