Joint Operating Concept (JOC) - GlobalSecurity.org

with and support the other instruments of national power to attain national
strategic objectives. Therefore it is imperative that all IA and multinational
partners be included in IW campaign planning.
Campaign Design for IW. Campaign design provides the conceptual linkage
of ends, ways, and means. The complexities of IW, often rooted in ideological
and political struggles, demand a comprehensive campaign design. An IW
campaign must begin with a clear understanding of the political purpose and
strategic objectives. The campaign design must consider the protracted nature,
cultural aspects, and environmental and political causes of the conflict. This
means that prosecuting IW will require an unusual degree of clarity about
political objectives translated through every level of command. Because of the
essentially political nature of IW, the definition of victory may change with
political and ideological shifts in the environment. Continual assessment and
negotiation of expectations are essential to ensure success. Ideally, the joint
force role in IW will be limited to establishing the military conditions necessary
to enable and support the other instruments of national power so that they can
lead a unified effort to achieve strategic success.
The JFC must be able to understand the complex nature of the IW problem as
well as the purpose and role the military plays in the solution. Focusing efforts
on campaign design is an effort to understand the root causes of a problem and
to conceive a framework for addressing the problem. In essence, the
commander-led campaign design effort guides and informs planning,
preparation, execution, and assessment of the IW campaign. The JFC must
have the ability to:
• Design an IW campaign that synchronizes all available instruments of
national power as well as partner capabilities.
• Understand the dynamics of the operational environment, accounting for the
social, cultural, political, legal, economic, and physical conditions.
• Understand the strengths and vulnerabilities of both partners and
adversaries. While IW poses significant challenges for the joint force,
irregular partners and adversaries possess significant capabilities and
vulnerabilities as well. Understanding these dynamics is essential to
developing an effective IW campaign.
• Integrate awareness and effects of the local, regional, and global dynamics
into the campaign design, which will influence the structure of the IW
campaign.
• Conduct adaptive planning and wargaming to optimize the integration of US
and coalition instruments of national power.
Logical Lines of Operation. 23 Logical lines of operation can provide a useful
construct for designing a campaign involving IW. A comprehensive approach is
23 The term “logical lines of operation” is derived from U S Army Field Manual 3-0 and defined as
an arrangement of military forces or capabilities that links decisive points to achieve desired
effects that may bear no direct relationship to an adversary’s physical activities.
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