Science, Strategy and War The Strategic Theory of ... - Boekje Pienter

Towards a new conceptualization of strategy. Restating his first ideas, and based onpropositions, findings and insights, including those of the essay, Boyd states that for anysystem the basic goal is to diminish the adversary’s freedom of action, while improving ourfreedom-of-action so that we can cope with events while they unfold and he cannot 113 . Thisshould also be the aim of any military commander. The plan for achieving this shouldincorporate the following eight steps (in which Sun Tzu and Liddell Hart can easily berecognized):1. Probe and test the adversary to unmask strength, weaknesses, hismaneuvers and intentions.2. Employ a variety of measures that interweave menace, uncertainty and mistrust withtangles of ambiguity, deception and novelty as the basis to sever an adversary’s moralties and disorient or twist his mental images and thus mask, distort and magnify ourpresence and activities.3. Select initiatives and responses that are least expected.4. Planning should focus on a ‘Schwerpunkt’ with ‘Nebenpunkte’ and should havebranches and sequels, and thus secure flexibility.5. Threaten multiple and alternative objectives while,6. Move along paths of least resistance to reinforce and exploit success.7. Exploit, rather than disrupt or destroy those differences, frictions, obsessions, etc., ofadversary organism that interfere with his ability to cope with unfolding circumstances.8. Subvert, disorient, disrupt, overloading or seize vulnerable and critical connections,centers and activities that provide cohesion and permit a coherent OODA cycle in orderto dismember the organism and isolate remnants for absorption or mop-up.When it comes to action the thing is to:‘OODA’ more inconspicuously, more quickly and with more irregularity as basis to keep orgain initiative as well as shape or shift main effort; to repeatedly and unexpectedly penetratevulnerabilities and weaknesses exposed by that effort or other effort(s) that tie up, divert, ordrain-away adversary attention (and strength) elsewhere.The whole operation should be supported by a superior mobile communications structure.Only essential logistics should be used. The command concept should be highlydecentralized in a tactical sense to allow tactical commanders initiative. It should becentralized at the strategic level to establish aims, match ambitions with means, to sketchplans, allocate resources and shape the focus of overall effort 114 .Up to this point Boyd’s discussion concerned the elements of setting goals,planning, action, support and command. Although abstract in the way Boyd describes theseelements, they still refer to the tactical level. He is still far removed from a general theory ofwinning and losing in which tactics (actions) are linked to strategy and the societal level. So,from this pattern of successful operations, Boyd proceeds to develop a set of hierarchicallystructured related definitions – or rather novel conceptualizations - of tactics, grand tactics(operational level in current parlance), strategy and grand strategy. Once more Boyd sets outto get to the essence of success in yet another higher level of abstraction to arrive first at the‘theme for disintegration and collapse’ and then at the ‘theme for vitality and growth’.The first level to address is the grand tactical level. The pattern he sketched outbefore, suggests that the aim for any commander is to penetrate the adversary system and113 Ibid, p.128.114 Ibid, p.128.217