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

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mask one’s own system against any such attempts by the opponent. One wants to create avariety of impressions of what is occurring and what is about to occur. One aims to generatemismatches between what seems to be and what is and to push the adversary beyond hisability to adapt. The intention formulated in the plan, requires the application of transientsthat make up the action part 115 . Boyd here wants to emphasize the element of uncertainty ofcombat and command, the relevance of mismatches and the value of creating a variety ofimpressions. These are enduring elements, indeed, vulnerabilities and weaknesses thatcommanders and subordinates alike must accept. To reinforce his point, Boyd returns toNapoleon who asserted that:“The art of land warfare is an art of genius, of inspiration…A general never knows anythingwith certainty, never sees his enemy clearly, never knows positively where he is. When armiesare face to face, the least accident in the ground, the smallest wood, may conceal part of theenemy army. The most experienced eye cannot be sure whether it sees the whole of theenemy’s army or only three-fourths. It is by the mind’s eye, by the integration of allreasoning, by a kind of inspiration, that the general sees, knows, and judges.”“The first quality for a commander in chief is a cool head which receives a just impression ofthings; he should not allow himself to be confused by either good or bad news; theimpressions which he receives successively or simultaneously in the course of a day shouldclassify themselves in his mind in such a way as to occupy the place which they merit;because reason and judgment are the result of the comparison of various impressions takeninto just consideration.” 116What are weaknesses and vulnerabilities can be exploited. If the element of judgment in theface of uncertainty is of such prime importance for a commander such as Napoleon, thisshould indeed feature prominently in the conceptualization of grand tactics. SubsequentlyBoyd formulates a “to do” definition of grand tactics which focuses in particular on the mindof the enemy commander, on the process of observation and orientation, while alsocontaining by now familiar elements:Operate inside adversary’s OODA-loops, or get inside his mind-time-space, to create atangle of threatening and/or non-threatening events/efforts as well as repeatedly generatemismatches between those events/efforts adversary observes, or anticipates, and those hemust react to, to survive;TherebyEnmesh adversary in an amorphous, menacing, and unpredictable world of uncertainty,doubt, mistrust, confusion, disorder, fear, panic, chaos,… and/or fold adversary back insidehimself;TherebyManeuver adversary beyond his moral-mental-physical capacity to adapt or endure so that hecan neither divine our intentions nor focus his efforts to cope with the unfolding strategicdesign or related decisive strokes as they penetrate, splinter, isolate or envelop, andoverwhelm him 117 .115 Ibid, p.129.116 Ibid, p.130.117 Ibid, p.131.218
Similar ideas are incorporated in Boyd’s advice for the strategic level. To some extent thestrategic level is similar to the grand tactical level in Boyd’s view. However, for Boyd thestrategic level has a higher level of aggregation and complexity, it features more enemyelements (quantity) and importantly a wider spectrum of options for compensation andadaptation. This offers also a wider theater (in both time and space) with more options formanipulating, confusing and invalidating the strategic calculations and maneuvers of theadversary. Although Boyd in a sense merely seems to restate his previous arguments, at thestrategic level Boyd sees the enemy not anymore as tactical units, but as an organic whole, asan adaptive system composed of a variety of subsystems.Another difference is that for Boyd, the cognitive element becomes more and moreimportant at the strategic level. Boyd offers the following list of methods to influence thepotential strategic behavior of the enemy 118 :Probe and test adversary to unmask strengths,weaknesses, maneuvers, and intentions.Employ a variety of measures that interweave menaceuncertainty-mistrustwith tangles of ambiguitydeception-noveltyas basis to sever adversary’s moralties and disorient…Select initiative (or response) thatis least expected.TransientsOODA more inconspicuously, morequickly, and with more irregularity…Or put another wayOperate inside adversary’s OODAloops or get inside his Mind-Time-Space.Permitsone toEstablish focus of main effort together with other effortand pursue directions that permit many happenings,offer many branches, and threaten alternativeobjectives.Move along paths of least resistance (to reinforce andexploit success).Exploit, rather than disrupt or destroy, thosedifferences, frictions, and obsessions of adversaryorganism that interfere with his ability to cope…Subvert, disorient, disrupt, overload, or seize adversary’svulnerable, yet critical, connections, centers, andactivities…in order to dismember organism and isolateremnants for mop-up or absorption.Generate uncertainty, confusion, disorder, panic,chaos, …to shatter cohesion, produce paralysisand bring about collapse.Become an extraordinary commander.The strategic level commander is concerned with the entire enemy system. And as he will bemore detached from the battlefield, a timely and correct information flow from the dynamicbattlefield to the commander, and the ability to correctly assess events, become dominantfactors of success. Although the cognitive side (here used as shorthand for morale, a senseof morality of one’s actions as well as the element of judgement) is important for thebehavior of each individual soldier, the impact of the moral aspect on the behavior of anycommander has a greater impact on the whole operation. The impact of the cognitive118 Ibid, p.132.219
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Science, Strategy and WarThe Strate
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We are survival machines.Richard Da
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CONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION............
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Introduction.......................
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1. INTRODUCTIONTo flourish and grow
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testing of the decision selected by
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momentum and tempo, which in combin
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tracing the history of war Boyd saw
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in general. Referring to Karl Poppe
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constitute an argument about strate
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2. ON STRATEGY AND STRATEGIC THEORY
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its internal make up and the dynami
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strategist’s task is not to creat
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must be holistic, paying due respec
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Such a division can also be discern
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sensibility that would be capable o
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Why strategic theorizing is difficu
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truth is independent of human belie
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policy, is policy’ 107 . Subseque
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of systems of thought which will gu
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Science and Strategic TheoryDominan
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the major intellectual currents tha
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friction, which is infused with the
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3. THE SEEDS OF A THEORY AND THE FE
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Slowly his writings matured. In 196
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This situation also reflected the d
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at the cost of airspeed depletion)
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and air power theorists are notably
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Lawrence wrote Liddell Hart that fo
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The Indirect ApproachThe foregoing
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in weakening the opponent’s will
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standing in a direct theoretical li
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perfect information, so Chapter 9 r
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According with the enemy is the ass
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preconceived battle plan depends up
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mental or moral, instead they aim t
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calculation, based on the assumptio
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Turbulent environmentThis convictio
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the introduction of the M1 Abrams t
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campaign with which it was most com
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The debates resulted via the improv
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emphasized being more responsive, a
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4. SCIENCE: BOYD’S FOUNTAINKnowle
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The list exceeds 20 pages. Indeed,
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counter-culture. He had read severa
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Popper’s Evolutionary Epistemolog
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species. Finally, theories, unlike
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discovery’ 39 . ‘We have here t
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for failure and an encouragement fo
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investigated and a change of the ru
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Paradigm shiftBeyond NewtonIn the p
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philosophical aspects, Prigogine an
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uncertainty in another “conjugate
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The link between thermodynamics and
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As Ludwig Bertalanffy noted, the gr
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assessing deviation from coursecoun
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the system by the environment or ot
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A slightly more complex model from
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implementation of the right program
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The model below shows this process
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The process of learning, and the pr
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Positive indicatorsNegative indicat
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In Patterns of Conflict he also emp
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progressed and developed a new lang
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advances in knowledge, adaptation,
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TraditionalReductionismLinear causa
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exist only because they are open. T
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Concentration of chemical ANew stab
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It preserves the web-like pattern o
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Orientation shapes the character of
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either. The edge of chaos is where
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The final region is the boundary be
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Levels of adaptationThis naturally
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Operate inside adversary’s OODA l
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Organisms which are internally cons
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The last mentioned feature implies
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mathematics, in short chaos and com
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Such efforts have lead to suggestio
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processes are maintained simultaneo
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Boyd’s views on command and contr
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Several of these ideas surface in B
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problems they seek to comprehend or
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ehavior in reaction to what the oth
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sciences, which he termed a new int
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egulations, orders, and other means
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as focus for military planning on t
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A Discourse and the scientific Zeit
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Page 180 and 181: perceive it’ 184 . By trying to c
Page 182 and 183: Ensure a large variety of conceptua
Page 184 and 185: The main intent of the effort is to
Page 186 and 187: e true. Thus tested and refined, it
Page 188 and 189: particulars or we can start with th
Page 190 and 191: inconsistencies may emerge to stifl
Page 192 and 193: although not exact1y -- since the u
Page 194 and 195: eality 29 . As indicated earlier, t
Page 196 and 197: He then incorporates a section of t
Page 198 and 199: Attack enemy’s plans as best poli
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Page 202 and 203: Boyd does not find fault with these
Page 204 and 205: oth methods the same processes seem
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Page 210 and 211: Blitzkrieg disrupts the connections
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Page 214 and 215: Only the fourth condition relates t
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Page 220 and 221: Maneuver Conflict - as practices by
Page 222 and 223: In light of his previous observatio
Page 224 and 225: difficult) subordinates that accept
Page 226 and 227: This then leads to the second wrap-
Page 230 and 231: dimension on the behavior of a stra
Page 232 and 233: Theme for Disintegration and Collap
Page 234 and 235: Strategic AimDiminish adversary’s
Page 236 and 237: ApplicationRevisiting Sun Tzu, rein
Page 238 and 239: The general underlying idea of Coun
Page 240 and 241: to victory by connecting them to th
Page 242 and 243: destruction and creation to his inv
Page 244 and 245: Boyd’s inspiration also came in p
Page 246 and 247: The Big O: Orientation.The ensuing
Page 248 and 249: implicit cross-referencing process
Page 250 and 251: Magnify adversary’s friction and
Page 252 and 253: This differs from traditional views
Page 254 and 255: patterns that produced success in m
Page 256 and 257: General SurveyIn this section his i
Page 258 and 259: city, however, the situation is qui
Page 260 and 261: “Destruction and Creation”, by
Page 262 and 263: So Boyd discerns within the adversa
Page 264 and 265: On isolation and interactionPhysica
Page 266 and 267: The Art of Success:Shape or influen
Page 268 and 269: The meaning of strategy and the art
Page 270 and 271: however is not much different, but
Page 272 and 273: Examples from EngineeringSome Outst
Page 274 and 275: words, in order to gain a richer im
Page 276 and 277: what applies to science and enginee
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technology, is connected to the gam
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The real OODA loop270
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This relates the OODA loop clearly
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for a process of learning, of evolv
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thing any system is constantly faci
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communication and explicit directio
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8. CONCLUSIONThe history of science
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found himself in. To Sun Tzu Boyd a
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strategy. He elaborates on several
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ehavior, demonstrating the value of
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film, sociology, geography, literar
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That social scientific knowledge, o
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undertakes to improve its own perfo
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The reflexive nature of modern soci
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the context within which the situat
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“road maps for action”, but rat
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all point at the changes the techno
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central sign of post-modernity. In
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a revolution in military affairs oc
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This will affect war and warfare:
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Athena’s Camp. They see swarming
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commanders to improve their decisio
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Military War Beyond Military War No
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schemas. Gell-Mann developed the id
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extent in the novel approach for th
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ANNEX B: BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PATTERNS O
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LeBoeuf, Michael, “GMP, The Great
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Wolf, Eric R., “Peasant Wars of t
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Bartolomasi, Paolo: ‘The Realitie
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Cohen, William S.: Report of the Qu
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Fukuyama, Francis: The Great Disrup
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Hughes, Daniel: ‘Abuses of German
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Lewin, Roger, and Birute Regine:
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Murdock, Paul, ‘Principles of War
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Rosenau, James, N.: ‘Many Damn Th
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Walt, Stephen M.: ‘Rigor or Rigor
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