Command

Unity of Effort
Often the military is not the sole, or even the lead, agency in contingency
operations. Some operations are, by their nature, predominantly military. In most
situations, however, the military will likely be one agency of many. As is especially
common in stability operations, military forces often find themselves supporting the
other instruments of national power. While unity of command is critical within the
military forces, most of these operations demand unity of effort among a wide range of
agencies to ensure that they coordinate their resources and focus on the same goal.
Unity of effort becomes critical during interagency operations and can best be
achieved through consensus building. Whereas the main effort in military planning
is on developing courses of action, the main effort in interagency planning should be to
develop a shared, detailed understanding of the situation. This allows the various
agencies to better understand how they can best apply their respective capabilities and
measure success.
Restraint
Restraint is the disciplined application of military force appropriate to the
situation. Commanders should recognize that in some types of operations, use of
more force than the minimum that is reasonably necessary (even though under or at the
maximum permissible) may lead to escalation to a higher intensity conflict; could
adversely affect efforts to gain or maintain legitimacy; and may impede the attainment of
both short- and long-term goals. Air component commanders should begin developing
a force structure by outlining the necessary capabilities needed for an operation and
then follow up by deploying the appropriate “tailored” air, space, and cyberspace force
mix. In order to maintain effective security while also exercising restraint, commanders
should develop very clear rules on the use of force and ROE. ROE for contingency
operations often are more restrictive, detailed, and sensitive to political concerns than in
sustained combat operations. Moreover, these rules may change frequently during
operations. For all operations, Airmen should understand that restraint in the use of
force is appropriate and more easily justified. However, restraint does not preclude the
ability to use armed force, both lethal and nonlethal, when necessary in self-defense.
Perseverance
The principle of perseverance encompasses the patient, resolute, and
persistent pursuit of national goals and objectives, for as long as necessary to
achieve them. Some contingency operations involve a one-time occurrence or a shortterm
operation to maintain stability until local authorities can take over. Many missions,
however, especially peace operations and building partner capacity, require a long-term
commitment. The US should be prepared to stay involved in a region for a protracted
time in order to achieve its strategic goals. Complex problems often cannot be solved
quickly; if a situation has been building for a long time, it may take the same amount of
time or longer to resolve it. With this in mind, objectives should be established for the
conditions under which forces may leave, rather than simply by a timetable for
departure.
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