Targeting

[slapout9]

The Crony Attack Strategic Attacks Silver Bullet


http://www.au.af.mil/au/aul/aupress/...rt/Tolbert.pdf


Read this carefully before the flamethrower attacks..there is some really good stuff in here...if you read it with an open mind and realize all this could be done by the Army/Marines as well as the Air Force...except land forces have the option to capture an objective.... something Air Forces can not do.

[Tom Odom]

The enduring promise of airpower since its inception has been the ability
to capitalize on the third dimension. Flying over surface forces offers the
opportunity to penetrate into the heartland of enemy territory and attack
those key targets the enemy holds most dear. Unfortunately, the record of
strategic attack in practice has been mixed at best.1 There have been cases
where strategic attack made significant contributions to victory.2 However,
the mechanism by which the enemy was moved to grant concessions has
always been somewhat fuzzy. Put prescriptively, is it better to target facilities
that affect the capability of the enemy to continue fighting, or is it
more profitable to strike targets that, if lost, will cripple the enemy’s will to
continue?

see my book related book review

[slapout9]

Hi Tom, I did that is why I posted the report that I did. The lines you quote are almost identical from ones that appear throughout the Crony Strategy as to how best to affect the enemies will. It's a short read and worth the effort. I don't have 35.00 dollars for the book so can you elaborate on the part where you say his review of the 5 rings was very damning?

[Tom Odom]

hey Slap

The lines I quoted are from the crony study. Where and why I would say Kiras' description of the 5-Rings theory is damning is quite simple: it is very much an extension of the annihilation theory/strategy inherent in earlier and parallel strategies. In my own experience, reality offers no counter to someone whose determination to prove a theory is more important than US troops lives on the ground. As Kiras relates Horner fired Warner and sent him home.

Targeting, effects, D3A, etc as we use it here is holistic and used to drive operations through assessment and retargeting. Where the 5-rings goes astray is its application/promulgation as an absolute. That is what I ran into in Checkmate when Instant Thunder was put on the table as a war winning solution that ignored ground reality.

Best

Tom

[slapout9]

As Kiras relates Horner fired Warner and sent him home.
Best

Tom

Hi Tom, I thought you were quoting from the book and I was thinking to myself I just read that



Warden was asked by Swartzkopff (spelling) and Powell to brief Horner. Yes he was asked to leave (fired...don't think I would call it exactly that) because the then Major Deptula stayed behind and maintained continuous contact with Warden who was picking targets from back in Washington. Also less than half of the targets survived from the orginal plan and Warden I am sure was rather vocal about that. It was almost 1/2 instant thunder.

[Tom Odom]

Hi Tom, I thought you were quoting from the book and I was thinking to myself I just read that



Warden was asked by Swartzkopff (spelling) and Powell to brief Horner. Yes he was asked to leave (fired...don't think I would call it exactly that) because the then Major Deptula stayed behind and maintained continuous contact with Warden who was picking targets from back in Washington. Also less than half of the targets survived from the orginal plan and Warden I am sure was rather vocal about that. It was almost 1/2 instant thunder.

In saying he was fired (Warden) I was relating what Kiras said. Since Kiras interviewed Warden and said that Warden and Horner got into a shouting match that lead to Warden being sent from theater, I would say "fired" describes it.

best

Tom

[slapout9]

said that Warden and Horner got into a shouting match that lead to Warden being sent from theater, I would say "fired" describes it.

best

Tom

I have talked to Warden about that and the shouting match is probably a polite way to describe it compared to what actually happened. Also he did have a situation where he actually was fired from his command in Germany. Which most people say that is actually what kept him from becoming a general officer, not the incident during Desert Storm as is sometimes portrayed. Horner even did a nice review of his book after it was all over. Later