Sound Military Decision

by Naval War College

The Solution of a Military Problem. When the commander has thus obtained an understanding of the basis of his problem, the actual procedure of solution is undertaken through the consideration of the factors involved in their influence on the various plans for the attainment of the appropriate effect desired, as thus established. The best plan, selected and embodied in outline in the decision, can then be further developed, if necessary, into a general plan for the commander's force and, finally, into a detailed plan, as the solution of the problem. (See [page 22].)

The Major Components of a Military Problem. Each plan considered by the commander will involve ([page 21]) two major considerations: namely—an effect to be produced and the action required to produce it; or, in military terms, a correct military objective (or objectives) and effective operations for its attainment. The selection of correct military objectives and the determination of effective operations for their attainment are therefore the two major components of a military problem, because they are the principal considerations on which depends the soundness of military decision. To meet these requirements is a prime function of command, one which demands professional judgment of the highest order.

The major components of a military problem are of course intimately connected, because a purposeful action, accomplished, is equivalent to an objective, attained. Furthermore, the attainment of an objective involves the accomplishment of effective operations.

Because of the importance of the subject, the relationship between these two major components deserves very careful analysis. As has been observed ([page 30]), the action to be taken depends, in the first instance, on the effect to be produced. Therefore, the objective is, as compared to the action to attain it, the paramount matter. Moreover, there is necessarily included, in the procedure of selecting a correct objective, a consideration as to whether the action to that end will be feasible and as to whether the consequences involved will be acceptable on the basis of the costs which will be exacted. If, then, the objective has been correctly selected in any situation, this procedure will have included, as a necessary incidental, the determination also, in the proper detail, of the operations required for its attainment.

Of the two major components involved in the selection of the best plan, the primary relates, therefore, to correct objectives. Accordingly, this consideration is most aptly expressed in terms of the "selection" of objectives. The "determination" of necessary operations is a proper expression of the procedure therein involved, because this procedure, though also involving a major component of the problem is dependent on the primary consideration of objectives.

A valid guide for practical use during the process of solving military problems will therefore provide a basis, primarily, for the selection of correct objectives. However, the procedure for such selection, though requiring consideration of the action involved in attaining objectives, will seldom call for a complete analysis of such operations. Therefore, it is also desirable, for the solution of military problems, to provide a valid guide for the determination of effective operations, in detail. This guide may be used on occasions when, the correct objective having been selected, the only remaining problem is to work out the detailed operations involved.

The Fundamental Military Principle, developed in the preceding chapter, has been formulated to fulfill the requirements described in the preceding paragraph. Through the exhaustive analysis of the elements involved, there has been provided, in the form of a single fundamental principle, a valid guide for the selection of correct military objectives and for the due determination of effective operations for their attainment.

In the present chapter, the abstract application of the Principle is discussed in terms of fundamental considerations. Section II of the chapter deals with the selection of objectives; this subject, in more specific terms, is later expanded in Chapter VI. Section III of the present chapter deals with the determination of operations; this subject, in more specific terms, is expanded in Chapter VII. The present chapter affords a treatment applicable to military problems of any nature. Later expansion is applicable, more especially, to naval problems.

This arrangement of the subject matter has been adopted for two reasons. First, discussion of fundamental considerations, thus taken up at the present point, immediately follows the formulation of the principle (in Chapter III). Furthermore, a fundamental treatment, prior to Chapters VI and VII, permits maximum brevity in the discussion, therein. The commander, having mastered the fundamentals dealt with here, can later follow the detailed procedure with minimum distraction due to reference to the preceding discussion.

Essential Elements Involved. As previously stated, the problems of war differ from those of other human activities with respect, only ([page 35]), to the specialized character of the factors that enter.