JOINT WARFIGHTING:

“HOW WE FIGHT”
SYLLABUS
AY22
JOINT PROFESSIONAL MILITARY EDUCATION
PHASE I INTERMEDIATE LEVEL COURSE

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

AIR COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE
21st Century Leaders for 21st Century Challenges

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 AIR COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE
MAXWELL AFB, AL

FOREWORD

This syllabus for the Joint Warfighting course at the Air Command and Staff College, March-
May 2022, provides both an overview of the course, course objectives and questions, and a
detailed description of each lesson to assist students in their reading and preparation for each
course day. Also included herein is information about course methods of evaluation, schedule,
and the fulfilment of joint professional military education core goals.

SIGNED

Christopher Weimar, PhD

Course Director
Joint Warfighting

APPROVED

Christian G. Watt, PhD, Col, USAF

Dean of Education
Air Command and Staff College

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE
Foreword 1
Table of Contents 2
Course Description and Objectives 3
Course Questions, Organization, and Narrative 4
Course Requirements and Methods of Evaluation 5
Course Administration 6
Course Snapshot 8
Course Outline 9
Course Map 10
ACSC Program Learning Outcomes/Special Areas of Emphasis/Joint Learning Outcomes 11
Course Faculty 96
Course Schedule:
PHASE 1 Pg. PHASE 2 Pg. PHASE 3 Pg.
JW-500 16 JW-516 48 JW-535 88
JW-501 17 JW-517 50 JW-536 93
JW-502 19 JW-518 52 JW-537 94
JW-503 21 JW-519 55 JW-538 95
JW-504 24 JW-520 57 JW-539 96
JW-505 27 JW-521 59 JW-540 97
JW-506 29 JW-522 60 JW-541 97
JW-507 31 JW-523 63 JW-542 98
JW-508 33 JW-524 65 JW-543 99
JW-509 35 JW-525 67
JW-510 37 JW-526 70
JW-511 39 JW-527 72
JW-512 41 JW-528 74
JW-513 43 JW-529 77
JW-514 46 JW-530 79
JW-515 46 JW-531 82
JW-532 82
JW-533 84
JW-534 86

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 JOINT WARFIGHTING
COURSE OVERVIEW

COURSE DESCRIPTION
The Joint Warfighting (JW) course is designed to demonstrate, at the operational level, how the
U.S. joint force organizes, deploys, employs, and sustains military capabilities in support of
national interests across the competition continuum in a realm of great power competition
(GPC). The primary purpose of the JW course is to comprehend and analyze how we, the Joint
Force, go to war and prevail.

The course will equip military and interagency professionals with skills to articulate and
influence the application of the military instrument of power to provide commanders with
options for using military force to support national interests. Understanding operational art and
design is essential for the military professional, no matter their specialty. Understanding
operational context and strategic goals are necessary to plan and execute military operations
properly in the modern operational environment (OE). Understanding how the U.S. military
operates as part of a joint force in a multinational, interagency, and intergovernmental
environment is also imperative.

The Joint Warfighting course grounds students in joint force organization and capabilities and
the Joint Planning Process (JPP) planning processes. National military strategy is developed and
translated into joint and multinational operations plans across the competition continuum. In this
course, students will examine several historical operations that provide the context for greater
understanding and further application of modern doctrinal concepts. The course also examines
and evaluates national security guidance and strategy in relation to operational-level plans.
Fundamental to operational planning is a comprehension of the capabilities and limitations of the
military services across domains and the examination of ways a joint force commander (JFC) can
integrate service and functional command support to achieve success at the operational level of
war. To tie the numerous course concepts together, students will learn and use the Joint Planning
Process (JPP) and practice the fundamentals of joint and combined operation planning to include
whole of government approaches. Students will apply these fundamentals in planning exercises
to develop effective military solutions to real-world operation planning problems.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
Through the study and analysis of historical operations, the operational environment, strategic
guidance, and joint and service doctrine, the JW course enables students to:

1. Comprehend operational art, operational design, and the joint planning process and how they
enable the employment of the military instrument of power and military decision making in
pursuit of national interests.
2. Comprehend U.S. joint force capabilities, limitations, and doctrine through the framework of
joint all-domain operations, and how forces are organized, deployed, employed, and
sustained in the realm of great power competition with actions across the competition
continuum.
3. Apply course concepts and the Joint Planning Process to develop solutions to operational
problems in a volatile, uncertain, complex, or ambiguous environment, using critical

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 thinking, operational art, and current joint doctrine. (Builds upon previous two course
objectives.)

COURSE QUESTIONS
The JW course captures multiple themes related to operational art and design, all-domain
operations, and military planning at the operational level of war. One constant for the course is to
examine “how we fight.” This succinctly captures how, at the operational level, plans are derived
for the application of the ‘M’ of the ‘DIME’ in pursuit of national interests. The course
approaches this larger issue through the following themes:

1. Understanding strategic direction and guidance: What are the objectives and desired end
state? (Ends)
2. Understanding the art of military operations: What sequence of actions is most likely to
achieve those objectives and end state? (Ways)
3. Understanding military science: What resources are required to accomplish that sequence of
actions? (Means)
4. What is the chance of mission failure or other unacceptable results in performing that
sequence of actions? (Risk/Issues)

COURSE ORGANIZATION AND NARRATIVE

Joint Warfighting is structured in three phases:

Phase 1: Problem Framing: Understanding the Problem, Strategic Direction, and the Operational
Environment. Phase 1 includes evaluating national security guidance and strategy in relation to
current security issues and threats in an environment of great power competition and irregular
warfare, analysis of the potential operational environment, and identification of specific
problems to be solved. This phase familiarizes students with the methods through which planners
analyze and incorporate strategic guidance in the development of the operational approach
(operational design methodology) and mission analysis. This phase focuses on the
desired ends and how the military instrument of power can be applied to pursue national
interests. Upon completing this phase, students will be familiar with doctrinal concepts and
aspects of operational design, and steps one and two of the Joint Planning Process (JPP) –
Initiation and Mission Analysis – which assist the planner in identifying and framing the problem
to be solved.

Phase 2: Problem Solving: Developing Solutions through the Application of Military

Capabilities. Phase 2 focuses on applying ways and means in utilizing the military instrument of
power toward solving national security problems. This phase acquaints students with operational
art as applied across the five warfighting domains and the competition continuum. It enables the
development of potential solutions (courses of action) - with the military instrument of power as
the centerpiece. The phase also explores the necessity to deploy and sustain forces, as the U.S. is
a power projection nation that can influence the planning of joint military operations. The
emphasis of Phase 2 is on the operational warfighting domains within and through which
military capabilities are arranged and applied; and how valid courses of action are derived,

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analyzed, and compared to provide the maximum chance of success within the parameters of
acceptable risk.

Phase 3: Practical Application – PACIFIC ENDEAVOR (Joint Planning Exercise). Phase 3

provides the opportunity to apply all the JW course concepts and incorporate concepts from
across the ACSC curriculum. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR is based on a complex, nuclear-capable
adversarial scenario in an environment of great power competition. Students will apply
operational art, operational design, and the JPP as a joint planning group (JPG) and develop
courses of action per national strategic guidance and the commander’s intent for a major combat
operation (MCO).

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND METHODS OF EVALUATION

1. READINGS. Before lectures and seminars, students are expected to complete all assigned
readings for the day. Students are encouraged to read the explanation given in the syllabus
before reading the assigned books and articles. The readings inform seminar discussion and
activities. Students should come with pertinent observations and questions from the reading
that lead to informed discussion and active contribution.

2. LECTURES. Students will attend or view* lectures relating to assigned readings and
seminars. These presentations compliment readings and seminar discussion while enhancing
knowledge of the course concepts. Lectures provide historical and theoretical background,
prepare students for in-class activities and the application of course concepts to stimulate and
enhance seminar learning. In accordance with ACSC OI 36-2602, lectures are not for
attribution.

3. SEMINAR CONTRIBUTION. Due to the “applied art and science” nature of the Joint
Warfighting course, student contribution in seminar discussions is vital to the success of the
course. Students must prepare for each seminar by completing all the assigned readings. Each
member of the seminar is expected to contribute meaningfully to the discussion regularly.

4. WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS. There is one graded written assignment in fulfillment of the

requirements of the Joint Warfighting course in the form of a take-home position paper
which is completed as a group project. IAW the Tongue and Quill guidelines for position
papers, the paper will be 5 pages single-spaced, 1-inch margin, Times New Roman 12-point
type and use a paragraph format. The position paper must include as the first citation an
acknowledgement of colleagues who made an intellectual contribution to the work.

5. ORAL BRIEFING ASSIGNMENTS. There are three oral briefings during the course: An
Operational Art presentation (JW-516); each student will be assigned to a group and follow
directions in the 600E assignment. Two briefings during the final JW planning exercise
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR (Mission Analysis and COA Decision Briefs); specific information
regarding PACIFIC ENDEAVOR assignment will be provided by the start of the exercise.
All students will participate in oral briefings.

*
Lecture format will be based on the current HPCON conditions.

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6. PEER REVIEWS. Based on the collaborative nature of the course, there are two peer
reviews that will be completed during the course. The first, covering Phase 1 and Phase 2
will be turned in to the seminar instructor on 3 May. The second review will focus on
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR (Phase 3) and will be turned in on the last day of the course, 18 May.
Peer reviews do not constitute student-assigned participation grades but provide insight into
the collaboration efforts in the seminar. The reviews also provide a leadership opportunity as
part of the culmination of the ACSC experience. Detailed instructions will be provided by the
instructor.

7. METHODS OF EVALUATION. The evaluations for the course consist of an in-class

presentation (JW-600E during JW-516), one written position paper (JW-601E), Phase I and
Phase II individual class contribution (JW-602E), and (PACIFIC ENDEAVOR JW-603E)
which consists of two group briefings and the individual’s contribution during the entire
exercise. All JW concepts and the application of the JPP will be assessed during the two
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR briefings.

Assignment Type Grading Weight (%) Due Date

In-class group presentations (JW-600E) Individual 15% 11 April
Written Group Position Paper (JW-601E) Group 20% 25 April
Daily Class Contribution (JW-602E) Individual 20% 14 March - 3 May
**PACIFIC ENDEAVOR (JW-603E) Individual 45% 12 & 18 May
Group Briefings
* JW course calendar includes the evaluation due dates. The dates listed above are the due date
for each assignment.
** PACIFIC ENDEAVOR evaluated briefings include a Mission Analysis brief and a Course of
Action (COA) Decision brief. The briefs constitute a single graded event. The flight will work
as a group during PACIFIC ENDEAVOR, but PACIFIC ENDEAVOR grade will be an
individual grade that considers the individual’s contribution during the exercise and performance
in the briefings.

COURSE ADMINISTRATION
The majority of assigned JW readings are provided in Canvas. Readings that are not in Canvas
will be from issued books. Assigned selections from current Joint Doctrinal Publications (JPs)
are available in Canvas. For complete versions of Joint Publications (JP) and other doctrinal
resources, it is recommended that students access and download the full versions of applicable
doctrinal publications from the Joint Doctrine website: http://www.jcs.mil/Doctrine/Joint-
Doctine-Pubs/. The site is the homepage of the library, while JEL+ (CAC required) provides
access to unclassified but restricted publications (https://jdeis.js.mil/jdeis/generic.jsp). It is
recommended that students download JP 1, JP 3-0, JP 5-0, and the DOD Dictionary of Military
and Associated Terms
(http://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/pubs/dictionary.pdf?ve=2018-07-25-
091749-087) from this website and have them readily available for personal and in-class
reference.

ACSC provides students with copies of the following books:

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 ➢ Joint Publication 5-0. Joint Planning. 01 December 2020.
➢ Department of Joint Warfighting. Joint Warfighting Capabilities Primer. 2022.
➢ Department of Joint Warfighting. ACSC Staff Planners Guide. August 2021.
➢ *Rick Atkinson. An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943. New York:
Henry Holt and Company, 2002.
➢ *Bob Woodward. Plan of Attack. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2004.
➢ *Robert C. Owen. Air Mobility: A Brief History of the American Experience.
Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, 2013.
➢ *P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking. LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media.
New York: Mariner Books, 2019.

Those with an * must be returned at the conclusion of the course.

Please direct any questions to your seminar instructor or one of the course team members.
Course Director – Dr. Chris Weimar, [email protected], Office 144
Deputy Course Director - Lt. Col Will Phillips, [email protected], Office 150

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 Joint Warfighting Phase 1
Problem Framing: Understanding the Problem, Strategic Direction, and the Operational Environment

Familiarize students with the methods through which planners analyze and incorporate strategic guidance in the development of the
operational approach (operational design methodology) and mission analysis. Focus is on desired ends, and how the military
instrument of power can be applied in pursuit of national interests.

Major Concepts: Cases: Structure:

Joint Planning Process (JPP) TORCH 14 course days
Operational Art OIF 3 lectures
Elements of Design OEF 2 movies
Complexity/Operational Design Methodology Nigeria (scenario) 8 seminars
Strategic guidance documents/National planning systems 4 seminar/workshops
JIPOE/PMESII/COG analysis
Competition Continuum
Joint Functions Practical Application:
Command Authorities/Relationships/Interorganizational Cooperation 2 day (6 hour) Operational Design Workshop
Global Integrated Operations and the Competition Continuum 2 day (6 hour) Mission Analysis Workshop
Great Power Competition
Military Operations in the Homeland
Multinational influences on the above

Joint Warfighting Phase 2

Problem Solving: Developing Solutions through the Application of Military Capabilities
Focus is on the ways and means that can be applied in utilizing the military instrument of power across the warfighting domains and
the competition continuum. Phase 2 emphasizes the domains within and through which military capabilities are arranged and applied;
and how valid courses of action are derived, analyzed, and compared to provide the maximum chance of success within the parameters
of acceptable risk.

Major Concepts: Cases: Structure:

Operational Art Evaluations: Nigeria (scenario) 13 course days
COA Development Research/Presentation Arctic (scenario) 7 lectures
All-Domain Operations Group position paper JTF-Philippines 1 movie
Command and Control Contribution MINCEMEAT 8 seminars
Integrated Joint Force ODS / OIF /OEF 4 seminar/workshops
Joint Force Capabilities/Services Ukraine
Military Operations in the Homeland ISIS
Deployment/Sustainment/Operational Contract Support
Global Integrated Operations and the Competition Continuum
Practical Application:
Information, Cyber, and Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations
2 day (6 hour) COA Development Workshop
Great Power Competition
1 day (3 hour) COA Analysis & Wargaming
Wargaming/Red cell
Workshop
1 day (3 hour) COA Comparison Workshop

Joint Warfighting Phase 3

Practical Application: PACIFIC ENDEAVOR
Major Concepts: Evaluations: Structure:
Joint Planning Mission Analysis Brief 10 course days
Applying concepts across the ACSC curriculum Course of Action Brief 1 lecture
Global Integrated Operations and Great Power Competition Contribution 8 seminars
Great Power Competition
Case: Practical Application:
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR (China/S.China 7 day (6 hour) student planning
Sea/Taiwan Scenario with globally 1 day (2.5 hour) Final briefing and debrief
integrated operations)

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 Joint Warfighting Course Outline

Day Lesson Lesson Title

0 500 (L) 30m. Introduction to the Joint Warfighting Course + 30m instructor intro
1 501 (L) 1hr. Joint Planning: How We Fight
1 502 (S) 2hr. Joint Military Operations and the Joint Planning Process
2 503 (S) 3hr. Introduction to Operational Design: Complexity in Operational Planning
(S) 3hr. Strategic Guidance, Understanding the Operational Environment, and Defining the
3 504
Problem
4 505 (S) 3hr. Center of Gravity Analysis
5 506 (S) 2hr. Developing the Operational Approach
5 507 (L) 1hr. Nigeria Background and Commander's Initial Planning Guidance Briefs
6 DS JW Directed Study
7 508 (S) 3hr. Operational Design Workshop Day 1
8 509 (S) 3hr. Operational Design Workshop Day 2
9 510 (L) 1hr. The Reserve Component (RC) in the Homeland
9 511 (S) 2hr. The RC in Joint Operations and Planning for Domestic Operations
10 512 (S) 3hr. Introduction to Mission Analysis
11 513 (S) 3hr. Mission Analysis Case Study: Tora Bora
12 DS JW Directed Study
13 514 (S) 3hr. Mission Analysis Workshop Day 1
14 515 (S) 3hr. Mission Analysis Workshop Day 2
15 516 (S) 3hr. The Operational Art and JW-600E Assignment (Student Presentations)
16 517 (L) .5 hr. Russians in the U.S. Arctic Scenario In-Brief
(S) 2.5hr. Joint Space, Cyber, Electromagnetic Spectrum Domains with Russians in the Arctic
16 518
Vignette
17 519 (S) 2hr. Information Operations: "The Man Who Never Was" Movie
17 520 (S) 1hr. Joint Information Operations with Russians in the Arctic Vignette
18 521 (L) 1hr. Sustainment Concepts for Global Power Projection
18 522 (S) 2hr. Deploying and Sustaining the Joint Force with Russians in the Arctic Vignette
19 523 (L) 1.5 hr. Joint Operations in the Maritime Domain
19 524 (S) 1.5hr. Joint Operations in the Maritime Domain with Russians in the Arctic Vignette
20 525 (S) 2hr. Joint Operations in the Air Domain with Russians in the Arctic Vignette
20 526 (L) 1hr. Joint Special Operations
21 527 (L) 1hr. Joint Operations in the Land Domain
21 528 (S) 2hr. Joint Operations in the Land Domain with Russians in the Arctic Vignette
22 529 (L) 1.5hr. JTF Perspective on Problem Solving
22 530 (S) 1.5hr. Operational Art and Problem Solving: COA Development
23 DS JW Directed Study (JW Paper/JW-601E due, NLT 1600)
24 531 (S) 3hr. COA Development Workshop Day 1
25 532 (S) 3hr. COA Development Workshop Day 2
26 533 (S) 3hr. COA Analysis and Wargaming Workshop
27 534 (S) 3hr. COA Comparison and Approval Workshop
27 535 (L) .5hr. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Road to War w/ an Aggressive China
28 DS JW Directed Study
29 536 (S) 6hr. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day One: Planning Initiation and Develop Op Approach
30 537 (S) 6hr. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day Two: Develop Op Approach and Begin Mission Analysis
31 538 (S) 6hr. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day Three: Synthesis of Op Approach and Mission Analysis
(S) 6hr. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day Four: Mission Analysis Brief and Defense; Begin COA
32 539
Development
33 540 (S) 6hr. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day Five: COA Development Day 2
34 541 (S) 6hr. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day Six: COA Development Day 3
35 542 (S) 6hr. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day Seven: COA Wargame and Comparison
36 543 (S) 2hr. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day Eight: COA Decision Brief and Defense

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11/16/2021
 ACSC PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES (JPME-I)
The Joint Warfighting course addresses Intermediate-Level Objectives for Joint Professional Military
Education (JPME-I), established by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff via the Officer
Professional Military Education Policy (OPMEP), CJCSI 1800.01F, 15 May 2020. The ACSC
Curriculum for AY 22 supports the following ACSC Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs), by
producing graduates able to:

1. Demonstrate agile and creative thinking, critical analysis, and persuasive communication.
Students demonstrate this learning outcome throughout the course in most seminar activities.
Specifically, in workshop and exercise lessons - JW-508/JW-509 (Operation Design (OD)
Workshop), JW-514/JW-515 (Mission Analysis (MA) Workshop), JW-516 (Operational Art and
JW-600E Presentations), JW-517 to 530 (domain lessons integrated with an Arctic vignette
exercises), JW-531 to 534 (Course of Action (COA) Development, Analysis, Wargaming,
Comparison, Approval Workshops), and JW-536 to JW-543 (PACIFIC ENDEAVOR).

2. Analyze and assess the effects of Strategic Competition and adapt and innovate to rapid
changes in 21st century warfare. The course analyzes the effects of strategic/great power
competition with a general discussion in JW-502 on the nature of Joint Planning in an
environment defined by a continuum of competition. In Nigeria workshops JW-508/509, JW-
514/515, JW-531 to JW-534. In JW-517/518, JW-520, JW-524/525, JW-528 students will analyze
joint capabilities and their application using Arctic vignettes with hostile Russian activities. In
JW-535 through JW-543 PACIFIC ENDEAVOR, students assess the effects of great power
competition with China in an academic scenario and build plans to adapt and innovate to rapid
changes using joint capabilities and the DIME. In the Nigeria, Arctic and PACIFIC ENDEAVOR
lessons, students understand, analyze, and make decisions on using capabilities across domains to
defend, adapt, innovate, and create desired effects to rapid changes and problems associated with
21st century warfare.

3. Understand and evaluate the capabilities and limitations of military force and how they are
best integrated with the instruments of national power, allies, and partners. The course
accomplishes this learning objective by discussing, analyzing, and making decisions on the
application of military capabilities and their limitations in Developing an Operational Approach
in JW-506. In Nigeria Workshop (JW-508/509, JW-514/515, and JW-531 through JW-534),
students address both an irregular adversary and great power competition with Russian and
Chinese interests. Analyzing the Tora Bora operation in the Mission Analysis Case lesson (JW-
513). Through a combination of lectures, seminars, and vignette activities on capabilities in and
across each of the domains in JW-517 through JW-529. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR (JW-536
through JW-543) Great Power Competition Planning Exercise, students use the JPP to build
COAs supporting national interests against a hostile China in the Western Pacific region.
Assignment JW-601E students use Nigeria Mission Analysis Workshop results to evaluate,
integrate, and apply military force and capabilities to accomplish objectives and create desired
outcomes. Through the assignment, students understand how military force is best integrated and
synchronized across the instruments of national power with allies and partners and its limitations.
JW-601E - serves as the summative assessment for Program Learning Objective #3 (discussed in
detail below under SAE Topic: Ability to Write Clear, Concise, and Military Advice
Recommendations).

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4. Apply military theory, strategy, doctrine, and joint warfighting principles, in order to plan,
execute and adapt campaigns and globally integrated operations. The JW course uses a
foundation of theory and doctrine and applying principles of joint operations to case studies.
Students examine problems from across the competition continuum, across all domains and
military mission sets. JW-502 through JW-506, JW-508/509, JW-514/515, JW-518, JW-520, JW-
522, JW-524/525, JW-528, JW-531 through JW-534, and JW-536 to JW-543 (PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR) provide opportunities to discuss, examine, analyze, and apply elements of the
learning objective in a competitive Great Power environment. The OD, MA and COA Workshops
(JW-508/509, JW-514/515, and JW-531 through JW-534) allow students the opportunity to apply
theory, strategy, doctrine, and joint warfighting principles to plan and adapt contingency
campaigns. The course provides a summative assessment of this learning objective in PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR (JW-536 through JW-543). It provides students with the opportunity to apply
military theory, strategy, doctrine, and joint warfighting principles in a planning exercise that
calls for globally integrated operations in an environment of Great Power Competition with
China.

5. Comprehend the concepts of surprise, complexity, and uncertainty as they pertain to

leadership and the profession of arms. The course meets OPMEP objectives by examining the
role of the Profession of Arms in the contemporary environment. Through JW-600E assignment,
students comprehend the concepts of surprise, complexity, and uncertainty on the battlefield by
studying military history and learning from historic military leaders. The assignment provides a
summative assessment of this learning objective as students present their findings regarding
surprise, complexity and uncertainty from historic leaders and battles. The OD, MA and COA
Workshops (JW-508/509, JW-514/515, and JW-531 through JW-534) and PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR (JW-535 through JW-543) meet this Program Learning Outcome where surprise,
complexity and uncertainty are aspects of the operational environment that students must consider
and address as leaders on a joint planning team. Students use critical thinking and decision-
making skills and apply solutions to operational problems in a volatile, uncertain, complex, or
ambiguous environment using critical thinking, operational art, and current joint doctrine.

6. Make ethical decisions based on the shared values of the profession of arms. The course
builds upon the foundation set in the Leadership course where students comprehend ethics in the
military profession and ethical military leadership in accomplishing the mission while respecting
means, ends, and persons. Lessons JW-501, JW-514/515, JW-531 through JW-534, and JW-536
through JW-543 (PACIFIC ENDEAVOR) provide case studies and scenarios for students to
consider ethical issues of operational leadership and challenges during mission analysis and
course of action development components of the joint planning process.

AY 2022 SPECIAL AREAS OF EMPHASIS FOR JPME-I

The Joint Warfighting course accomplishes the following JPME Special Areas of Emphasis
(SAE):
SAE 1 – Irregular Warfare. Lessons JW-507, JW-508/509, JW-514/515, JW-529 through JW-
534 discuss irregular warfare as part of the analysis and application of activities for Operation
Design, Mission Analysis and COA workshops. JW-513 discusses irregular warfare as part of the
Tora Bora mission analysis case study.

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SAE 2 – Nuclear Posture Review. None.

SAE 3 – The Return to Great Power Competition. The course builds on this SAE from the
lessons taught across the ACSC curriculum in War Theory, International Security and Air Power
classes. In JW-501, JW-502, and JW-504, students comprehend the complex and dynamic
character of competition between the United States and near peer competitors. In JW-517to JW-
530, students will use the structure of access, maneuver, and effects to plan operational tasks and
activities, in a multi-domain environment, to create desired effects against a near-peer competitor
in an Arctic scenario. In PACIFIC ENDEAVOR (JW-535 through JW-543), students will apply
the tools of Operational Design and Operational Art to build an operational approach with desired
effects to maintain a competitive advantage in the face of a near-peer competitor (China) in the
Pacific region.

SAE 4 – Globally Integrated Operations in the Information Environment. JW-506 (Developing

the Operational Approach) discuss globally integrated operations with allies and regional states
for a coalition of forces in the development of an Operational Approach in the Joint Planning
Process. JW-512/513 (Mission Analysis) and JW-514/515 (Mission Analysis Workshop) provide
students both an understanding of integrated operations and the opportunity to apply these ideas
and build integrated operations in the information environment. JW-518/520 (cyber,
electromagnetic spectrum, and information operations) focus on how the joint force executes
integrated operations across domains and in the information environment. In JW-531 through JW-
534 (COA Development Workshop) and JW-536 through JW-543 (PACIFIC ENDEAVOR),
students develop Courses of Action that support globally integrated planning and operations
across all the domains of warfare.

SAE 5 – Strategic Deterrence in the 21st Century. JW-535 through JW-543 (PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR) Based on strategic guidance, Students seek to deter by forward presence and
means that reduce escalation to a nuclear exchange. They evaluate the operating environment, the
problem, and examine deterrent options against a near-peer, nuclear capable adversary.

SAE 6 – Modern Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) Battlefield. In lessons JW-518/520 (Space,

Cyber, EMS and Information Operations) students gain an understanding of the EMS and its
impact on military operations, why EMS superiority is essential to all U.S. military capabilities
and operations, and the increasingly congested and contested nature of the EMS. A focus will
remain on EMS as a critical enabler to provide superiority in all other domains. During Mission
Analysis Workshop (JW-514/515), Course of Action Development (JW-531 through JW-534),
and PACIFIC ENDEAVOR (JW-536 through JW-543) students will consider EMS in planning,
coordinating, deconflicting, and executing joint force operations.

SAE 7 – Space as a Warfighting Domain. The concept of Space as a warfighting domain is a

critical component of Joint Planning. The course builds from Space lessons taught throughout the
ACSC curriculum in War Theory, International Security and Air Power. At the operational level,
students comprehend Space as a Warfighting domain in JW-516. They will analyze space-related
capabilities in support of objectives and missions in the Mission Analysis Workshop (JW-
514/515), Countering Russia in the U.S. Arctic: Arctic Scenario In-Brief (JW-517), and in the
Joint Space, Cyber, Electromagnetic Spectrum Domains with countering Russia in the U.S. Arctic

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vignette seminar (JW-518). Students will analyze and apply space related capabilities in the COA
Development Workshop (JW-531 through JW-534). In PACIFIC ENDEAVOR (JW-536 through
JW-543), students will formulate options and integrate space capabilities for consideration
through the Joint Planning Process in Mission Analysis, Course of Action Development,
Wargaming, and COA Selection.

SAE 8 – Ability to Write Clear, Concise, Military Advice Recommendations. Assignment JW-
601E (writing assignment) - Students will provide military advice through clear and concise
writing for mission analysis activities in the format of a Position Paper – This assignment serves
as the summative assessment for Program Learning Objective #3. They will understand and
evaluate the capabilities and limitations of military force by conducting an initial force and
resource analysis and justify why the aligned force/capabilities selected for specific tasks are
appropriate or not. Further, students will reassess the “ends-ways-means-risk” of the operational
approach and the C2 / task organization relationship for the units identified for planning and
provide recommended updates, if necessary.

SAE 9 – People’s Republic of China. JW-508/509, JW-514/515, JW-531 to JW-534 (Nigeria

Workshop) students must address Chinese interests and activities in Nigeria as they use the JPP to
build COAs in support of national interests. In JW-535 through JW-543 (PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR), students use the JPP to build COAs that address an aggressive China. Students
comprehend strategic guidance and direction, the operating environment (political, military,
economic, social, information, infrastructure, networks) understand and analyze China’s military
capabilities, command and control structures and potential enemy COAs. Students build and
defend COAs that produce desired effects and objectives that support national interests and
objectives.

SAE 10 – Inter-Agency Cooperation. JW-502, JW-508 through JW-515, JW-531 through JW-
534 (PACIFIC ENDEAVOR). Students will comprehend the inter-agency role, and command and
control structures when supporting and integrating interagency activities into DoD Joint Planning.
Students will also analyze and apply interagency solutions to support the attainment of national
objectives through the Joint Planning Process for the Nigeria workshop and PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR exercise.

AY 2022 JOINT LEARNING AREAS FOR JPME-I

The Joint Warfighting course accomplishes the following JPME Joint Learning Areas (JLAs):
JLA 1 – Strategic Thinking and Communication. The course demonstrates this JLA in JW-504,
JW-506, JW-508/509, JW-513 to 515, JW-518, JW-520, JW-522, JW-524/525, JW-528, JW-531
to JW-534, JW-536 to JW-543, assignment JW-601E.
JLA 2 – The Profession of Arms. The course demonstrates this JLA in JW-500, JW-502, JW-
508, JW-509, JW-513 to JW-515, JW-529, JW-531 to JW-534, JW-536 to JW-543, assignment
JW-601E.
JLA 3 – The Continuum of Competition, Conflict, and War. The course demonstrates this JLA
in JW-500 to JW-509, JW-511 to JW-543, assignment JW-600E.
JLA 4 – The Security Environment. The course demonstrates this JLA in JW-502, JW-504, and
JW-506 to JW-509, JW-512 to JW-515, JW-517/518, JW-520, JW-522, JW-524/525, JW-528,
and JW-531 to JW-543.

14
JLA 5 – Strategy and Joint Planning. The course demonstrates this JLA in JW-508/509, JW-
514/515, JW-518, JW-520, JW-522, JW-524/525, JW-528, JW-531 to JW-534, JW-536 to JW-
543.
JLA 6 – Globally Integrated Operations. The course demonstrates this JLA in JW-536 to JW-
543.

15
 JOINT WARFIGHTING
COURSE SCHEDULE

Day 0: JW-500
Introduction to the Joint Warfighting Course

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the objectives, organization, and methods of evaluation for the Joint Warfighting
course, and its linkages to the overall ACSC curriculum.
2. Comprehend the linkage between the science of doctrine and operational art, and the role of
the Profession of Arms in conjunction with other instruments of power in achieving national
interests.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-500 (L): Introduction to the Joint Warfighting Course
Overview: The JW course is the capstone of Joint Professional Military Education at ACSC.
The course design introduces students to how we fight as a joint military force and includes
multiple concepts that provide the framework for understanding and solving complex,
operational-level military problems. While driven by joint and service doctrine, studying
history and current events is crucial to the course outcomes. The lecture provides the context
through which doctrinal elements are derived and how those elements are and will be applied
across the competition continuum. To that end, this lecture provides students with an
overview of the course objectives, themes, structure and calendar, and evaluation instruments.
CONTACT HOURS: 0.5-hour lecture

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Course Syllabus and Course Calendar.

[A careful review of the course's syllabus and calendar will provide the student with
overarching course objectives and expectations along with key deliverables and their
respective weightings toward the computation of a final course grade. Students review the
course material available on canvas to understand the flow of the course and the material the
course covers throughout the term.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

None.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This lesson provides an overview of the Joint Warfighting course. It presents the students with a
course roadmap to include course methodology, course objectives, evaluations, and desired
outcomes. The lecture describes the broad themes of the course and how it integrates with the
ACSC curriculum.

STUDENTS MEET WITH INSTRUCTOR FOLLOWING LECTURE

Discuss class policies, expectations, materials, and assignments
CONTACT HOURS: 1.0-hour seminar

16
 PHASE 1: PROBLEM FRAMING
Understanding the Problem, Strategic Direction, and the Operational Environment

Day 1: JW-501
Joint Planning: How We Fight

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the context for JW course concepts, joint and service doctrine, and the
requirements and considerations that a power projection nation has for deploying, employing,
and sustaining a joint force.
2. Comprehend the relationship between the formulation of national security objectives and the
development of military objectives, and the ends-ways-means-risk analysis required for
operations in a complex operational environment (OE) across all levels of warfare.
3. Comprehend how the military planning process is guided by national strategic interests and
guidance and how geopolitics and other joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and
multinational considerations may affect the planning and execution of military operations.
4. Comprehend the fundamental theories and principles of joint operations that enable
operational art and design through the analysis of an historical operation for the planning and
employment of joint and multinational forces as the operational level of war.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-501 (L): Joint Planning: How We Fight
Overview: Operation TORCH was the first major Allied operation in the European theater
involving U.S. forces during WWII. Operation TORCH is valuable as an example of the final
“product” of military operation planning activities. It presents timeless military planning and
operational considerations and concepts that remain relevant and significant in current joint
and service doctrine. Through an analysis of the plan for Operation TORCH, this lecture
demonstrates how planners today use a similar construct for analyzing problems and
developing military solutions in a complex operational environment and will aid students in
gaining familiarity with planning concepts and JW course themes. Operation TORCH also
highlights many difficulties regarding long-distance power projection, multinational military
operations and command relationships, and the necessity for adaptation and innovation in all
military operations. TORCH also reveals several elements of operational design found in
current service and joint doctrine, particularly JP 5-0 Joint Planning – the U.S. Joint Force’s
current guide to planning military operations. A solid understanding of these concepts, their
connection to one another, and the ends-ways-means-risk analysis is essential for any military
professional to understand and apply to solve complex problems facing the military
professional.
CONTACT HOURS: 1.0-hour lecture

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Rick Atkinson, An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, (Henry Holt &
Company; New York, 2002), 1-160.

17
 [An Army at Dawn provides an overview of the strategic guidance, national interests, and
impact of various actors on military decision making, and the strategic and operational
objectives of a military campaign. With this historical perspective, students will have the
background knowledge to enable their comprehension of connections between Joint Planning
concepts and a completely developed (and executed) operation plan (Operation TORCH).
Atkinson’s book also reminds the reader that the seemingly clinical doctrinal approach to
operation planning eventually translates to the human dimension of warfare, and that the risk
and cost of military operations, while having important political and military strategic
consequences, ultimately falls upon those who execute the plan. This study of historical
military operations provides students with an overview of multiple JW course concepts, JW
course objectives, and the Joint Planning concepts and activities that will be instrumental
throughout the course.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Joint Publication 3-0, Joint Operations, 17 January 2017 Incorporating Change 1 22 October
2018, ix-xxiv.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This lecture familiarizes students with multiple course concepts. It incorporates the larger
geopolitical concepts from ACSC's Core Courses already completed in the AY and narrows the
scope to the operational level of war. The lecture also introduces several operational planning
concepts using the military instrument of power to pursue national interests. The lecture provides
an overview of a joint and combined operation plan. It helps frame the entire JW course by
providing an example of how doctrinal concepts and tenets aid in analyzing complex problems
and developing military plans to address them.

18
 Day 1: JW-502
Joint Military Operations and the Joint Planning Process

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend how elements of operational art, operational design, and the joint functions are
integrated throughout the planning process and how they apply across the levels of warfare
and the competition continuum within a joint, interorganizational, or multinational force
structure.
2. Comprehend how the Joint Planning Process (JPP) is utilized to translate strategic guidance,
from written directives to policy statements, into executable military options which are
incorporated and aligned with other stakeholders and instruments of power for a
comprehensive interorganizational/whole of government response.
3. Comprehend the Joint Planning and Execution Community (JPEC) and how it facilitates the
application of military capabilities in support of national security interests in campaigns and
globally integrated operations across the levels of war.
4. Comprehend the roles, missions and functions of Joint Force Commanders (JFC) as outlined
in the Unified Command Plan (UCP) and how they differ from the roles, missions and
functions of the military services.
5. Comprehend the options a JFC has for organizing the joint force for operations (service or
functional components).

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-502 (S): Joint Military Operations and the Joint Planning Process
Overview: The Joint Planning Process is a tested and proven method of arranging problem-
solving activities in a complex environment defined by a continuum of competition. Along
with operational art and operational design, the JPP enables the derivation of actionable tasks
from broad strategy (strategy-to-task). The JPP allows the planner to successfully integrate
military options into ends-ways-means-risk calculations at the national level to pursue
national interests. The seminar sets a baseline for concepts recurring throughout the JW
course that include: the levels of warfare, the competition continuum, the roles of various
actors (the President, SECDEF, CJCS, CCDRs, JFCs, and inter-organizational stakeholders in
the national security system), and the process which guides the planning for military
operations at all levels and across the competition continuum.
CONTACT HOURS: 2.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, xi-xxx, I-1 to I-11 (up to GIF
Development and Review Process), I-24 to I-27, II-10 to II-12, V-13 [EL]

[The JP 5-0 Executive Summary, Chap 1, and Chap II reading selections provide a brief and
broad overview of operation planning and the basis for the framework the JW course uses to
identify and solve problems. This selection also introduces information about the role of joint
planning, theater campaign plans, JPEC, operational assessment, and other broad planning
systems and constructs to include Interagency and Multinational Planning.]

19
2. Joint Publication 1, Doctrine for the Armed Forces of the United States, 25 March 2013
Incorporating Change 1, 12 July 2017, III-8 to III-12, VI-3 to VI-4, Review I-1 to I-21 and B-
1 to B-3. [EL]

[The JP 1 selections outline the organization of the DoD and roles and responsibilities of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, military services and combatant commanders, and a short introduction to
the seven joint functions.]

3. Joint Publication 3-0, Joint Operations, 17 January 2017 Incorporating Change 1 22 October
2018, ix-xxiv. [EL]

[Provides an overview of the range of military operations fundamental to the JW course.]

4. Joint Publication 3-08, Interorganization Cooperation, 12 October 16, Validated 18 October

2017, ix-xviii, Skim I-1 to I-17 and II-2 to II-12. [EL]

[The JP 3-08 provides concepts and considerations associated with interorganizational

cooperation necessary to understand how the military contributes to unified effort within the
U.S. Government.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack, (Simon and Schuster, New York, 2004), Skim 1-138.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This lesson introduces several doctrinal planning concepts foundational to the course. It provides
students with an example of how U.S. Forces plan and operate in joint, interagency, inter-
organizational, intergovernmental, and multinational environments to pursue national interests. It
introduces global campaign plans, and integrated operations for great power problem sets. It
builds upon the foundation of War Theory (WT) lessons that address and examine classic military
theorists (ex, Clausewitz, Jomini) and the principles of war. It incorporates the larger geopolitical
concepts from International Security and narrows the scope to the operational level of war and the
study of joint military operations. The lesson also introduces several operational planning
concepts for using the military instrument of power to pursue national interests. It provides the
background and framework necessary for studying selected concepts associated with military
operational art and design in future lessons.

ASSIGNMENT
JW-600E assigned at the conclusion of the JW-502 seminar.

20
 Day 2: JW-503
Introduction to Operational Design: Complexity in Operational Planning

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the concepts associated with complexity as they pertain to military operations
and operation planning across the competition continuum and the tactical, operational, and
strategic levels of warfare.
2. Comprehend operational art and operational design and their relationship in joint doctrine to
military operations and operation planning across the levels of war and the competition
continuum.
3. Comprehend the doctrinal elements of operational design, and the interrelation of those
elements in framing complex problems, and their utility in outlining comprehensive, whole of
government approaches for applying potential military solutions across the levels of war
through the commander’s operational approach.
4. Comprehend the purpose and content of the commander’s operational approach, commander’s
planning guidance, and commander’s intent.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-503 (S): Introduction to Operational Design: Complexity and Problem Solving
Overview: Operational art is the thought process commanders use to visualize how to
efficiently and effectively employ military capabilities to accomplish their mission. Together
operational art and operational design synthesize the intuition and creativity of the
commander with the analytical and logical process of design. General (Ret) James Mattis
stated, “Design does not replace planning, but planning is incomplete without design. The
balance between the two varies from operation to operation as well as within each operation.”
Modern military operations must account for many sources of complexity, including cultural,
religious, and multinational considerations, among others. Operational design helps the
commander provide enough structure to an ill-structured problem so that planning can lead to
effective action linking military objectives to strategic national security objectives. The
iterative dialogue central to operational design allows the commander and staff to gain a better
understanding of complex problem sets and frame the problems with clarity and focus with
full consideration of the complexity of the modern operational environment. At the same time,
they are providing the environment that enables adaptation and innovation to address
complexity during operations.
CONTACT HOURS: 3.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, III-75, IV-1 through IV-45. [EL]

[JP 5-0 chapter IV is central to understanding joint doctrine, the joint explanation of
operational art and design, and the elements of operational design. This reading equips
students with the necessary context for why operational design is helpful for planning and
conducting military operations and a common framework in the doctrinal methodology and
elements that guide the development of the commander’s operational approach. This reading
is central to understanding the “science” that will underlie and enable the application of the
operational art.]

21
2. Jeffrey M. Reilly, Operational Design: Distilling Clarity from Complexity for Decisive
Action, (Air University Press, 2012), 1-14. [EL]

[The selection from Dr. Reilly provides an excellent overview of the purpose and theory of
operational design.]

3. Dale C. Eikmeier, “Design for Napoleon's Corporal,” Small Wars Journal, September 2010,
27(7), 1-11. [EL]

[This selection Eikmeier amplifies the need for an understanding of critical and creative
thinking, as well as complex, ill-structured problems. This reading discusses Op Design’s
purpose, the role of the commander, and techniques for conducting Op Design.]

4. US Army, TRADOC Pamphlet 525-5-500, Commander’s Appreciation and Campaign

Design, (Fort Monroe, VA, 2008), 4-18. [EL]

[This selection provides an introduction to types of complexity and the characteristics of

complex problem sets that military planners may encounter. Understanding different forms of
complexity, and the characteristics of “wicked problems” is essential in military operations.]

5. Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack, (Simon and Schuster, New York, 2004), 52-66.

[This selection from Plan of Attack provides a short example of an initial operational
approach derived by General Frank’s, considered to be an early precursor to the current
doctrinal approach to operational design. These readings also provide students with an
introduction to the complexity of the joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational
environment.]

6. Jensen, Benjamin, “How the Taliban did it: inside the ‘operational art’ of its military victory,”
New Atlanticist (blog) 15 Aug 2021. [EL]

[This short article provides an excellent example of the use of “Operational Art” by dissecting
the Taliban’s strategy for regaining control in Afghanistan. The article helps link the group’s
use of operational art by highlighting the use multiple lines of effort combined with
information operations to advance their objectives.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Joint Staff J7, Insights and Best Practices Focus Paper: Design and Planning, (Washington,
DC, 2013), 1-27.
2. Joint Staff J7, Planner’s Handbook for Operational Design (Suffolk, VA., 2011), I-1 to D-24.
3. Colonel Gerard Tertychny, “Rain of Ruin: Operational Design and the Pacific War, 1944-
1945,” Campaigning: The Journal of the Joint Forces Staff College, Fall 2015, 13-20.

22
LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE
Understanding the complexity of operational problem sets and their impact on military operations
is critical. This lesson provides essential background on complex problems, operational art, and
operational design used throughout the JW course. Later lessons discuss the methodology for
creating the operational approach and apply it to complex national security problems.

23
 Day 3: JW-504
Planning Initiation: Strategic Guidance,
Understanding the Operational Environment and Defining the Problem

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the various sources of strategic direction and guidance and their impact on joint
planning.
2. Comprehend the tools and processes used to analyze the current and potential joint operational
environment (OE), to include understanding the human, physical, and information aspects of
the environment and the implications of the OE on the training, equipping, and employment
(capabilities and limitations) of the joint force.
3. Comprehend the necessity of incorporating multiple aspects of the OE and all elements of
national power into planning and its contribution to how a staff understands the OE, problem
sets, and potential solutions.
4. Comprehend how incomplete information regarding the OE drives doctrinal concepts such as
assumptions, commander’s critical information requirements (CCIRs), and risk analysis
during operation planning.
5. Comprehend the relationship between the “observed system” and the “desired system” as it
relates to planning and operational design and the pitfalls of “mirror imaging” when operating
in complex multinational environments.
6. Comprehend the doctrinal methodology for defining the problem during operational design,
how a correctly defined problem leads to the identification of potential defeat and/or
stabilization mechanisms and moving from current conditions to desired conditions within the
OE and ultimately the national security environment.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-504 (S): Strategic Guidance, Understanding the OE and Defining the Problem
Overview: Planning initiation starts with strategic guidance. It is the first major component of
the joint doctrine methodology for developing an operational approach. The seminar discusses
sources that will aid in answering the questions: "what are the strategic goals to be achieved
and the military objectives that support their attainment?" This seminar includes a discussion
of the forms and sources of strategic guidance and direction and how they influence (and are
influenced by) operation planning and how geopolitics.
Since military planners operate in unpredictable and uncertain environments, understanding
the environment and relating that understanding to senior decision-makers is a critical
component of operational art. This continuous process includes understanding the
environment's human, physical, and information aspects. The seminar provides context for
understanding the current and desired environment during planning. It introduces PMESII
(Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information, Infrastructure) and ASCOPE (Areas,
Structures, Capabilities, Organization, People, Events) frameworks. Students use a holistic
view of relevant systems and the relationships in and between these systems throughout the
course. This part of the seminar uses the second doctrinal aspect (operational environment) for
developing the operational approach.

Finally, understanding the problem or problem set, an aspect of the OE is pivotal for the joint
force to develop the most appropriate solutions and the focused application of military

24
 capabilities and properly linking tactical actions to operational objectives in support of
strategic goals. Understanding the problem is essential to determine what the correct Center of
Gravity (introduced in the next lesson) is for the problem. The staff and commander begin to
develop the approach to solve the identified problem that includes tasks against the enemy
center of gravity.
CONTACT HOURS: 3.0-hour Seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack, (Simon and Schuster, New York, 2004), 1-23, 31-38, 85-95,
130-133, 177-179.

[The first part of Plan of Attack tells the real-world story of how strategic guidance came
about and the functioning of the joint planning community and the iterative dialogue that
occurs between the military and civilian leadership. Plan of Attack points to the various forms
of strategic and operational guidance outside of formal documents. Political decisions to
include joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational considerations informs
guidance.]

2. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 Dec 2020, II-1 to II-9 (up to Planning Organization);
III-1 to III-7 (up to Assessment), III-9 to III-12 (up to Mission Analysis), Review I-7, IV-06 to
IV-13 (stop at “Identify Assumptions”), and IV-41 to IV-44. [EL]

[This section of JP 5-0 provides the doctrinal underpinning for the processes and products
contributing to gaining an understanding of the operational environment as a major
component of the operational design process. It also introduces the idea of using a problem
statement to clearly define the problem.]

3. Joint Staff J7, Planner’s Handbook for Operational Design, (Suffolk, VA, 2011), V-9
(Understanding the Problem) to V-16. [EL]

[This short selection from the J-7 Handbook provides some further insight into considerations
for framing complex problems and developing a problem statement.]

4. Whitlock, Craig, “Stranded without a Strategy,” Washington Post, 9 December 2009. [EL]

[This article analyzes US actions over time in Afghanistan war to amplify the importance of
clear and concise strategic guidance, highlight failures that occur if the operational
environment is misunderstood, and show the prolonged effects when the problem is not well
defined.]

5. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, “What We Need to Learn: Lessons
from 20 Years of Afghanistan Reconstruction – Chapter 7 Context,” August 2021. [EL]

[This report analyzes several United States lines of efforts to reconstruct Afghanistan and
describes how poor understanding of the operational environment can lead to strategic,
operational, and tactical failures.]

25
6. Joint Publication 2-01.3, Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment, 21
May 2014, Skim xi-xviii and Appendix B, D, and E.

[JP 2-01.3 is instructive as it demonstrates the many facets addressed in understanding the
OE. The Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment (JIPOE) Somalia Case
Study (Appendix B) is an excellent description of JIPOE in support of stability and irregular
warfare operations and will be useful in preparing for future JW seminars. Appendix D and
Appendix E provide excellent examples of analysis (PMESII) and visual depictions/products
of analysis that are useful in JW exercises.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Joint Publication 2-01.3, Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment, 21
May 2014, Ch. I, Ch. II, Ch. III (covers operating domains), and Ch. IV.
2. (Review) Jeffrey M. Reilly, Operational Design: Distilling Clarity from Complexity for
Decisive Action, (Air University Press, 2012), 8-19.
3. (Review) Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, Chapters I, II, V.
4. Joint Staff J7, Planner’s Handbook for Operational Design, (Suffolk, VA, 2011); Read V-4
(Establishing a Baseline) to V-16.
5. Joint Publication 2-0, Joint Intelligence, 22 October 2013, ix-xvi.
6. Joint Publication 3-16, Multinational Operations, 1 March 2019, Ch. III.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This seminar aims to help the planner focus appropriately on the most meaningful portions of a
system, including understanding the human, physical, and information aspects of the
environment, without undue distraction by the extraneous yet still understanding the whole
system. This lesson sets up the follow-on lesson of Center of Gravity Analysis (JW-505), which
will focus on the purpose and approaches for addressing a specific aspect of the problem and the
JIPOE to enable focused planning and employment of military capabilities.

26
 Day 4: JW-505
Center of Gravity Analysis

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the joint doctrinal concepts of center of gravity (COG) and critical factors and
how these concepts are utilized in the operational design process and understanding the OE.
2. Comprehend how the linkages between end states, centers of gravity, objectives, effects,
decisive points, and lines of operation and effort contribute to the development of the
commander’s operational approach, and provide focus for subsequent/subordinate planning.
3. Comprehend how center of gravity analysis is continually refined during the JPP, and how
this refinement impacts the planning and execution of military operations.
4. Comprehend how centers of gravity, and the associated critical factors analysis (CFA) are
influenced by the levels of war, and how nesting of COGs and objectives assist in providing
clarity in complex operational environments.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-505 (S): Center of Gravity Analysis
Overview: Center of gravity (COG) analysis has long been argued as the most important
aspect of joint planning. Having defined the problem, it aids the combatant commander and
staff further understand the security environment. It provides a detailed examination of the
capabilities and vulnerabilities of friendly and adversary actors tied to the problem statement.
However, the COG concept has also come under some heavy criticism. Regardless of the
context and criticism, COG analysis remains an integral component for understanding the
operational environment and operational design framework and aiding the staff and
commander in focusing planning efforts and the application of combat power during
execution. The seminar provides a basic understanding of joint doctrinal concepts and their
application during the JPP through thoughtful analysis of a few historical operations to
identify and analyze centers of gravity.
CONTACT HOURS: 3-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 Dec 2020, Review IV-22 to IV-27. [EL]

[This selection from JP 5-0 introduces the Center of Gravity (COG) element of Op Design as
a useful construct and analytic tool to help planners analyze friendly and adversary sources of
strength as well as weaknesses and vulnerabilities.]

2. Milan Vego, Joint Operational Warfare: Theory and Practice, (Naval War College Press,
2009), VII-13 to VII-27, VII-29 to VII-35. [EL]

[The selections from Vego’s Joint Operational Warfare provide an excellent synopsis of the
center of gravity concept and its significance in military operations. They also discuss some
important misconceptions regarding COG of which military professionals should be aware.
Though the concept of COG and critical factors has fostered many debates in the joint
community over the last few decades, this reading provides a superb baseline from which to

27
 continue the discussion in this course and allow reasonable application of current doctrinal
concepts during JW Workshops and PACIFIC ENDEAVOR.]

3. Christopher M. Schnaubelt, Eric V. Larson, and Matthew E. Boyer, Vulnerability Assessment

Method Pocket Guide, (RAND Corporation, 2014), 7-32, Skim 1-6. [EL]

[The VAM Pocket Guide provides a concise process for the identification and analysis of a
COG, helping the military operation planner to focus planning efforts as well as apply
valuable and limited military resources toward mission accomplishment. The reading also
addresses the COG analysis in terms of competing objectives, and an ends, ways, means
analysis in keeping with JW course themes.]

4. Jeffrey M. Reilly, Operational Design: Distilling Clarity from Complexity for Decisive Action,
(Air University Press, 2012), 40-50. [EL]

[This selection from Reilly provides further clarity on conducting critical-factor analysis of an
identified center of gravity using examples from Operation DESERT STORM, Operation
OVERLORD, and the Southwest Pacific campaign in WWII.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. U.S. Air Force, Air Force Doctrine Publication 3-0, Appendix A: Center of Gravity Analysis
Methods, (4 Nov 2016), 1-7.
2. Christopher M. Schnaubelt, Eric V. Larson, and Matthew E. Boyer, Vulnerability Assessment
Method Pocket Guide, (RAND Corporation, 2014), 33-81.
3. D. Kornatz, The Primacy of COG in Planning: Getting Back to Basics, (JFQ 82, 3rd Quarter
2016), 91-96.
4. Dale C. Eikmeier, The Center of Gravity, Still Relevant After All These Years, (Military
Review Online Exclusive, May 2017), 1-8.
5. Michael D. Reilly, Hybrid Threat COG Analysis, Taking a Fresh Look at ISIL, (JFQ84, 1st
Quarter 2017), 86-92.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

The COG construct is an analytical tool to help JFCs and staff analyze friendly and adversary
sources of strength, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities. It is an integral component of operational
design and art and ultimately allows the commander to apply combat power with more precision
and focus. The critical factor analysis helps provide some structure to the otherwise ill-structured
problems, as discussed in lesson JW-503. Within the context of the defined problem, COG
identification and analysis is a tool that aids in linking national security objectives to military
objectives and end states and provides insight into the ends-ways-means-risk calculus. This lesson
builds upon the foundation of War Theory (WT) lessons that address and examine classic military
theorists (ex. Clausewitz, Jomini) and the principles of war.

28
 Day 5: JW-506
Developing the Operational Approach

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the three distinct but interrelated aspects of the operational design methodology
(understand the strategic direction, understand the operational environment, and define the
problem) that when combined assist in the development of an operational approach.
2. Comprehend how conceptual planning during the development of an initial operational
approach assists in determining the arrangement of operations.
3. Building on concepts presented in Objectives 1 & 2, analyze an operational approach and its
utility in the planning and execution of joint military operations.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-506 (S): Developing the Operational Approach
Overview: The operational approach is a commander’s description of the broad actions the
force must take to achieve the desired military end state. It is the commander’s visualization
of how the operation should transform current conditions into the desired conditions at the end
state – how the commander wants the operational environment to look at the conclusion of
operations. The operational approach is based largely on an understanding of the operational
environment and the problem facing the JFC; however, the approach must consider whole of
government (DIME) and multinational considerations. Once the JFC approves the approach, it
provides the basis for beginning, continuing, or completing detailed planning. The JFC and
staff should continually review, update, and modify the approach as guidance, the operational
environment, end states, or the problem change. The operational approach lays the foundation
for detailed planning, is iterative, and allows for adaptation and innovation throughout the
planning and execution of military operations.
CONTACT HOURS: 2.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 Dec 2020, III-22; Review IV-14 to IV-21 (stop at
“COG”). [EL]

[This JP 5-0 selection discusses the development of military objectives and an operational
approach as a commander’s description of the broad actions necessary to achieve those
objectives.]

2. Jeffrey M. Reilly, Operational Design: Distilling Clarity from Complexity for Decisive
Action, (Air University Press, 2012), 21-29, 31-40 and 49-58. [EL]

[Chapter 2 in Reilly’s book provides a schema for incorporating the elements of operational
design into an operational approach. Chapter 3 goes into detail on the methodology of design
and the use of the “cognitive map” to depict the operational approach. He walks through the
critical steps providing some historical basis for the methodology.]

3. Joint Staff J7, Planner’s Handbook for Operational Design, (Suffolk, VA, 2011), VI-1 to VI-
7. [EL]

29
 [The short selection from the J-7 Handbook provides some insight into developing an
Operational Approach.]

4. Wright, P. Donald with the US Army Combined Arms Center Contemporary Operations
Study Team, “The American Response to Terror: Planning Operation ENDURING
FREEDOM,” In A Different Kind of War: The United States Army in Operation ENDURING
FREEDOM October 2001-September 2005, (Combat Studies Institute Press, 2010), 27-51.
[EL]

[This selection gives context to the development of the US military’s operational approach
(OA) for Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. It provides insight on the effects on campaign
planning when senior leaders combine multiple overarching objectives with ambitious
timelines. Additionally, the reading highlights the complexities of integrating a coalition and
nongovernment organization (NGOs) into an Op Approach.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Joint Staff J7, Planner’s Handbook for Operational Design, (Suffolk, VA, 2011), Chapters 4-5.
2. (Review) Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, IV-2 through IV-18
(Design Methodology) and IV-18 through IV-46 (Elements of Operational Design).

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This lesson provides the framework upon which students can take the doctrinal elements of
design and understand the practical relationships more clearly between those elements. The visual
depiction of the operational approach (the cognitive map) is a comprehensive starting point for
applying operational art. Now that the elements of operational design are better understood, we
can begin to analyze previous operations in more detail. The operational approach is foundational
to the JW planning workshops and PACIFIC ENDEAVOR.

30
 Day 5: JW-507
Nigeria Background Brief and Commander’s Initial Planning Guidance

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the historical background, current actors, and events involved with a realistic
planning scenario in a joint, interagency, intergovernmental and multinational environment.
2. Comprehend factors in the the strategic environment and operational environment, including
geopolitics, region, religion, and culture which potentially inform operational design and
detailed joint planning.
3. Comprehend the nature of Great Power Competition with Russia and China in Africa that can
inform the operating environment and operational design.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-507 (L): Nigeria Background Brief and Commanders Initial Planning Guidance:
Overview: The history of potential and actual ethnic, religious, cultural, economic, and
political fault lines in Nigeria plays an essential role in the contingency planning effort.
Nigeria has the largest economy and largest military of all African nations. Understanding the
background, current situation, and underlying tensions and issues will be critical for the
successful execution of the JW planning workshops. Commander’s Initial Planning Guidance
based on national strategic objectives and priorities for the Nigeria scenario workshop follows
the Nigeria background lecture.
CONTACT HOURS: 1.0-hour lecture

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 Dec 2020, Review V-1 to V-5 (up to Campaign
Planning).

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

None.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This lecture and the CC Initial Planning Guidance provide the starting point for student-directed
study in preparation for the first two days of JW course planning workshops. Students are
expected to arrive in all ensuing workshop seminars with the appropriate knowledge, insight, and
information analysis about the problem set in Nigeria and the surrounding region. It will enable
the planning group to apply operational art, operational design, and the planning process to
propose potential military solutions to the commander.

31
Day 6: Directed Study

32
 Day 7: JW-508
Operational Design Workshop Day 1

LESSON OBJECTIVES
These Objectives build on concepts discussed in Lessons JW-501 through 507
1. Demonstrate the use of operational art and design in Joint Planning, and how military
planning considers all elements of national power and an interorganizational/whole of
government approach to achieve national strategic goals.
2. Apply elements of operational art and design (per joint doctrine) to understand the current and
desired operational environment and develop potential solutions to a complex military
planning problem.
3. Analyze strategic guidance documents, the commander’s initial planning guidance, and the
operational environment to develop military end states, objectives, and desired effects for the
application of the military instrument of power.
4. Analyze the operational environment, the multiple actors (to include strategic actors China
and Russia) and their relationships in that environment in order to understand and isolate root
causes of the issues at hand, define the problem, and determine how these operational
variables may inhibit or facilitate the preferred change toward the desired operational end
state.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-508 (S): Operational Design Workshop Day 1
Overview: The Operational Design Workshop (2 Days) focuses on the elements of
operational design and the development of an initial operational approach. The first day of the
workshop concentrates on "understanding strategic direction," "understanding the operational
environment," and "framing the problem," allowing planners to answer the questions: "what
are the strategic goals to be achieved and the military objectives that support their
attainment?" The seminar's practical application includes reviewing national strategic
guidance documents, concepts such as Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Operational
Environment (JIPOE), ASCOPE/PMESII constructs, and defining the problem. The result of
Day 1 will be well-crafted strategic and operational end states, military operational objectives
and effects, and a concise problem statement. This workshop is the first in a series of eight
during the JW course that will enhance the ability to derive solutions to complex problems in
potentially volatile, uncertain, and ambiguous environments within the context of Great Power
Competition.

This lesson underscores the importance of staff support to the commander in developing an
operational approach so that planners can subsequently continue with focused mission
analysis and COA development in JPP Steps 2 and 3. Prior to conducting Mission Analysis,
the JFC will typically provide initial planning guidance based upon current understanding of
the operational environment, the problem, and the initial operational approach for the
campaign or operation. ACSC suggests capturing the operational approach in a cognitive map,
which will support the remainder of the planning activities, including decision analysis.
CONTACT HOURS: 3.0-hour seminar

33
REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 3-08, Interorganizational Cooperation, 12 Oct 2016, Validated 18 October
2017, II-12 to II-18, II-21 to II-32. [EL]

[The JP 3-08 provides concepts and considerations associated with interorganizational

cooperation necessary to understand how the military contributes to unified effort within the
U.S. Government.]

2. JW Nigeria scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-source research
materials as required. [EL]

[Students must read the scenario guide prior to the start of the workshop. Students will not
have the time to “spin-up” on the scenario during this seminar. This seminar marks the first of
several experiential learning days that provide an opportunity to synthesize and apply JW
course concepts through instructor-led practical application. In addition to the materials
provided, students will be required to conduct independent research to gain information that
will facilitate the analysis and application of elements of operational design during the
seminar. The purpose of student research for scenario information is to build analytical skills
for knowing what types of questions to ask, as well as what specific questions to ask, and seek
appropriate information to enable military planning activities.]

3. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

[This guide is provided to enable coherent research and note-taking on scenario materials.
Students should use the guide and prepare notes for in-class use per their instructor’s
directions.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, Ch. IV.
2. Jeffrey M. Reilly, Operational Design: Distilling Clarity from Complexity for Decisive Action
(Air University Press, 2012), 1-14, 21-29, 31-38 (stop at first full paragraph), 40-58.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This seminar is the first of eight instructor-led workshops in which students “walk” through
Operational Design and the JPP utilizing a scenario as a tool to enhance learning. This seminar
directly enables the analysis and application of concepts in the Mission Analysis, COA
Development, COA Analysis, and COA Comparison Workshops later in the JW course. In these
seminars, the planning groups will continue analyzing and applying operational art and design
concepts by continuing detailed planning using the JPP. The experience gained during this
seminar will increase analytical and critical thinking abilities and aid in preparing students to
conduct student-led planning during PACIFIC ENDEAVOR to address a more complex
contingency scenario.

34
 Day 8: JW-509
Operational Design Workshop Day 2

LESSON OBJECTIVES
Note: These objectives build on work conducted in Lesson JW-508
and concepts presented in Lessons JW-501 through 507.
1. Demonstrate the use of operational art and design in Joint Planning, and how military
planning considers all elements of national power and a whole of government approach to
achieve national strategic goals.
2. Apply elements of operational art and design (per joint doctrine) in order to understand the
current and desired operational environment and develop potential solutions to a complex
military planning problem.
3. Analyze appropriate centers of gravity to aid in the identification of decisive points and
refinement of objectives and effects used in the development of the operational approach.
4. Apply appropriate doctrinal elements of operational design, to include, but not limited to:
lines of operation/lines of effort, decisive points, military end state, objective, effects, and
arranging operations in order to analyze a complex security issue and develop an initial
operational approach, commander’s planning guidance, and commander’s intent.
5. Distinguish the activities of China and Russia in Nigeria and implications on U.S. planning
and activities.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-509 (S): Operational Design Workshop Day 2
Overview: The second day of the Operational Design Workshop (2 days) continues the
analysis previously conducted to develop end states, objectives, effects, and the problem
statement that will enable the development of an operational approach. In this session, the
planning group will continue to apply doctrinal concepts and methodology for developing the
operational approach. Specifically, the group will conduct a thorough enemy and friendly
center of gravity analysis; identify potential decisive points that aid in developing lines of
operation and lines of effort that are foundational to an operational approach. The seminar will
refine military objectives and effects based on the COG analysis, as required. The seminar
will use the previously defined problem statement as their guide in completing the cognitive
map and initial operational approach that describes how the problem will be solved.
During this seminar, the questions: “Does the cognitive map and developing operational
approach address the identified problem that needs to be solved?” and “how will the problem
be solved?” will guide the formulation of an initial operational approach.

The lesson underscores the importance of staff support to the commander in developing an
operational approach so that planners can subsequently continue with focused mission
analysis and COA development in JPP Steps 2 and 3. Prior to conducting Mission Analysis,
the JFC will typically provide initial planning guidance based upon current understanding of
the operational environment, the problem, and the initial operational approach for the
campaign or operation. ACSC suggests that the operational approach should be captured in a
cognitive map, which will support the remainder of the planning activities.

35
 The result of Day 2 will be a “cognitive map” that captures the broad actions the force will
take and to convey the staff and commander’s overall understanding of the situation prior to
the start of detailed planning. The elements of design on this “map” include, but are not
limited to end state, objectives, effects, COGs, decisive points, lines of operation/effort, and
arranging operations.
CONTACT HOURS: 3.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. JW Nigeria scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-source research
materials as required. [EL]

[Students must read the scenario guide prior to the start of the workshop. Students will not
have the time to “spin-up” on the scenario during this seminar. This seminar marks the first of
several experiential learning days that provide an opportunity to synthesize and apply JW
course concepts through instructor-led practical application. In addition to the materials
provided, students will be required to conduct independent research to gain information that
will facilitate the analysis and application of elements of operational design during the
seminar. The purpose of student research for scenario information is to build analytical skills
for knowing what types of questions to ask, as well as what specific questions to ask, and seek
appropriate information to enable military planning activities.]

2. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

[This guide is provided to enable coherent research and note-taking on scenario materials.
Students should use the guide and prepare notes for in-class use per their instructor’s
directions.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. (Review) Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, Ch. IV.
2. (Review) Jeffrey M. Reilly, Operational Design: Distilling Clarity from Complexity for
Decisive Action (Air University Press, 2012), 1-14, 21-29, 31-38 (stop at first full paragraph);
40-58.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This seminar is the second of eight instructor-led workshops in which students will “walk”
through Operational Design and the JPP utilizing a scenario as a tool to enhance learning. This
seminar will directly enable the analysis and application of concepts in the Mission Analysis,
COA Development, COA Analysis, and COA Comparison Workshops. In these seminars, the
planning groups will continue analyzing and applying operational art and design concepts by
continuing detailed planning using the JPP. The experience gained during this seminar increases
analytical and critical thinking abilities and aid in preparing students to conduct student-led
planning during PACIFIC ENDEAVOR to address a more complex contingency scenario.

36
 Day 9: JW-510
The Reserve Component in the Homeland

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the role of the Chief, National Guard Bureau in coordination between DoD,
DHS, US Northern Command, and the state and territorial Adjutants General for planning and
execution of domestic military support operations.
2. Comprehend the various types of operations for which Title 10 military forces may be called
upon to assist local and state governments in conjunction with the National Guard, and how
the National Response Framework governs those operations.
3. Comprehend the complexities of planning for domestic military operations, including the
requirements for interagency coordination, the leading role of civilian organizations and
institutions, the sovereignties of local and state governments and how they relate to Federal
authorities and organizations.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-510 (L): The Reserve Component in the Homeland
Overview: The National Guard is the primary military “first responder” for operations in the
Homeland. The Chief, National Guard Bureau (NGB) is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
and has a joint staff in the Pentagon. They are responsible for, among other things, the
coordination of emergency response and National Special Security Event (NSSE) planning
and execution for Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) between the state and
territorial National Guard Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ), US Northern (USNORTHCOM)
and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The considerations involved in this kind of
planning are complex and are in many cases very different from those involved in
conventional military operations overseas.
CONTACT HOURS: 1.0-hour lecture

REQUIRED READINGS
1. National Guard Bureau, 2022 National Guard Bureau Posture Statement, Skim 1-32.[EL]

[This short selection provides an overview of the purpose, organization, mission, roles, and
capabilities of the National Guard as part of the military force construct.]

2. David W. Giles and Arnold M. Howitt, Defending the Homeland: The Massachusetts National
Guard Responds to the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings. [EL]

[This selection provides a detailed look at the local, state, and federal organizations that
responded after the Boston bombing and their relationships.]

3. Joint Publication 3-27, Homeland Defense, 2018, vii-xv, A-1 to A-7. [EL]

[This selection provides an overview of the distinctions between HD, DSCA, and Homeland
Security, and considerations and planning for Homeland Defense.]

4. Joint Publication 3-28, Defense Support of Civil Authorities, 2018, ix-xix. [EL]

37
 [This Executive Summary describes the distinction of DSCA from HD. It outlines the Reserve
and Active Component role in DSCA and how they contribute, within the interorganizational
framework, to unified effort in domestic operations requiring military capabilities.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. LT GEN Charles D. Luckey, 2020 Posture Statement of the United States Army Reserve, 26
March 2020.
2. Lt. Gen Richard W. Scobee, 2020 Air Force Reserve Posture Statement, March 2020.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

Providing an RC perspective on planning, coordinating, and leading military forces in response to
a complex Homeland operation, this lecture familiarizes students with multiple course concepts.
The lecture also highlights some of the intergovernmental and inter-organizational planning and
execution concepts from IS2. The lecture reinforces for students the need for careful consideration
of applicable laws, authorities, policies, and the various roles and capabilities of all elements of
the Joint Force when planning complex military operations.

38
 Day 9: JW-511
The Reserve Component in Joint Operations and Planning for Domestic Operations

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the basic structures, types of organizations, and capabilities residing in the
Reserve Components (RC) of the Joint Force, the legal and operational distinctions between
the RC and Active Component, and various authorities which govern the use of the RC
domestically and overseas.
2. Comprehend the distinctions between Homeland Defense and Homeland Security, the various
types of operations for which Title 10 military forces may be called upon to assist local and
state governments in conjunction with the National Guard, and how the National Response
Framework governs those operations.
3. Comprehend the complexities of planning for domestic military operations, including the
requirements for interagency coordination, the leading role of civilian organizations and
institutions, the sovereignties of local and state governments and how they relate to Federal
authorities and organizations in a whole of government response to national interests.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-511 (S): The Reserve Component in Joint Operations and Planning for Domestic
Operations
Overview: Over half of the strength of the US military resides in the various services’
Reserves and the National Guard. The Joint Force cannot fully operate without the units,
service members, and capabilities these organizations provide. As future senior leaders and
planners, students must be fully aware of the capabilities of the National Guard and Reserves
and how the Combatant Commanders gain access to these capabilities. Additionally, given
that the top priority of the Department of Defense is the defense and security of the
Homeland, students must become familiar with the processes, laws, and structures used when
military forces deploy inside the United States in support of civil authorities. The planning
factors and considerations for these missions are complex and very different from the
traditional planning factors the Joint Force uses for overseas operations. Military planners
should be familiar with interagency coordination, understanding state and local sovereignties,
laws governing the military in a law enforcement role, and military capabilities in competition
with private businesses for domestic operations.
CONTACT HOURS: 2.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Headquarters US Northern Command, Annex J to USNORTHCOM CONPLAN 3501-08
Command Relationships, 2008. Skim J1-J7. [EL]

[This Concept Plan (CONPLAN) provides a real-world example of the planning and effort
that goes into a planning document. The USNORTHCOM CONPLAN establishes a plan to
support the employment of DOD forces providing Defense Support to Civil Authorities
(DSCA) IAW applicable DOD directives and policy. The plan is coordinated with both
supporting and subordinate commands to ensure a shared understanding and common
operational environment.]

39
2. Headquarters US Northern Command, CDRUSNORTHCOM CONPLAN 3501-08 Defense
Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA), 2008, v-xii, 2-16; Skim 17-36. [EL]

[This Annex describes command and control of federal DOD forces as well as support and
coordination relationships between CDRUSNORTHCOM and other entities when conducting
DSCA operations.]

3. Department of Homeland Security, National Response Framework, Fourth Edition,

(Washington, DC: United States Government, Oct 28, 2019), ii-iii, 1-15 (Operational
Coordination), 42 (Federal Authorities) to 46 (Federal to Federal Support). [EL]

[The seminal document which outlines the specific manner in which all domestic emergency
response actions take place. Understanding the NRF is key to being able to comprehend how
military forces provide support to civil authorities within the United States, and how all
response agencies from the local, municipal, county, state and federal levels interact and
perform their functions during emergencies.]

4. Department of Joint Warfighting, Joint Warfighting Capabilities Primer (JWCP) AY22, 143-
149.

[The JWCP provides a brief overview of service capabilities, force presentation, and major
assets to enhance understanding of the services’ unique contributions to the joint force.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Joint Publication 3-08, Interorganizational Cooperation, 12 Oct 2016, Validated 18 October
2017, Chapter III.
2. Joint Publication 3-28, Defense Support of Civil Authorities, 31 July 2013, Chapter I.
3. Thomas Goss, “Who’s in Charge? New Challenges in Homeland Defense and Homeland
Security,” Homeland Security Affairs II(1), 2006, 1-12.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This lesson continues the detailed discussion and analysis of the military's uses, capabilities, and
limitations across the range of military operations in varied environments. Students will leave this
lesson with an understanding of the broad range of capabilities residing in the Reserve
Component, along with knowledge of the considerations involved in planning and organizing
forces for domestic operations.

40
 Day 10: JW-512
Introduction to Mission Analysis

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the purpose, activities, and desired outputs of JPP step 2, Mission Analysis,
including how operational art, operational design, and the commander’s initial operational
approach, along with the joint functions, inform the JPP through Mission Analysis activities.
2. Comprehend the process for developing a clear mission statement, and the purpose, construct,
and content of a mission statement per current joint doctrine through the critical analysis of a
joint operation.
3. Comprehend the significance of planning assumptions, commander’s critical information
requirements (CCIRs), and risk assessment during the planning and execution of military
operations.
4. Comprehend the options available to the Joint Force Commander for the organization of a
joint force, the potential interorganizational relationships, and the doctrinal command
relationships (COCOM, OPCON, TACON, and support) that define the authority a
commander has over assigned or attached forces, and how that leads to unity of command and
unity of effort.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-512 (S): Introduction to Mission Analysis
Overview: A discussion and review of declassified USCENTCOM OPLAN 1003V Change 1,
The Combined Force Commander Operation Plan for combat operations in Iraq, provides
insight and understanding into the elements of mission analysis for this operation. A thorough
Mission Analysis is critical to correctly frame the problem, enabling appropriate solutions
during the rest of the JPP. Through the activities of Mission Analysis, planners determine the
tasks required to accomplish the mission, the purpose of the mission, limitations on freedom
of action (constraints and restraints), and the forces and organization that will support the
operation. The outputs of the Mission Analysis step directly influence the remainder of
detailed planning, particularly course of action development during which planners develop
solutions to the problems as outlined during Mission Analysis. Factors such as planning
assumptions and CCIRs affect intelligence collection and ends-ways-means-risk assessment
throughout planning and execution. The seminar includes the critical analysis of the plan and
subsequent execution of intergovernmental and multinational operations.
CONTACT HOURS: 3.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Walter L. Perry, Richard E. Darilek, Laurinda L. Rohn, and Jerry M. Sollinger, eds. Operation
Iraq Freedom: Decisive War, Elusive Peace, 31-45, Skim xix-xxxii and 46-56. [EL]

[This selection from Walter Perry provides a look at the planning and analysis that went into
preparing for major combat operations in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. It also demonstrates
linkages between national-strategic objectives and operational-level planning.]

2. Headquarters US Central Command, USCENTCOM OPLAN 1003V CHANGE 1, 2003, 1-

38, skim 39-90. [EL]

41
 [The real-world declassified 1003V Operation Plan (OPLAN) for OIF. Upon execution
1003V became the OPORD. It is useful in analyzing how the operational approach informs
detailed activities and particularly mission analysis activities at the designated headquarters
and component levels.]

3. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, III-12 through III-32.[EL]

[Introduces the doctrinal activities associated with the Mission Analysis step of the joint
planning process.]

4. Joint Publication 1, Doctrine for the Armed Forces of the United States, 25 March 2013
Incorporating Change 1, 12 July 2017, IV-1 to IV-11; IV-15 to IV-18, V-1 to V-13. [EL]

[The JP 1 reading describes the types of U.S. joint organizations and the organizational
options available to a joint force commander for the conduct of military operations, and
command relationships (authorities) that facilitate unity of command and unity of effort.]

5. Joint Publication 3-08, Interorganizational Cooperation, 12 Oct 2016 Validated 18 October

2017, Skim IV-19 to IV-30. [EL]

[The JP 3-08 provides concepts and considerations associated with interorganizational

cooperation necessary to understand how the military contributes to unified effort within the
U.S. Government.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

None.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

The Mission Analysis seminar continues the JW Phase 1 theme of problem framing, specifically
through the doctrinal activities of Mission Analysis. Students apply their knowledge of the
Mission Analysis step and associated inputs, outputs, and activities to analyze the joint mission
planning with interagency partners for OIF. The lesson revisits operational design, national
planning systems, and sources of national guidance that drive detailed planning during the JPP.
JW-513 analyzes a historical operation through the specific lens of Mission Analysis activities.

42
 Day 11: JW-513
Mission Analysis Case Study: Tora Bora

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Building on concepts discussed in Lesson JW-512, analyze the planning of an historical
operation for the doctrinal activities of mission analysis, and identify planning activities and
operational design elements that lead to success or failure in military operations in a complex
operational environment.
2. Comprehend how the Mission Analysis step of the JPP is integrated with the elements of
operational design, the commander’s initial operational approach, and the joint functions.
3. Comprehend the relationship between the doctrinal levels of war, and analyze how activities
and effects at one level may impact the other levels in positive or negative ways.
4. Building on concepts discussed in Objectives 1, 2, & 3, analyze the joint doctrinal command
relationships and joint force organizational structures, and their significance in operations, and
connection with the principle of unity of command.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-513 (S): Mission Analysis Case Study: Tora Bora
Overview: Students have completed a seminar on JPP step 2, Mission Analysis. They are
equipped with the requisite knowledge of the purpose and activities of Mission Analysis to
enable an analysis of a historical operation. The Tora Bora case study provides an opportunity
to analyze a critical mission during the early days of OEF when the U.S. was seeking Osama
Bin Laden and attempting to remove the Taliban and Al-Qaeda from Afghanistan.
The case study gives students an understanding of the logic and analysis behind a mission and
other outputs of mission analysis, command relationships with joint, interagency, and
coalition actors, and their direct and indirect effects on military operations.
CONTACT HOURS: 3.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Perry, Walter and David Kassing, “Toppling the Taliban,” In Toppling the Taliban: Air
Ground Operations in Afghanistan, October 2001-June 2002, (Santa Monica, CA: RAND
Corporation, 2015), 31-37, 39-40, 44-46, 83-84. [EL]

[This selection from Perry and Kassing depicts the command and control of forces in the
opening months of OEF and highlights the friction between military and CIA forces.]

2. Wright, P. Donald with the US Army Combined Arms Center Contemporary Operations
Study Team, A Different Kind of War: The United States Army in Operations ENDURING
FREEDOM October 2001-September 2005, (Combat Studies Institute Press, 2010), 71-88,
93-101, 111-121. [EL]

[This selection from Donald Wright deconstructs military operations in Afghanistan from the
onset of OEF through the assault on Tora Bora.]

3. Runkle, Benjamin, “Tora Bora Reconsidered: Lessons From 125 Years of Strategic
Manhunts,” (Joint Forces Quarterly 70, 3rd Quarters 2013), 40-46. [EL]

43
 [This article analyzes what went wrong in the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Tora Bora and
questions the operational effectiveness of strategic manhunts.]

4. PBS Frontline, Assault on Tora Bora, selections from interviews with Colonel John
Mulholland, General Tommy Franks, U.S. Special Forces ODA 572, 2003, Transcript. [EL]

[After the Taliban regime was defeated, the military turned its focus to mountainous region of
Tora Bora, where it was believed that Osama bin Laden was holed up in fortified caves along
with Taliban and Al Qaeda troops. Special Forces soldiers working with local warlords
describe the assault on the caves, and military commanders defend against charges that the
operation was a failure because of insufficient troops on the ground to root out bin Laden.]

5. Lowrey, Nathan S, U.S. Marines in Afghanistan, 2001-2002: From The Sea, (Washington
D.C. History Division U.S. Marine Corps, 2011), 207-219. [EL]

[This selection provides another account of the assault on the cave complex at Tora Bora and
the decision to augment Afghan forces with CIA and special operations forces rather than a
larger conventional US force.]

6. Lambeth, Benjamin, Air Power Against Terror: America’s Conduct of Operation Enduring
Freedom, (Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corp, 2005), 149-156. [EL]

[This selection offers an account of the use of airpower during the assault on Tora Bora.]

7. Donald Rumsfeld, Snowflake on Attached CENTCOM Information, 6 August 2002.

[This "snowflake" from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to other senior defense
officials shares USCENTCOM-generated talking points on the use of Afghan forces in Tora
Bora.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. (Review) Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, III-12 through III-32.
2. (Review) Joint Publication 1, Doctrine for the Armed Forces of the United States, 25 March
2013 Incorporating Change 1, 12 July 2017, I-7 to I-9.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This seminar reinforces previous learning (JW-512), moving from the comprehension of JPP step
2 and associated activities of Mission Analysis to analyzing a historical operation through the
specific lens of Mission Analysis activities as outlined in current doctrine. Students will have the
skills to conduct their mission analysis as applied to a complex planning scenario during the
Mission Analysis Workshop in JW 514 and 515 and PACIFIC ENDEAVOR through the
historical case study.

44
Day 12: JW Directed Study

45
 Day 13: JW-514 and Day 14: JW-515
Mission Analysis Workshop Day 1 and Day 2

LESSON OBJECTIVES
Note: Objectives 1-4 build on work conducted in Lessons JW-508 and JW-509
(Operational Design Workshop) and lessons JW-512 and JW-513.
1. Integrate operational art and operational design with Joint Planning and assess how military
planning considers all elements of national power, interorganizational stakeholders, private
contractors, and a whole of government approach to achieving national strategic goals.
2. Comprehend the purpose and process for activities of JPP step 2, Mission Analysis, and how
operational art, operational design, and the JPP are iterative in nature.
3. Analyze how strategic guidance documents, commander’s intent and planning guidance and
the initial operational approach guide and inform the Mission Analysis step of the JPP.
4. Apply joint planning concepts across the joint functions while conducting Joint Planning
activities as described in JP 5-0 for JPP Step 2, Mission Analysis, to develop a Mission
Statement and create a Mission Analysis brief for the Joint Force Commander (CI).
5. Distinguish the activities of China and Russia in Nigeria and implications on U.S. mission
planning.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-514 and JW-515 (S): Mission Analysis Workshop Day 1 and Day 2
Overview: Mission Analysis is an integral part of the JPP, which, according to JP 5-0, “is
used to study the assigned tasks and identify all other tasks necessary to accomplish the
mission (III-12).” This step provides direction to the commander and allows the staff to
properly focus on the problem at hand. This workshop addresses the activities of Mission
Analysis and expands upon and link to the analysis conducted during JW-508 (Operational
Design). The results will include a refined Operational Approach and a Mission Analysis
Brief. The outputs of Mission Analysis will prepare the students to develop Courses of Action
later in the JW course during the application of JPP Step 3.

The Mission Analysis brief is a tool through which the staff briefs the commander on the
operational design and planning activities through JPP Step 2. Though the instructor has led
the seminar through operational design, Step 1 (Initiation), and Step 2 (Mission Analysis), it is
helpful for students to develop and present the brief to gain an appreciation for how the
thought, discussion, and doctrinal terms and tools come together to inform and shape the
commander’s planning guidance and future steps in the problem-solving process. According
to JP 5-0, the brief “[provides] the commander with the results of the staff’s analysis of the
mission, offers a forum to discuss issues that have been identified, and ensures the
commander and staff share a common understanding of the mission.”
CONTACT HOURS: 2x3.0-hour seminars

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, Appendix K-17 through K-25
(Operation Assessment). [EL]

[The plan for assessing the achievement of operational goals should be built into the overall
plan. This section provides guidance on how to ensure assessment is built into all plans.]

46
2. JW Nigeria scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-source research
materials as required. [EL]

[Students should continue research and build upon their work during the JW-508 Operational
Design Workshop prior to the start of the Mission Analysis Workshop. Students will not have
the time to “spin-up” on the scenario during this seminar. This seminar continues with the
analysis conducted in the previous Operational Design Workshop. In addition to the materials
provided, students will be required to conduct independent research to gain information that
will facilitate the analysis and application of elements of operational design during the
seminar. The purpose of student research for scenario information is to build analytical skills
for knowing what types of questions to ask, as well as what specific questions to ask, and seek
relevant information to enable military planning activities.]

3. JW Operational Design Study Guide. [EL]

[This guide is provided to enable coherent research and note-taking on scenario materials.
Students should use the guide and prepare notes for in-class use per their instructor’s
directions.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. (Review) Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, Review III-12 through
III-32 (Mission Analysis), Appendix K.
2. (Review) Jeffrey M. Reilly, Operational Design: Distilling Clarity from Complexity for
Decisive Action, (Air University Press, 2012), 54-58, beginning with “Assumptions: The
Forgotten Element in Design.”

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

The Mission Analysis Workshop provides an opportunity to synthesize all JW concepts to this
point in the course. This workshop allows the CI to “walk” the seminar through the activities of
Mission Analysis. The products of this seminar, including the development of assumptions,
limitations, tasks, initial risk assessment, CCIRs, and a mission statement, support the COA
Development Workshop, wherein students will develop distinct COAs to address the scenario
contingency planning problem. The analysis and synthesis conducted during these two days
provide another opportunity to hone critical thinking and analytical skills. The experience gained
during this seminar will also prepare the students to conduct student-led planning during
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR to address a more complex contingency scenario.

47
 Phase 2: PROBLEM SOLVING
Developing Solutions through the Application of Military Capabilities

Day 15: JW-516

The Operational Art (Student Presentation – JW-600E)

LESSON OBJECTIVES
These Objectives build on concepts discussed in Lessons JW-501 through JW-515
1. Analyze the fundamentals of operational art and design, specifically as they may be applied to
the development of potential military solutions to complex security problems the joint force
may face.
2. Analyze a military operation for the commander’s vision, to include its complexity and
uncertainty, decision making, and use of doctrinal concepts (operational art and operational
design) and principles of joint operations which led to successful accomplishment of the
mission.
3. Analyze the factors or characteristics of commander’s that may lead to success in combat
operations, and how those factors relate to modern doctrinal concepts.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-516 (S): The Operational Art (Student Presentation)
Overview: In his seminal work Command in War (1987), Martin Van Creveld posits,
“Studying the past may be a matter of marginal utility only, but the past is us, and it is on the
past alone that all decision making is inevitably based. A systematic study of the past prevents
leaders and planners from relying solely on personal experience, hearsay, and intuition.” This
lesson provides an opportunity to study and present a short briefing on a selected commander
and battle. It will provide insight into the analysis methods and the critical and creative
thinking required of the military professional to devise appropriate courses of action to solve
complex security problems in environments of uncertainty. As an introduction to the JW
“problem solving” phase (Phase 2), this activity helps students appreciate command decisions.
It also provides insight into how planners and commanders elect to adhere to or reject certain
principles or doctrinal concepts to accomplish missions. This seminar, coupled with a solid
understanding of the “tools,” capabilities, and resources used in accomplishing military
missions (introduced in upcoming lessons), will enable students to analyze a situation and
determine appropriate ways and means for achieving desired ends – known in U.S. joint
doctrine as developing courses of action. The student presentation constitutes 15% of the Joint
Warfighting course grade (JW-600E).
CONTACT HOURS: 3.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Jensen, Rebecca and Steve Leonard, Back to the Future: Rediscovering Operational Art in an
Era of Great Power Competition, Modern War Institute at West Point, 9/10/21. [EL]

[This reading illustrates the utility of operational art through its application while
underscoring its role as a crucial link between tactics and strategy. Readers are shown
how operational art proved effective through the Gulf War but waned during the 1990’s only

48
 to be resurrected after the challenges of the early phases of OEF and OIF. The reader should
come away with a better understanding of how operational art contributes to success and why
it is vital to Great Power Competition.]

2. JW-600E Student Research and Presentation Guidance.

[Provides detailed guidance on the timing and content requirements of the in-class presention.
It is important that students follow the guidance for this graded presentation.]

3. Research as required for assigned in-class presentation. This will require going outside of the
course materials to conduct the research.

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Milan Vego, “On Military Creativity,” Joint Force Quarterly, 70, 3rd Quarter (2013), 83-90.

[Vego points out several aspects of military creativity, and the necessity for the military
proessional’s “…ability to find workable, novel solutions to problems—to be innovative and
adaptable in fast moving, potentially confusing situations,” a primary goal of ACSC and the
JW course.]

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This lesson allows for a brief look at a few historical case studies of commanders and battles that
are significant for many reasons. The ability to research and critically analyze historical
operations in terms of application of capabilities and the use of doctrine and other accepted
principles will lay the groundwork for student application of creative thinking to develop valid
courses of action for solving complex problems, in uncertain environments, through the
application of military capabilities. This lesson is an early part of this course's building block
approach to problem-solving. Future lessons will add service capabilities, domain operations, and
doctrinal activities of course of action development. The JW COA Development Workshops will
leverage this analysis, and the JW course will culminate with applying this knowledge during
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR. This lesson builds upon the foundation of War Theory (WT) lessons that
address and examine classic military theorists (ex. Clausewitz, Jomini, Tzu) and the principles of
war.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
Group paper (JW-601E) assigned at the conclusion of the JW-516 seminar.

49
 Day 16: JW-517
Countering Russia in the U.S. Arctic: Scenario In-Brief

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the significance of the Arctic operating environment (OE) in the realm of
strategic competition.
2. Comprehend the challenges posed by the Arctic OE and its complexity for joint operations in
support of national interests.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-517 (L): Arctic Scenario In-Brief
Overview: The Arctic Scenario In-Brief provides students with an academic exercise scenario
to support lessons JW-516 through JW-528. The scenario describes Russian activity and
aggression in the high north that has the attention of U.S. national security leaders. The
scenario will provide a baseline for U.S. and Russian military activity in the Arctic region
closest to the U.S. Homeland. The scenario will develop through seminar JW-528. Each of the
seminar lessons through JW-528 will provide a scenario vignette with a problem to address.
The scenario vignettes and related problems provide an operational environment to apply
operational art and design elements and domain-related capabilities in military operations
using the framework of access and maneuver to create desired effects.
CONTACT HOURS: 0.5-hour lecture

REQUIRED READINGS
1. DOD Arctic Strategy, 2019. [EL]

[The DoD Arctic Strategy outlines the major problems facing security in the Arctic.  It points
to overall strategies for using DoD assets to move toward resolution of those issues and
informs students of the major issues and programs in the region.]

2. United States Coast Guard Arctic Strategy Outlook, 2019. [EL]

[The US Coast Guard performs more missions in the Arctic than any other government
agency. This strategy provides students with a comprehensive look at major issues facing the
US Coast Guard and our national security interests in the region.]

3. Arctic Scenario Road to Conflict, 2022. [EL]

[This briefing provides an overview of the events leading up to US conflict with Russia in the
Arctic and sets the foundation this lecture.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

None.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This lesson provides an introduction and understanding of a Russian threat in an Arctic
environment. Using scenario vignettes in upcoming domain lessons, students comprehend the
nature, elements, and operational capabilities in and across domains and apply them in military

50
operations. Students will revisit strategic direction, the operational environment, operational art,
and operational design and apply elements of operational art and design with domain-related
capabilities to access, maneuver in, and create effects based on the vignette and desired
objectives.

51
 Day 16: JW-518
Joint Space, Cyber, and Electromagnetic Spectrum with Russians in the Arctic Vignette

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend joint force capabilities in Space, Cyberspace, and the Electromagnetic Spectrum
(EMS) and their contributions to joint warfighting to achieve effects at the operational level of
war across the competition continuum, and how they are integrated into other lines of
operation or lines of effort.
2. Comprehend how the joint force gains access, maneuvers, and achieves effects in and through
the space, cyber, and EMS domains against a Russian threat in the Arctic scenario.
3. Comprehend the interdependencies, risk, synergies, limitations, and unique capabilities/effects
of the joint force in the space, cyber, and EMS domains and how they provide joint force
commanders with the means and ways to achieve the desired end state.
4. Comprehend how the joint functions enable the commander and staff in the planning and
execution of joint military operations across the space, cyber, and EMS domains.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-518 (S): Joint Space, Cyber, and EMS
Overview: Space, Cyber, and the EMS are critical to all joint military operations. They have
become pervasive in every aspect of the military, commercial, and adversarial operations.
Space capabilities provide combatant commanders (CCDRs) near-worldwide coverage and
access to otherwise denied areas. Cyber activities and operations have a significant impact on
how the Joint Force operates in and across all domains and, in many cases, is dependent on
space-related capabilities. The relationship between space and cyberspace is unique, with
mutual dependencies. The relative sanctuary the U.S. has enjoyed in the space domain has
eroded.

EMS is a critical enabler to superiority in all domains and must be considered first in planning
and executing any joint force operation. Operations in these areas will significantly impact
how the Joint Force works in and through the battlefield. It is important to understand how to
integrate EMS, Cyber, and Space effects into the operational approach and detailed planning
of any operation. Through a combination of the readings, classroom discussion, and vignette
activities against a Russian threat, the lesson will help students understand how these domains
affect military operations and why domain superiority is a primary objective in any military
operation. In addition, the lesson helps students understand how the Joint Force provides
access, maneuver, and effects from Space, Cyber, and EMS platforms for offensive and
defensive operations.
CONTACT HOURS: 2.5-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 3-12, Cyberspace Operations, 8 June 2018, vii-xvii. [EL]

[The JP 3-12 executive summary provides foundational doctrine for how the Joint Force
operates in and through the cyberspace domain, including core activities, effects, joint
functions, and the planning and execution of cyberspace operations.]

2. Dina Temple-Raston, “How the U.S. Hacked ISIS,” 26 Sep 2019, NPR. [EL]

52
 [This article provides a rare behind the scenes look at the U.S.’s ability to conduct Offensive
Cyber Operations. Pay special attention to how these operations gained access, maneuver,
and achieved affects in cyberspace.]

3. Joint Publication 3-85, Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations, 22 May 2020, Skim v-xii;
Read I-1 to I-13. [EL]

[This selection defines Joint EMS operations, discusses coordination required to conduct
them, and some planning considerations. There are also connections to be made between this
and the IO reading from JW-519.]

4. Defense Intelligence Agency, Challenges to Security in Space, January 2019, 7-11, Skim 12-
37. [EL]

[This reading provides an overview of the critical capabilities provided by space as well as
how America’s adversaries are striving to achieve strategic advantage in the space domain.]

5. Department of Joint Warfighting, Joint Warfighting Capabilities Primer (JWCP) AY22, Skim
13, 35-36, 59-60, 64-67, 79-81, 104-146.

[The JWCP provides a brief overview of service capabilities, force presentation, and major
assets to enhance understanding of the services’ unique contributions to the joint force.]

6. Department of Joint Warfighting, ACSC Staff Planner’s Guide, August 2021, Skim 61, 64-65,
86-87.

[The Staff Planner’s Guide is intended as a quick reference guide for select staff actions, with
a focus on operational planning.]

7. Arctic vignette information as provided by Course Instructor. [EL]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Jeff Reilly, Beyond the Theory – A Framework for All-domain Operations, Podcast, 13 April
2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcTicq1BagM.
2. Eric Heginbotham, et al. “The U.S.-China Military Scorecard: Forces, Geography, and the
Evolving Balance of Power 1996-2017,” Rand Corporation, 2015, Ch 11 (US and Chinese
Cyberwarfare Capabilities).
3. Joint Publication 3-12, Cyberspace Operations, 8 June 2018, Ch. II, Ch. IV
4. Jennifer Leigh Phillips, “Tactical Maneuver in the Cyber Domain: Dominating the Enemy,”
Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 93, Second Quarter 2019, 14-20.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This lesson emphasizes the need to integrate all-domain capabilities to achieve operational
success. Examining operating domains and service capabilities and how forces gain access to and
operate within these domains is a key facet of operational art and operational design.

53
Comprehension of domain characteristics and service capabilities enables planners to analyze
missions and derive suitable courses of action to provide options to commanders and national
decision-makers in the application of military forces toward achieving national interests.
Additionally, understanding how the U.S. Space Force, Functional Combatant Commanders (such
as USCYBERCOM), and combat support agencies integrate into operational planning. Students
will use vignette activities to apply domain-related capabilities to create desired effects supporting
objectives for an identified problem. Students will use the knowledge of domains and capabilities
during the JW COA Development, Analysis, and Comparison Workshops and the PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR exercise. This lesson builds upon the AirPower II cyber lessons that address and
examine past operations, present state, and future threats. In addition, War Theory lessons address
and examine information warfare and the cyber domain.

54
 Day 17: JW-519
Information Operations: The Man Who Never Was (Movie)

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend how the Information joint function and information operations (IO) are
incorporated with operational art, operational design, and the planning process to gain entry to
and produce effects within the information environment and across traditional operating
domains.
2. Comprehend the necessity for building IO plans as an inherent part of operation planning/lines
of operation, and the lead time, detailed planning, and synchronization necessary for
successful integration of information related capabilities (IRCs).
3. Comprehend the Information Environment and associated dimensions (physical,
informational, and cognitive), how they interact, and are essential in joint military operations
across the domains.
4. Comprehend how Information as a joint function and IO contribute to operational art through
the principles of joint operations, and how understanding the actors within an OE is essential
to effective IO.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-519 (L): Information Operations: The Man Who Never Was (Movie)
Overview: As stated in JP 3-13, “the Secretary of Defense now characterizes IO as the
integrated employment, during military operations, of IRCs in concert with other lines of
operation to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp the decision making of adversaries and
potential adversaries while protecting our own.” [emphasis added] The movie “The Man Who
Never Was” is a theatrical account of the true story of Operation MINCEMEAT – the
successful military deception plan to throw off the Axis high command as to the location and
timing of the Allied invasion of Sicily from North Africa. As one of many information-related
capabilities (IRC) currently found in joint doctrine, this example of military deception
(MILDEC) is useful toward gaining an appreciation for the broader issues regarding the
proper planning and integration of IO into military plans. Moreover, one can also recognize
that the process for IO planning and integration may be similar to operations in the traditional
warfighting domains (land, maritime, air, space, and cyber). Reverse planning regarding the
intended target (in the case of IO, the target audience), the desired effects, and how to gain
access to the audience (or domain) and achieve those effects (and avoid undesired effects) is
similar to the approach taken in all military planning efforts. It is part of the operational ends-
ways-means-risk analysis. In the domains, we seek first to gain access, then to maneuver to
achieve the desired effects on any broad selection of “targets” to accomplish a mission and
reach the desired end state.
CONTACT HOURS: 2.0-hour movie

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 3-13, Information Operations, 27 November 2012 (Incorporating Change 1
date 20 November 2014), I-1 to I-5, II-5 to II-13, IV-1 to IV-12. [EL]

[The reading selection from JP 3-13, Information Operations, provides background regarding
the modern doctrinal concepts associated with Information Operations, including the
Information Environment (IE) and associated dimensions of the IE. Additionally, a brief

55
 overview of information related capabilities (IRCs, chapter II) and the incorporation of IO
into operation planning is covered. This background reading provides a lens through which
students can view the movie “The Man Who Never Was” and relate the events depicted in the
film to modern military concepts useful for the planning and integration of IO into joint
military operations.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Video: Really Weird History: Operation Mincemeat
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBaNrTMUQbM).

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This movie screening is another opportunity to analyze a complex operation through film. It
provides a unique perspective for linking actions and effects across the levels of war and the
competition continuum. This movie depicts events related directly to the planning and integration
of Information Operations, though, as noted, it can help to broaden understanding of operational
art and all-domain operations. Learning through film reinforces the objectives of the course,
which strive to foster habits of mind and patterns of inquiry – providing the planners not merely
with examples of previous operations but building analytical tools for future operation planning
and problem-solving.

56
 Day 17: JW-520
Information Operations

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend how Information as a joint function and IO contribute to operational art through
the principles of joint operations in the Arctic scenario, and how understanding Russian
activities within the U.S. Arctic OE is essential to effective IO.
2. Analyze the Information and IO environment and threats in the Arctic scenario vignette and
through a joint/interagency structure recommend related capabilites that support national
interests against a Russian activities.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-520 (S): Joint Information Operations
Overview: The ability to share information in near real-time is a capability that can be both
an asset and a vulnerability. Information is a powerful tool to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or
preempt an adversary's ability to make decisions and disseminate information to take action.
Information Operations (IO) and related IRCs (Information-Related Capabilities) are
important capabilities to incorporate into joint military operations at the outset of planning
activities. They can create effects and desired conditions to achieve the JFC's objectives. IO
can be the centerpiece of a joint mission with other joint functions effectively serving a
supporting role.
CONTACT HOURS: 1.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Singer P.W. and Emerson T. Brooking, LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media, (First
Mariner Books. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2019), 148-154, Review 4-
11, 17-19, 103-117, 203-212.

[This selection from P.W. Singer's LikeWar outlines modern examples of how both state-
sponsored actors (Russia) and non-state actors (ISIS) successfully integrated information
operations to further their political and military objectives.]

2. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Concept for Operating in the Information Environment, July 2018,
vii-xi and 18-30. [EL]

[The JCOIE describes how the Joint Force will build information into operational art to design
operations that deliberately leverage information and the informational aspects of military
activities to achieve enduring strategic outcomes. To compete in the information environment,
JCOIE aims to institutionalize and operationalize the Joint Force’s approach to information.]

3. Arctic vignette information as provided by Course Instructor. [EL]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

None.

57
LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE
The IO exercise allows students to understand and analyze the application and potential effects of
IO capabilities in an adversarial environment. Students will incorporate IO/IRCs during the JW
Workshops (particularly the COA Development Workshop) and PACIFIC ENDEAVOR.

58
 Day 18: JW-521
Sustainment Concepts for Global Power Projection

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the significance and complexity of deploying and sustaining a joint force for
global operations across the competition continuum in support of national interests, including
how the force and DOD are organized to fulfill this role.
2. Comprehend how sustainment concepts and capabilities affect joint operations and provide
commanders and staffs with options to plan and execute campaign plans.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-521 (L): Sustainment for Global Power Projection
Overview: The deployment and sustainment concepts of a course of action will significantly
impact the feasibility of that course of action. However, these concepts should begin during
Operational Design, further developed during Mission Analysis, and run concurrently during
COA Development. While operational concerns will primarily drive logistical requirements,
the viability of any plan is only as good as the plan to gain access and sustain military
activities. This lecture will introduce students to the importance of logistics planning and its
impact on operational objectives, and the timing and arrangement of operations.
CONTACT HOURS: 1.0-hour lecture

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 4-0, Joint Logistics, 4 February 2019 (Incorporating Change 1 Dated 8 May
2019), ix-xviii, I-1 to I-10.

[The JP 4-0 readings provide foundational doctrine upon which the joint force conducts joint
logistics. Particular focus should be placed upon the principles of logistics and the planning of
sustainment to support joint operations.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

None.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This lesson emphasizes integrating various aspects of logistics and operational planning to
provide insight into the challenges of developing a complete and valid course of action.
Additionally, this lecture sets the stage for the JW-520 seminar in which students comprehend
deploying and sustaining the joint force to include using Operational Contract Support (OCS).
OCS aims to leverage the skills and services of Private Military Contractors (PMCs) who have
become an integrated element of the Joint Force. Together, the lecture, seminar, and exercise
scenario will introduce students to the vast implications of sustainment concepts on joint
campaign planning and convey how logistics provides the Joint Force Commander with the
operational reach, endurance, and flexibility necessary for successful military operations. This
information will further enable concept application during the JW Course of Action Development
Workshop and PACIFIC ENDEAVOR.

59
 Day 18: JW-522
Deploying and Sustaining the Joint Force

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the significance and complexity of deploying and sustaining a joint force for
global operations across the competition continuum in support of national interests.
2. Comprehend how doctrinal principles of logistics and sustainment capabilities may affect
joint operations and campaign outcomes.
3. Comprehend operational contract support (OCS) concepts, the importance of incorporating
OCS in the design and execution of campaign and contingency plans given the dependency on
Private Military Contractors (PMCs), and potential pitfalls of OCS in military operations.
4. Comprehend how a functional combatant command (USTRANSCOM), Services, and combat
support agencies contribute to the Joint Force’s ability to deploy and sustain military
operations against a Russian threat in a complex integrated environment across all domains.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-522 (S): Deploying and Sustaining the Joint Force
Overview: While matters of logistics will almost certainly levy limitations upon the
deployment and employment of the Joint Force, an integrated logistics and operational
concept promotes operational reach, endurance, and flexibility. Even though operational goals
primarily drive logistics plans, neither can claim primacy as each is integral for successful
joint operations. Comprehending joint logistics fundamentals is necessary for successful
deployment and sustainment of the Joint Force across all phases of an operation and the
competition continuum. The PMC has played a significant role in the employment, support,
and sustainment of Joint Force operations. The Joint Force has become dependent on the PMC
due to the breadth of skills and services they offer the warfighter. PMCs have become an
essential element of the integrated Joint Force. OCS is an indispensable capability and the
critical enabler to integrate PMCs into Joint Force operations. It will continue to be prevalent
across all service and joint operations. When properly integrated, logistics and OCS are
critical enablers and force multipliers that aid Commanders and their staff in developing
solutions and options to problems across the joint spectrum. To this end, analysis and
discussion of historical sustainment concepts and using the Arctic exercise scenario with a
Russian threat with logistics-related task/requirements help demonstrate the impact logistics
may have on mission planning, courses of action development, and execution.
CONTACT HOURS: 2.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Video: Operational Contracting Support (OCS) Overview
(https://web.microsoftstream.com/video/78641184-ac14-4057-838f-1419c6aebf85). [EL]

[Provides a short overview of OCS and its purpose in joint military operations.]

2. Joint Publication 4-10, Operational Contract Support, 4 March 2019, ix–xvii, I-1 to I-4 (stop
at “Key Terminology”), I-8 to I-16 (stop at “Prevention of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse”). [EL]

[JP 4-10 provides a brief overview of OCS and implications for military operations.]

60
3. Alice Trevino, et. al, “Leveraging our War-Fighting Capabilities through the Lens of
Operational Contract Support,” Air and Space Power Journal, Fall 2019, Skim 4-14. [EL]

[The article presents lessons learned on using OCS to meet mission requirements during
USAF emergency response activities for Hurricane Michael and Super Typhoon Yutu, and
using OCS to bolster credible warfighting capability in INDOPACOM.]

4. Charles R. Schrader, A War of Logistics: Parachutes and Porters in Indochina, 1945-1954,

(Univ. Press of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 2015), xv-xvi, 1-9. [EL]

[After nearly ten years of savage combat, the western world was stunned when Viet Minh
forces decisively defeated the French Union army at the battle of Dien Bien Phu in May1954.
Logistics dominated every aspect of the First Indochina War, dictating the objectives,the
organization of forces, the timing and duration of the operations, and even the final outcome.]

5. Robert C. Owen, Air Mobility: A Brief History of the American Experience, (Potomac Books,
Washington D.C., 2013), 240-253. [EL]

[The chapter on the first Gulf War emphasizes the integration, capabilities, and limitations of
air forces in the deployment and sustainment of the Joint Force.]

6. Briscoe, Charles H., Richard L. Kiper, James A. Schroder, and Kaley I. Sepp, Weapon of
Choice: U.S. Army Special Operation Forces in Afghanistan, (Fort Leavenworth, KS. Combat
Studies Institute Press), 2003, Read pages 64-68, 72-73, 129-132. [EL]

7. Department of Joint Warfighting, Joint Warfighting Capabilities Primer (JWCP) AY22, 1-8.

[The JWCP provides a brief overview of service capabilities, force presentation, and major
assets to enhance understanding of the services’ unique contributions to the joint force.]

8. Arctic vignette information as provided by Course Instructor. [EL]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Rick Atkinson, An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, (Henry Holt &
Company, New York, 2002), Review 1-160 (Pay particular attention to the deployment and
sustainment of forces in the North African campaign).
2. Mark Solseth, “Rules for Planning Joint Sustainment,” Army Sustainment Magazine, March-
April 2014, 15-18.
3. LCDR Akil R. King III, USN, CPT Zackary H. Moss, USA, and LT Afi Y. Pittman, USN.
“Overcoming Logistics Challenges in East Africa,” Army Sustainment Magazine, January-
February 2014, 28-31.
4. Video: Defense Logistics Agency (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx1uojDaeKU)

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

Together, this seminar and the preceding lecture will prepare students to apply, at the introductory
level, the principles of logistics and concepts of OCS into their planning of joint operations to

61
ensure complete and valid COAs during the COA Development Workshop and the PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR exercise. Further, this lesson will enable the application of operational art and
design to complex military problem sets and solutions, ultimately facilitating the operational
reach, endurance, and flexibility for successful military operations.

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 Day 19: JW-523
Joint Operations in the Maritime Domain

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend Navy and Marine warfighting doctrine, force organization, perspective on
warfighting, and unique contributions to the Joint Force.
2. Comprehend how the Navy and Marines present forces and capabilities to the Joint Force
Commander for operations, the capabilities and limitations of those forces, and their
relationship to the Joint Force Maritime Component.
3. Comprehend the capabilities of joint forces and their contribution to joint warfighting in the
maritime domain to achieve effects at the operational level of war, and across the competition
continuum.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-523 (L): Joint Operations in the Maritime Domain
Overview: The Navy and Marine Corps can rapidly conduct missions across the competition
continuum globally. Through flexible organizational and command and control structures, the
Navy provides decisive naval capabilities to a JFC in task-organized, tailorable, and forward-
deployed expeditionary force packages. The Marine Corps provides flexible, ready forces to
fulfill its statutory role as the nation’s “force in readiness.” Operational-level planners must
understand how Marine Corps forces are organized, accomplish their missions, and execute
their roles as part of joint and combined teams in campaigns and significant operations.
Unique service traits such as access, persistent presence, and small footprint augment these
capabilities. Comprehending the capabilities of US naval and marine forces and understanding
their unique force limitations and operating environment challenges is critical to maximizing
naval contributions with other joint or combined forces.
CONTACT HOURS: 1.5-hour lecture

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Navy Warfare Publication (NWP) 3-32, Maritime Operations at the Operational Level of
War, October 2008 w/Change 1, August 2010, 1-1 to 1-7. [EL]

[This U.S. Navy Service doctrine overview of the maritime domain, and the purpose,
functions, and activities of the U.S. Naval forces.]

2. Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication (MCDP) 1-0, Marine Corps Operations, July 2017 w/
change 1,2,3, 1-1 to 1-5 (stop at instruments of National Power); 1-13 (Roles and Functions)
to 1-17; 2-6 to 2-20. [EL]

[The MCDP 1-0 reading outlines the Marine Corps Title 10 roles and functions, discusses
how Marine forces are organized and presented to a JFC, and discusses how Marine Corps
forces would be employed to achieve JFC objectives to include addressing the capabilities and
limitations that these forces bring to the fight.]

3. Gen David H. Berger, Commandant of the Marine Corps, "Notes on Designing the Marine
Corps of the Future," 6 Dec 2019. [EL]

63
 [Gen Berger argues that the Marine Corps may not optimized, and the design of the force and
its warfighting capability is not aligned to the potential adversaries in Great Power
Competition. New concepts, approaches, and operating out of the naval services traditional
comfort zone will be required.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Navy Warfare Publication 3-56, Composite Warfare: Maritime Operations at the Tactical
Level of War, December 2015, 1-1 to 1-5, 3-1 to 3-8, 7-1 to 7-8, 8-1 to 8-5, Skim 4-1 to 5-6.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

Comprehension of US Navy and Marine Corps current doctrine, operating concepts, and the
capabilities and limitations of these forces are foundational for properly planning for and
employing Navy and Marine Corps forces during joint operations. This lecture provides a
foundation for understanding Navy and Marine Corps concepts, capabilities, and employment
during joint operations.

64
 Day 19: JW-524
Joint Operations in the Maritime Domain

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the unique characteristics of the maritime domain and how joint forces gain
access, maneuver in the domain and generate effects that contribute to the overall joint
operation (including command and control of maritime operations and command
relationships).
2. Comprehend the interdependencies, risk, achieving synergy, limitations, and unique
capabilities/effects of the joint force that enable operations in the maritime domain providing
joint force commanders with the means to achieve the desired end state against the Russian
threat in the Arctic scenario.
3. Comprehend how the joint functions enable the commander and staff in the planning and
execution of joint military operations in the maritime domain and how a commander may
leverage other capabilities (such as IO, space, and cyber) to enhance those functions,
potentially reduce risk, and accomplish the mission.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-524 (S): Joint Operations in the Maritime Domain
Overview: The outcome of any future joint operation depends on successes across all
domains, but as a power projection nation, we must dominate the maritime domain when and
where we determine. It will continue to be the primary method of deploying and sustaining
relatively large warfighting formations. Also, the maritime domain is one of the primary
methods through which the U.S. achieves forward presence and conducts power projection.
While other domains such as air, space, and cyber heavily influence operations in the
maritime domain, the maritime domain ultimately connects vast resources and people across
the globe. Comprehending the capabilities of U.S. naval forces and understanding their unique
force limitations and operating environment challenges is critical to maximizing naval
contributions with other joint or combined forces. The Marine Corps is the naval
expeditionary force-in-being that operates inside contested maritime spaces. They are capable
of rapidly conducting missions across the competition continuum anywhere in the world.
Through lecture, assigned reading, seminar discussion, and the Arctic vignette activity,
students will analyze and apply joint naval and marine force capabilities that enable access,
maneuver, and create domain effects, essential to understanding operational art.
CONTACT HOURS: 1.5-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Department of the Navy, “A Strategic Blueprint for the Arctic, 2021”. [EL]

[Many of the major international issues in the Arctic revolve around the use of the sea and the
exploitation of resources found in and under it. In this strategy, the US Navy outlines how it
views the issues around the use of the sea in the Arctic region and the challenges it faces it
faces in ensuring our national security in the region.]

2. Department of Joint Warfighting, Joint Warfighting Capabilities Primer (JWCP) AY22, 66-
79, 82-95, 98-101. Skim 79-81, 96-97, 102-103.

65
 [The JWCP provides a brief overview of service capabilities, force presentation, and major
assets to enhance understanding of the services’ unique contributions to the joint force.]

3. Department of Joint Warfighting, ACSC Staff Planner’s Guide, August 2021, 65-66, 76, 90.

[The Staff Planner’s Guide is intended as a quick reference guide for select staff actions, with
a focus on operational planning.]

4. Arctic vignette information as provided by Course Instructor. [EL]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Video: National Geographic 2-15 - USS Ronald Reagan 21st Century Supercarrier
(https://youtu.be/XUXQV7drVoM).
2. Video: Coordinated Anti-Submarine Warfare - SONAR, Sonobuoys, USS Stein, USS Badger
(https://youtu.be/PZ5I6eb9rt4).
3. Milan Vego, “On Naval Warfare,” Reprinted from the Tidskrift i Sjöväsendet Issue 1 2010,
73-92.
4. Bradley Martin, “Amphibious Operations in Contested Environments: Insights from Analytic
Work,” (RAND, 2017), 1-10.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

Examining operating domains and service capabilities and how forces gain access and operate
within these domains is a key facet of operational art and operational design. Comprehension of
Maritime domain operations and service capabilities enables planners to analyze missions and
derive suitable courses of action to provide options to commanders and national decision-makers
in the application of military forces toward achieving national interests. Understanding the roles,
functions, and responsibilities of services, joint force commanders, and functional component
commanders is essential. This lesson will provide tools for students to use as planners during the
JW COA Development, Analysis, and Comparison Workshops and for PACIFIC ENDEAVOR.

66
 Day 20: JW-525
Joint Operations in the Air Domain

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the capabilities of joint forces and their contribution to joint warfighting in the
air domain to achieve effects at the operational level of war, and across the competition
continuum.
2. Comprehend how the Joint Force Commander, COMAFFOR, and JFACC leverage
capabilities, organize and operate in and through the air domain, including how the force
gains access, maneuvers, and creates effects in the Arctic scenario against a Russian threat.
3. Comprehend the interdependencies, risk, synergies, limitations, and unique capabilities/effects
of the joint force that enable operations in the air domain and provide joint force commanders
with the means and ways to achieve the desired end state.
4. Comprehend how the Air Force presents forces and capabilities to the Joint Force Commander
for operations, the capabilities and limitations of those forces, and their relationship to the
Joint Force Air Component.
5. Comprehend how the joint functions enable the commander and staff in the planning and
execution of joint military operations in the air domain and how a commander can leverage
IO/information related capabilities, space, and cyber effects to enhance those functions,
potentially reduce risk, and accomplish the mission.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-525 (S): Joint Operations in the Air Domain
Overview: This seminar will discuss the fundamentals of joint operations in the air domain
and how the joint force gains access, maneuvers, and creates effects using airpower. For
example, the USAF contributes decisive air capabilities to a Joint Force Commander (JFC)
through Air Expeditionary Task Forces (AETFs). Because of its organizational structure, the
AETF provides flexible yet potent capability. It mitigates limitations to USAF capabilities
through joint interdependencies with the other armed services. The seminar discusses the air
domain, roles, missions, functions, and presented forces. The seminar provides an Arctic
vignette with Russian threat activity for students to discuss and apply air capabilities that
address how the joint force utilizes airpower and conducts operations to gain access and
superiority in the domain in synchronization with all the instruments of national power.
CONTACT HOURS: 2.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Air Force Doctrine Note 1-21, Agile Combat Employment, 1 Dec 2021, 1-12. [EL]

[This selection introduces the Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept as an

operational scheme of maneuver to increase survivability while generating combat power
throughout the integrated deterrence continuum.]

2. (Review) Joint Publication 3-30, Joint Air Operations, 25 Jul 2019, I-1 to II-26, Appendices
F, and G. [EL]

67
 [This selection from JP 3-30 provides joint doctrine for the conduct of joint air operations and
discusses the responsibilities of a joint force air component commander and the command and
control of joint air operations.]

3. Department of the Air Force Arctic Strategy, 2020. [EL]

[In this strategy, the US Air Force considers both the challenges in the Arctic and
how it serves as a gateway to other regions of the world. Students will also learn how the
USAF arrays its force to support USNORTHCOM and conduct Homeland Defense.]

4. Department of Joint Warfighting, Joint Warfighting Capabilities Primer (JWCP) AY22, Skim
50-67.

[The JWCP provides a brief overview of service capabilities, force presentation, and major
assets to enhance understanding of the services’ unique contributions to the joint force.]

5. Department of Joint Warfighting, ACSC Staff Planner’s Guide, August 2021, Skim 80.

[The Staff Planner’s Guide is intended as a quick reference guide for select staff actions, with
a focus on operational planning.]

6. Arctic vignette information as provided by Course Instructor. [EL]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Lt Gen CQ Brown Jr. and Lt Col Rick Fournier, “No Longer the Outlier: Updating the Air
Component Structure,” Air and Space Power Journal 30:1 (Spring 2016), 4-15.
2. U.S. Air Force, Air Force Doctrine Publication 1, Ch. 4: How We Do It: Tenets of Airpower,
(LeMay Center, Air University, 2021), 8-16.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

Comprehension of US Air Force current doctrine, operating concepts, and the capabilities and
limitations of US Air Force forces is foundational for properly planning for and employing Air
Force forces during joint operations. In addition, the examination of operating domains and
service capabilities and how forces gain access, maneuver, and create effects within these
domains is a key facet of operational art and operational design. Comprehension of domain
operations and service capabilities enables planners to analyze missions and derive suitable
courses of action to provide options to commanders and national decision-makers in the
application of military forces toward achieving national interests. Understanding the roles,
functions, and responsibilities of services, joint force commanders, and functional component
commanders is essential. The lesson will require analysis and application of air capabilities in
relation to a scenario-driven problem and objectives that will be useful during the JW COA
Development, Analysis, and Comparison Workshops for PACIFIC ENDEAVOR. This lesson
builds upon the foundation set in Air Power I and II lessons on airpower, airpower in recent
conflicts, appraising the application of airpower in the post 9/11 era, and more recently as a
component of the Gray Zone conflict in Libya and against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. It also builds

68
upon the War Theory (WT) lessons that address and examine classic military air theorists (ex.
Douhet, Slessor, and Warden) and the principles of war in different domains.

69
 Day 20: JW-526
Joint Special Operations

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the roles and functions of U.S. Special Operations forces as prescribed by Title
10, United States Code, and other relevant directives.
2. Comprehend Joint Special Operations warfighting doctrine, force organization, perspective on
warfighting, and unique contributions to the Joint Force.
3. Comprehend how U.S. Special Operations Command presents forces and capabilities to the
Joint Force Commander for operations, the capabilities and limitations of those forces, and
their relationship to the Joint Force Land, Maritime, and Air Components.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-526 (L): Joint Special Operations
Overview: The lecture discusses Special Operations Forces (SOF) opportunities across the
spectrum of conflict, regardless of complexities. The lecture will discuss SOF as a capability
from the strategic and operational levels of planning, introducing national and DoD systemic
products that appear sequential but have dynamic effects on operations (i.e., national strategy,
Global Campaign Plans, EXORDS, contingency plans). The lecture discusses types of
operations and capabilities (i.e., exchange programs, liaison elements, security cooperation,
search & rescue) across the spectrum, C2 nodes, interagency support, forces presented in Joint
Task Forces (JTFs), Special Operation Joint Task Force (SOJTF), and Joint Special
Operations Task Force (JSOTF). The lecture will contribute to a better understanding of
employing Special Operations forces during joint operations.
CONTACT HOURS: 1.0-hour lecture

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Lohaus, Phillip, “Afghanistan, Iraq, and the ascendance of the US Special Operations Forces,”
In A Precarious Balance, American Enterprise Institute, 2014, 31-43. [EL]

[This selection provides best practices as it applies to the employment of Joint Special
Operations based on the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. Their experiences in these two
theaters were markedly different, and the contrast sheds light on the risks inherent in relying
too heavily on special operations forces at the expense of their conventional counterparts. In
Afghanistan, the reading highlights issues and assumed failures due to the attempted
transformation SOF into reduced cost conventional Army. In Iraq, the article illustrates SOF’s
employment in their traditional roles of support to the conventional Army and for select
mission use with overwhelming success during operations.]

2. Joint Publication 3-05, Special Operations, 16 July 2014, ix-xv, I-1 to I-10, II-1 to II-18. [EL]

[This reading provide foundational doctrine upon which Special Operations bases it
organization and conduct of operations.]

3. Department of Joint Warfighting, Joint Warfighting Capabilities Primer (JWCP) AY22, Skim
17-29.

70
 [The JWCP provides a brief overview of special operations capabilities, force presentation,
and major assets to enhance understanding of special operations’ unique contributions to the
joint force.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Joint Publication 3-05, Special Operations, 16 July 2014, CH III, IV, and appendix A.
2. Congressional Research Service, “Defense Primer: Special Operations Forces,” 22 November
2021.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

Comprehension of US Special Operations current doctrine, operating concepts, and the
capabilities and limitations of US Special Operations forces is foundational for properly planning
for and employing Special Operations forces during joint operations. This lecture provides a
foundation for understanding SOF concepts, capabilities, and employment during joint operations.

71
 Day 21: JW-527
Joint Operations in the Land Domain

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend Army warfighting doctrines, force organization, perspectives on warfighting,
and unique contributions to the Joint Force.
2. Comprehend how the Army presents forces and capabilities to the Joint Force Commander for
operations, the capabilities and limitations of those forces, and their relationship to the Joint
Force Land Component.
3. Comprehend the capabilities of joint forces and their contribution to joint warfighting in the
land domain to achieve effects at the operational level of war, and across the competition
continuum.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-527 (L): Joint Operations in the Land Domain
Overview: The Army's unified land operations' goal is to apply land power as part of unified
action to defeat the enemy in the land domain and establish conditions that achieve the JFC's
end state. The Army contributes decisive capability to a JFC with Brigade Combat Teams
(BCTs). BCTs are modular and tailorable, providing greater flexibility to respond in
contiguous and noncontiguous operating environments. The U.S. Army overcomes limitations
to capabilities through joint interdependent operations with the other service components. A
clear understanding of U.S. Army capabilities, limitations, and how U.S. Army forces are
presented to a JFC will help students understand how to employ Army forces during joint
operations.
CONTACT HOURS: 1.0-hour lecture

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Regaining Arctic Dominance: The U.S. Army in the Arctic, 2021, Skim 1-48. [EL]

[The US Army, through this strategy document, considers the challenges of deploying to,
fighting in, and sustaining in the Arctic region. Students will learn about the difficulties posed
by the environment to several of the Joint Functions, as well as the organizations ready to
carry out missions there.]

2. Department of Joint Warfighting, Joint Warfighting Capabilities Primer (JWCP) AY22, iv.
Skim 30-49.

[The JWCP provides a brief overview of service capabilities, force presentation, and major
assets to enhance understanding of the services’ unique contributions to the joint force.]

3. Department of Joint Warfighting, ACSC Staff Planner’s Guide, August 2021, Skim 74-79, 88-
90.

[The Staff Planner’s Guide is intended as a quick reference guide for select staff actions, with
a focus on operational planning.]

72
SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
1. Kelly McCoy, “The Road to All-domain Battle: An Origin Story”, 27 October 2017.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

Comprehension of U.S. Army current doctrine, operating concepts, and the capabilities and
limitations of U.S. Army forces is foundational for planning for and employing Army forces
during joint operations properly. This lecture provides a foundation for understanding U.S. Army
concepts, capabilities, and employment during joint operations.

73
 Day 21: JW-528
Joint Operations in the Land Domain

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend how the joint force operates in and through the land domain, including how the
force gains access, maneuvers, and achieves effects on the land (including command and
control of land operations and command relationships) against a Russian threat in the Arctic
Scenario.
2. Comprehend the interdependencies, risks, synergies, limitations, and unique
capabilities/effects of the joint force that enable operations in the land domain and provide
joint force commanders with the means and ways to achieve the desired end state.
3. Comprehend how the joint functions enable the commander and staff in the planning and
execution of joint military operations in the land domain and how a commander can leverage
IO/information related capabilities, space, and cyber effects to enhance those functions,
potentially reduce risk, and accomplish the mission.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-528 (S): Joint Operations in the Land Domain
Overview: The seminar will discuss the fundamentals of joint operations in the land domain
and how the joint force gains access, maneuvers, and creates effects in this domain. The
combined effects in the land domain have historically been the decisive effort at the
operational level of war. While land domain warfare ultimately exploits control over land,
resources, and people, it is heavily influenced and enabled through actions and effects in the
air, maritime, cyber, and space domains. Discussing joint military capabilities that gain access
and operate in the land domain is essential for practicing operational art and problem-solving.
It describes ways and means artfully arranged to achieve specific desired effects. The goal of
the U.S. Army's unified land operations is applying capabilities, as part of unified action, to
defeat the enemy and establish conditions that achieve the JFC's objectives. A clear
understanding of U.S. Army capabilities and limitations and how its forces are presented to a
JFC are pertinent to employ U.S. Army forces during joint operations. The seminar will
provide an Arctic vignette with Russian threat activity for students to discuss and apply land
capabilities to gain access and control in synchronization with all the instruments of national
power.
CONTACT HOURS: 2.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Field Manual 3-94, Armies, Corps, Division Operations, 23 July 2021, 1-6 to 1-7 (paragraphs
1-21 to 1-28), 1-13 to 1-26 (paragraphs 1-58 to 1-113), Skim 1-7 to 1-12 (paragraphs 1-29 to
1-52). [EL]

[This selection from Field Manual 3-94 describes the strategic role of the Army as a unified
action partner and how they are organized, trained, and equipped. It
also amplifies how different echelon (Army, Corps, and Division) exercise the ability to
converge effects from multiple domains and facilitate Brigade and below units to mass these
effects to achieve a unified purpose.]

74
2. Joint Publication 3-0, Joint Operations, 22 Oct 2018, V-4 to V-5, Skim IV-1 to IV-13, V-7 to
V-20. [EL]

[This selection from JP 3-0 describes the conflict continuum and briefly familiarize the reader
with each range of military operations as our nation contends with achieving our national
objectives against great power competitors. It also supports the understanding of organizing
for joint operations and how the operational area can determine your organizational construct
to achieve the commander’s desired effects.]

3. Joint Publication 3-33, Joint Task Force Headquarters, 31 Jan 2018, III-1 to III-7, IV-1 to IV-
8. [EL]

[This selection from JP 3-33 provides joint doctrine on the construct of the Joint Task Force
and its subordinate service and functional component commands and their responsibilities.
The second reading describes command and control factors and management processes that
influence the Joint Task Force command and control.]

4. Joint Publication 3-31, Joint Land Operations, 3 Oct 2019, Skim ix-xviii. [EL]

[The reading from JP 3-31 introduces the concept and responsibilities of a possible functional
component command within a Joint Force - the Joint Force Land Component Commander, or
JFLCC. Understanding which forces enable unified land operations and the capabilities they
bring to the JFC are as important as the capabilities of fielded forces.]

5. TRADOC Pamphlet 525-3-1, US Army Multi-Domain Operations, Skim 6-15. [EL]

[This pamphlet describes how Army forces contribute to the Joint Force’s principal task
of deter and defeating Chinese and Russian aggression in both competition and conflict. It
also describes the operational framework for how Army forces fight across all domains, the
electromagnetic spectrum (EMS), the information environment, and at echelon.]

6. Army Doctrine Publication 3-0, Operations, 31 July 2019, Skim 3-1 to 3-7 (paragraphs 3-0 to
3-36), 5-1 to 5-6 (chapter 5). [EL]

[This selection discusses the Army’s operational concept of unified land operations. It also
discusses the principles and tenets of unified land operations, decisive action, and elements of
combat power. This will help the reader understand how the Army synchronizes and
converges all elements of combat power (warfighting functions, leadership, and information)
to achieve its military goals.]

7. Arctic vignette information as provided by Course Instructor. [EL]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, Multi-domain Battle: Evolution of Combined
Arms for the 21st Century 2025-2040, December 2017.

75
2. United States Army, Army Technique Publication 3-93 Theater Army Operations, August
2021.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

Comprehension of the U.S. Army s current doctrine, operating concepts, and the capabilities and
limitations of their forces is foundational for properly planning for and employing these forces
during joint operations. In addition, the examination of operating domains and service capabilities
and how forces gain access and operate within these domains is a key facet of operational art and
operational design. Comprehension of operations in and through operating domains and U.S.
service capabilities enables planners to analyze missions and derive suitable courses of action to
provide options to commanders and national decision-makers in the application of military forces
toward achieving national interests. Understanding the roles, functions, and responsibilities of
services, joint force commanders, and functional component commanders is essential. This lesson
will provide tools for students to use as planners during the JW COA Development, Analysis, and
Comparison Workshops and for PACIFIC ENDEAVOR. This lesson builds upon the foundation
of War Theory (W.T.) lessons that address and examine classic military theorists (ex. Clausewitz,
Jomini, Fuller, Guderian, and Hart) and the principles of war in different domains.

76
 Day 22: JW-529
JTF Perspective on Problem Solving

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend political, military, economic, social, infrastructure and informational (PMESII)
factors that inform operational art, elements of operational design, and mission analysis in
Joint Task Force (JTF) planning for irregular warfare.
2. Comprehend how commanders and staffs leverage operational art and design to link tactical
actions to strategic objectives, answering ends-ways-means-risk questions to develop military
strategy for irregular warfare.
3. Comprehend a JTF commander’s perspective and use of operational art, operational design,
and unique special operations forces (SOF) capabilities to develop courses of action in a
multinational operation in irregular warfare.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-529 (L): JTF Perspective on Problem Solving
Overview: In 2002, the Joint Task Force (JTF) 510 executed OEF Philippines (OEF-P), a
population-centered counterinsurgency effort designed to support the Government of the
Philippines as they battled the Abu Sayyaf Group, radical Islamic separatists, operating on
Zamboanga and Basilan Islands. Conceived initially as a hostage rescue operation, OEF-P
evolved into a multi-pronged effort designed to re-establish the Philippine government’s
legitimacy in the eyes of the population in those regions. The planning and execution of this
operation highlight the essential interconnectedness of national and military level objectives,
multinational considerations, and context, and building partner capacity in developing an
appropriate concept of operations. In addition, the operation displays the critical nature of
information operations and the need for flexibility and adaptability when executing a plan.
CONTACT HOURS: 1.5-hour lecture

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Linda Robinson, Patrick B. Johnston, and Gillian S. Oak, US Special Operations Forces in the
Philippines, 2001–2014, (RAND Corporation, 2016), iii-iv, 17-44. [EL]

[The RAND Study provides a summary of the operations conducted by Special Operations
Joint Task Force 510 in the Philippines. The reading provides an understanding of Operation
Enduring Freedom-Philippines’ mission for security assistance and security cooperation at the
tactical and operational level to disrupt and degrade a terrorist network. The reading directly
links to the JW-516 lecture, which highlights how a JTF CDR views mission analysis and
problem solving.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

None.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This presentation incorporates many of the JW course concepts previously discussed, including
but not limited to operational design and mission analysis. While focused primarily on a limited
COIN operation (JTF-Philippines), the concepts presented are broadly applicable to all planning
efforts. They are an excellent introduction to the art of military analysis. This lecture serves as a

77
transition as the course moves from “problem framing” into “problem-solving” – taking the
analytical “science” of design and problem framing toward developing the artful arrangement of
capabilities (means) into viable military solutions (ways) as framed by strategic guidance and
limitations. The presentation also revisits and reinforces concepts such as COG, objectives, and
effects, and how these concepts play a pivotal role in Course of Action development. The need for
COAs with inherent flexibility, clear command relationships, integrated IO, and force structure is
also presented in JTF-P operations.

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 Day 22: JW-530
Operational Art and Problem Solving: Course of Action Development

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend how operational art, operational design, the initial operational approach and
mission analysis guide and inform the doctrinal development of potential solutions and the
application of military capabilities.
2. Comprehend the doctrinal purpose and process for activities of JPP step 3, Course of Action
Development, including several considerations for developing COAs, and what constitutes a
valid and complete course of action.
3. Comprehend operational art and design, information and information aspects of military
activities as part of operational art and design, joint functions, the principles of joint
operations and their relationship to joint planning, and how military planning considers all
elements of national power and a whole of government approach to achieving national
strategic goals.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-530 (S): Operational Art and Problem Solving: Course of Action Development
Overview: One of the most critical steps in military planning is conceiving of and deciding
upon COAs. Among the paths an operation can take, the commander must decide on a
particular course of action. During JPP step 3, the staff develops unique courses of action to
achieve the commander’s military end state. These COAs adhere to the commander’s
guidance and intent, build on the results of mission analysis and introduce additional elements
of operational design. Ideal COAs consider all participants, culture, religion, geopolitics, and
other factors to achieve the desired end state within the commander’s guidance while
maintaining flexibility to react to unforeseen challenges (i.e., Mission Command). It is
essential to balance the requisite detail in the proposed courses of action with flexibility for
those who will execute the plan to adapt to situations on the ground and exploit opportunities
in real-time. The COA sketch is one tool available to assist the commander in visualizing the
entire operation (i.e., the course of action). This seminar will describe developing a valid
COA that accomplishes the mission within the commander’s guidance and positions the joint
force for future operations.
CONTACT HOURS: 1.5-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, III-32 to III-44 (Course of Action
Development), VII-6, Appendix E, Review IV-41 to IV-44. [EL]

[The selected reading from JP 5-0 provides the joint doctrinal guidance regarding COA
development, including methods and criteria for validating a COA. It also provides an
introduction and examples of flexible deterrent options (FDOs) and flexible response options
(FROs) that are central to flexibility in military operations.]

2. Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack, (Simon and Schuster, New York, 2004), 75-84, 96-103, 105-
106.

79
 [Plan of Attack provides an excellent example of the iterative nature of COA development and
strategic guidance, assumptions, end state, objective, and effects. This helps the student tie the
actions and activities of detailed COA development during the JPP back to operational design
concepts that inform how COAs are developed, and why; and how the chosen COA was
selected, and why.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. (Review) Jeffrey M. Reilly, Operational Design: Distilling Clarity from Complexity for
Decisive Action, (Air University Press, 2012), 21-29.
2. (Review from AP1) Thomas E. Griffith, Jr., MacArthur’s Airman: General George C. Kenney
and the War in the Southwest Pacific, (University Press of Kansas, 1998), 84-89; 94-96.
3. Rick Atkinson, An Army at Dawn, (Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2002), 30-32, 69-
115, 130-140, 270-282, 303-317, 408-415, 537-541.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This seminar will incorporate the previous JW lessons of operational design and mission analysis
to link how a commander’s operational approach, guidance, and intent impact COA development.
The seminar introduces doctrinal defeat and stability mechanisms with examples, leveraging
previous case studies to build upon the foundation for understanding service capabilities and
operations in the domains. The preceding lecture will offer discussion points on defeat and
stability mechanisms. The reading on OIF planning fosters discussion on the iterative nature of
COA development and COA validity, leading into COA Analysis and Wargaming in a future
seminar. The concept of COA development taught during this seminar is essential to
understanding how commanders and their staff visualize options to solve complex problems.

80
Day 23: JW Directed Study
JW-601E Paper Due

81
 Day 24: JW-531 & Day 25: JW-532
COA Development Workshop Day 1 & Day 2

LESSON OBJECTIVES
Note: These Objectives build on work conducted in the Operational Design and Mission
Analysis Workshops and presented in Lessons JW-517 through JW-530.
1. Integrate operational art and operational design with Joint Planning, and assess how military
planning considers all elements of national power and a whole of government approach to
achieving national strategic goals.
2. Comprehend the purpose and process for activities of JPP step 3, Course of Action
Development, including several considerations for developing COAs, and what constitutes a
valid and complete course of action.
3. Analyze how operational art and design, the initial operational approach, and mission analysis
guide and inform the development of potential solutions and the application of military
capabilities.
4. Apply joint planning concepts while conducting Joint Planning activities as described in JP 5-
0 for JPP Step 3, Course of Action Development; and develop two valid courses of action for
the Joint Force Commander (CI) that provide options for solving the given scenario
problem(s) as identified in previous JW planning workshops to include addressing Russian
and Chinese interests.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-531 & JW-532 (S): COA Development Workshop Day 1 & Day 2
Overview: Equipped with an understanding of Operational Design and Mission Analysis
(Problem Framing), the JW course now moves well into the Problem-Solving phase. Though
the derivation of any solution begins with understanding the problem and all actors involved,
the joint planning framework for developing potential solutions begins in earnest with Course
of Action Development (JPP step 3). Students can apply the knowledge from previous lessons
toward developing two original COAs within the given JW scenario.

One of the most critical steps in campaign planning is conceiving and deciding upon COAs.
During JPP step 3, the staff develops unique courses of action to achieve the commander’s
military end state. These COAs adhere to the commander’s guidance, build on the results of
mission analysis, and introduce additional elements of Operational Design. Ideal COAs
consider all participants and achieve the desired end state within the commander’s guidance
while maintaining flexibility to react to unforeseen challenges. A key facet for achieving this
balance is the concept of “mission command.” It is essential to balance the requisite detail in
the proposed courses of action with flexibility for those who will execute the plan to adapt to
situations on the ground and exploit opportunities in real-time.
CONTACT HOURS: 2 x 3.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. JW Nigeria scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-source research
materials as required. [EL]

[Students must review previous planning products from the Operational Design and Mission
Analysis Workshops prior to the start of the workshop. Students will not have the time to

82
 “spin-up” on the scenario during this seminar. This seminar continues the experiential
learning that provides an opportunity to synthesize and apply JW course concepts through
instructor-led practical application. In addition to the materials provided, students are required
to conduct additional research to gain information that will facilitate the analysis and
application of elements of operational design during the seminar. The purpose of student
research for scenario information is to build analytical skills for knowing what types of
questions to ask, as well as what specific questions to ask, and seek appropriate information to
enable military planning activities.]

2. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

[The guide is provided to enable coherent research and note-taking on scenario materials.
Students should use the guide and prepare notes for in-class use per their instructor’s
directions.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. (Review) Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, December 2020, Review III-32 through III-44
(Course of Action Development), VII-6 paragraph 5(a)(b)(c)(d) and Appendix E
(FDOs/FROs).
2. (Review) Jeffrey M. Reilly, Operational Design: Distilling Clarity from Complexity for
Decisive Action, (Air University Press, 2012), Review 50-54 (“The Arrangement of
Operations").

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

The two-day COA Development Workshop builds on the previous Operational Design and
Mission Analysis workshops that incorporated elements of operational design, framing the
problem, developing the operational approach, and defining the mission and refining guidance. In
this session, students will have the opportunity to practice and apply the COA development step
of the Joint Planning Process within the ongoing JW scenario. This lesson will also allow students
to synthesize many of the JW course concepts introduced to this point in the course, including
elements of operational design, operational art, all-domain operations, joint force capabilities,
command relationships, and joint force structures. The concepts taught during this practicum are
also essential for completing PACIFIC ENDEAVOR. This lesson builds upon the foundation of
War Theory and its examination of several war theorists, International Security I and II
examination of Great Power Competition, VEO and Non-State Threats, and the Combatant
Commands and Posture Statements. Also, War Theory and Air Power II lessons address and
examine Irregular Warfare and Gray Zone Conflict: Leadership lesson examining ethical military
leadership.

83
 Day 26: JW-533
COA Analysis and Wargaming Workshop

LESSON OBJECTIVES
Note: These Objectives build on work conducted in the Operational Design and Mission
Analysis Workshops and presented in Lessons JW-517 through JW-530.
1. Integrate operational art and operational design with Joint Planning, and assess how military
planning considers all elements of national power and a whole of government approach to
achieving national strategic goals.
2. Comprehend the purposes and process for conducting COA Analysis, including the
methodology of wargaming that enables the testing and improvement of COAs.
3. Apply joint planning concepts while conducting COA Analysis and Wargaming (JPP Step 4),
and develop planning tools to capture results of COA Analysis (including but not limited to: a
synchronization matrix, decision support matrix, and decision support template).
4. Evaluate COA activities that can affect the interests or activities of Russia and China in
Nigeria.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-533 (S): COA Analysis and Wargaming Workshop
Overview: COA Analysis and Wargaming enable critical examination and further refinement
of COAs. The seminar and workshop will provide the opportunity to analyze and wargame the
courses of action developed in previous workshop sessions to gain insight into the operation,
improve COAs, and enhance operational decision-making. COA analysis is the process of
closely examining potential COAs to reveal details that will allow the commander and staff to
identify valid COAs and then compare these COAs to evaluation criteria in step 5 of the JPP
(COA Comparison).
CONTACT HOURS: 3.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, III-32 through III-42. [EL]

[Outlines the doctrinal approach, purpose, and methods of COA analysis through wargaming.]

2. Jeffrey M. Reilly, Operational Design: Distilling Clarity from Complexity for Decisive
Action, (Air University Press, 2012), 65-81. [EL]

[Provides a detailed methodology for the conduct of a wargame and outlines several products
that may result from wargaming that inform the commander’s decision making.]

3. JW scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-source research sources as
required. [EL]

[Students must review products from previous JW planning Workshops and refine them per
instructor direction in preparation for this Workshop. Students will not have the time to “spin-
up” on the scenario or refine products during this seminar. This seminar continues the
experiential learning that provides an opportunity to synthesize and apply JW course concepts
through instructor-led practical application. In addition to the materials provided, students will

84
 conduct research to gain information that will facilitate the analysis and application of
elements of operational design during the seminar. The purpose of student research for
scenario information is to build analytical skills for knowing what types of questions to ask, as
well as what specific questions to ask, and seek appropriate information to enable military
planning activities.]

4. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

[This guide is provided to enable coherent research and note-taking on scenario materials.
Students should use the guide and prepare notes for in-class use per their instructor’s
directions.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

None.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This practicum constitutes the seventh of eight sessions of instructor-led JW workshops in which
students are guided through the planning process utilizing a scenario-driven planning exercise.
This practicum continues to build upon the previous lessons and steps of the JPP and establishes
the foundation for JPP step 5, COA Comparison. Through the process of analyzing their own
planning efforts (developed COAs), students are provided with another opportunity to improve
critical and creative thinking skills. This seminar also facilitates student success in PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR evaluations.

85
 Day 27: JW-534
COA Comparison and Approval Workshop

LESSON OBJECTIVES
Note: These Objectives build on work conducted in the Operational Design and Mission
Analysis Workshops and presented in Lessons JW-517 through JW-530.
1. Integrate operational art and operational design with Joint Planning, and assess how military
planning considers all elements of national power and a whole of government approach to
achieving national strategic goals.
2. Comprehend the purposes and process for conducting COA Comparison, and the several
methodologies for conducting and presenting the staff’s COA comparison that are found in
joint doctrine.
3. Apply joint planning concepts while conducting Course of Action (COA) Comparison (JPP
step 5) in order to analyze a plan critically for the deployment, employment, sustainment of
joint military forces at the operational level of war and recommend to the JFC the COA that
best accomplishes the mission.
4. Appraise each COA for its viability to effect desired outcomes with competing Russia and
Chinese interests and influence.
5. Comprehend the actions a commander may take upon receiving the planning staff’s COA
recommendation in JPP step 6, COA Approval.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-534 (S): COA Comparison and Approval Workshop
Overview: This seminar will cover JPP steps 5 and 6. During COA Comparison (JPP step 5),
the comparison activity will include a discussion of the techniques and potential pitfalls of
COA comparison as the seminar continues the application of the JPP in an instructor-led,
scenario-driven learning environment. Performed properly, COA Comparison enables the
planning staff to provide their recommendation (and associated rationale) for the COA that
will most effectively achieve the commander's desired ends. As the commander relies heavily
on staff input to this point in the process, it is imperative that the planning group understand
the COA Comparison tools and how to use the various comparison options to best inform the
commander. Critical to this process is the careful selection and thorough definition of
evaluation criteria to assess the COAs. The COA Comparison facilitates the commander's
decision-making process through careful staff evaluation of the ends, ways, means, and risk of
each COA.

Upon receiving the staff's recommended COA during COA Approval (JPP step 6), the
commander decides on a COA, enabling the formulation of the commander's estimate. Once
reviewed by the appropriate authority, the commander's estimate becomes the concept of
operation (CONOPS) for the plan and allows detailed Plan or Order Development (JPP step 7).
CONTACT HOURS: 2.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, Read III-55 to III-58, Appendix F.
Review VI-24 to VI-41. [EL]

86
 [This reading provides the doctrinal guidance for how to conduct COA Comparison and
provides useful methodologies and matrices for presenting staff rationale. Chapter VI reviews
the necessity for operation assessment.]

2. JW scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-source research sources as
required. [EL]

[Students must review products from previous JW planning Workshops and refine them per
instructor direction in preparation for this Workshop. Students will not have the time to “spin-
up” on the scenario or refine products during this seminar. This seminar continues the
experiential learning that provides an opportunity to synthesize and apply JW course concepts
through instructor-led practical application. In addition to the materials provided, students will
conduct research to gain information that will facilitate the analysis and application of
elements of operational design during the seminar. The purpose of student research for
scenario information is to build analytical skills for knowing what types of questions to ask, as
well as what specific questions to ask, and seek appropriate information to enable military
planning activities.]

3. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

[This guide is provided to enable coherent research and note-taking on scenario materials.
Students should use the guide and prepare notes for in-class use per their instructor’s
directions.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

1. Joint Publication 5-0, Joint Planning, 01 December 2020, Review Ch VI.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This seminar introduces the fifth and sixth steps of the JPP, COA Comparison and COA
Approval. It builds upon the preceding scenario-driven planning sessions. As the students
continue application of the JPP through a real-world scenario, this practicum introduces the
concepts related to COA Comparison by providing an overview of the process, as well as
addressing the significance and appropriate application of the various results. This seminar
provides another opportunity to hone critical thinking skills through the activities of selecting and
defining evaluation criteria and conducting a comprehensive comparison of the COAs developed
by the seminar. Students will later revisit these concepts as they participate in PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR.

87
 Phase 3: PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Joint Planning Exercise (PACIFIC ENDEAVOR)

Day 27: JW-535

PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Road to Conflict in an era of Great Power Competition

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Comprehend the historical and strategic setting for Great Power Competition with China in the
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR scenario in preparation for the JW directed study day dedicated to
prepare students for participation and evaluation during the JW culminating planning exercise.
2. Understand the Chinese historical world view and global strategy.
3. Understand Chinese interests and objectives as a pacing competitor both globally and in the
Western Pacific region to include Australia, Korea, and Japan.
4. Understand integration of China’s elements of power - military, economics, technology,
social, and international image.
5. Understand the variables and conditions affecting China’s decision-making for war.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-535 (L): PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Road to Conflict
Overview: This lecture is a joint staff overview providing the strategic setting for Great
Power Competition with China in the Western Pacific region framed within the context of a
global campaign. It will provide the basis for student-directed study and preparation for
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR. This brief serves only as an exercise overview of historical and
ongoing events, international relationships, Great Power Competition, and other
considerations that provide a framework for detailed study and planning. Students will study
open-source materials related to the PACIFIC ENDEAVOR scenario to enable student-led
planning and briefing activities.
CONTACT HOURS: 1.0-hour lecture

REQUIRED READINGS
1. Office of the Security of Defense Annual Report to Congress 2021, Military and Security
Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China, i-xii, 1-9, 77-89; 115-123.

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

None.

LESSON INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

This lecture sets up the student-directed study day for PACIFIC ENDEAVOR. Students and
seminars will thoroughly analyze scenario products and other relevant open-source information to
enable detailed discussion and planning throughout Exercise PACIFIC ENDEAVOR.

88
Day 28: JW Directed Study

89
 Day 29-36
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR EXERCISE

EXERCISE OBJECTIVES
1. Apply Joint Planning concepts to develop an initial operational approach based on planning
directives and guidance provided.
2. Conduct appropriate activities involved in the Joint Planning Process (JPP) to develop
solutions to operational problems in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous Great
Power Competitive environment with China in the Western Pacific Region.
3. Construct a plan that demonstrates how the military instrument of power can be utilized to
further national interests, taking into account the necessity for integrating of information
operations, a whole of government approach, and multinational cooperation against China, a
near-peer, nuclear capable adversary.
4. Analyze U.S. military force capabilities and limitations and appropriately organize and plan
for the employment of forces in conducting operations across the competition continuum and
across operational domains (including space and cyber) in pursuit of national interests.
5. Analyze the plan as developed by the student planning group for validity and efficacy, and
comprehend the fundamentals of Joint Planning, and joint and service doctrine.

EXERCISE OVERVIEW
JW-536 through JW-543: Joint Planning Exercise
Overview: PACIFIC ENDEAVOR is the capstone event of the Joint Warfighting (JW)
course. As potential members of a Unified Combatant Command or component planning staff,
officers may be required to develop multiple military courses of action (COA) based on
changes in the strategic environment, the Joint Strategic Campaign Plan (JSCP), a
POTUS/SECDEF tasking, or as tasked by the combatant commander. While PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR is a deliberate planning scenario, this 8-day exercise requires the completion of
JFC tasking on a specific timeline. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR requires seminar members to
apply concepts and topics previously discussed, including (but not limited to): all-domain
operations, service capabilities, geographic and functional combatant commands, command
organizations and relationships, interagency, intergovernmental, multinational considerations,
strategic guidance documents, adversary and operating environment information, and
planning concepts. This knowledge is synthesized during the conduct of PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR as students analyze the operational environment and strategic guidance; develop
two courses of action (COAs); and present a Mission Analysis Briefing and a Course of
Action Decision Briefing to the Commander (Course Instructor).

Student performance is evaluated on the development and presentation of two briefs and the
individual’s contribution during the entire exercise. All JW concepts and the application of the
JPP are assessed during the two PACIFIC ENDEAVOR briefings. The first will be the
Mission Analysis Brief conducted on PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 4. The second brief is the
Course of Action Decision Brief on PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 8. Together the two
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR briefings and the individual’s contribution during the entire exercise
constitute JW-603E, a graded evaluation that will total 45% of the JW course grade. The
following is a general breakdown of PACIFIC ENDEAVOR daily activities. Student planning

90
 groups should devise a detailed itinerary. Evaluated briefings should be considered in-class
examinations and will occur only at the scheduled times per the official ACSC calendar.

REQUIRED READINGS
2. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-
source research sources as required. [EL]

[Students must read the scenario guide and conduct appropriate research prior to the start of
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR during the scheduled directed study time. Students will not have the
time to “spin-up” on the scenario during this seminar. In addition to the materials provided,
students will be required to conduct independent research to gain information that will
facilitate the analysis and application of elements of operational design. The purpose of
student research for scenario information is to build analytical skills for knowing what types
of questions to ask, as well as what specific questions to ask, and seek appropriate information
to enable military planning activities.]

3. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

[This guide is provided to enable coherent research and note-taking on scenario materials.
Students should use the guide and prepare notes for in-class use per their instructor’s
directions.]

4. JW Course assigned readings. [EL]

[As the final JW event, all of the course readings and applicable service and joint doctrine are
appropriate resources for the planning exercise. This exercise requires students to integrate the
concepts and doctrinal principles presented during the Joint Warfighting (JW) course lessons.
Students are expected to incorporate the concepts and knowledge gained in other ACSC
courses. Students should bring appropriate reference materials to the seminar to facilitate joint
planning and student hands-on practical learning.]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

None.

EXERCISE INTEGRATION AND RATIONALE

PACIFIC ENDEAVOR is the capstone of the JW course. It will test your ability to assimilate
many of the concepts learned up to this point in ACSC and apply them to a complex operational
problem with China in a time-compressed environment. The goal is to emerge from PACIFIC
ENDEAVOR with a better understanding of the relationship between strategic events and the role
of joint doctrine in guiding the planning process, the application of operational art and design, and
the application of military capabilities to support national interests in a complex environment of
Great Power Competition. This lesson builds upon the foundation of War Theory and its
examination of several War Theorists, military operations in all Domains, Strategic Deterrence,
Information Warfare, Gray Zone Warfare, and the Continuum of Competition. It builds upon an
examination of China’s ascendance as a global power, INDOPACOM, Offshore Control,
Extended Deterrence, and cyber warfare from International Security I & II. It builds upon

91
discussions of Air Power throughout past conflicts, CFACC, AOC, Space, and Cyberspace
domains from Air Power I &II. It also builds upon Leadership’s examination of Creativity and
Ethical Leadership.

92
 Day 29 JW-536
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 1
Planning Initiation and Develop Operational Approach

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Apply Joint Planning concepts to develop an initial operational approach based on planning
directives and guidance provided, and conduct appropriate activities involved in the Joint
Planning Process (JPP) to develop solutions to operational problems in a volatile, uncertain,
complex, and ambiguous environment with Great Power Competition.
2. Construct a plan that demonstrates how the military instrument of power can be utilized to
further national interests, taking into account the necessity for integrating of information
operations, a whole of government approach, and multinational cooperation, against a near-
peer, nuclear capable adversary.
3. Analyze U.S. military force capabilities and limitations and appropriately organize and plan
for the employment of forces in conducting operations across the competition continuum and
across operational domains (including space and cyber) in pursuit of national interests.
4. Analyze the plan as developed by the student planning group for validity and efficacy, and
comprehend the fundamentals of Joint Planning, and joint and service doctrine.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-536 (S): PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 1: Planning Initiation and Develop Op Approach
CONTACT HOURS: 6.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS
1. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-
source research sources as required. [EL]

2. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

3. JW Course assigned readings. [EL]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

N/A

93
 Day 30 JW-537
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 2
Develop Operational Approach and Begin Mission Analysis

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Understand U.S. and PRC Military capabilities (Air, Land, Maritime, Space, Cyber, EMS).
2. Analyze PRC Economy, Social Dynamics (culture, groups, networks), Political/Government,
and Infrastructure.
3. Understand U.S. and PRC Information capabilities.
4. Understand PRC Military and Joint Command and Control.
5. Understand PRC Military Doctrine.
6. Organize Operational Approach to accomplish U.S. national security objectives for Taiwan
and counter PRC aggression in Western Pacific region.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-537 (S): PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 2: Develop Operational Approach and Begin
Mission Analysis
CONTACT HOURS: 6.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS (pg.87)

1. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-
source research sources as required. [EL]

2. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

3. JW Course assigned readings. [EL]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

N/A

94
 Day 31 JW-538
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 3
Synthesis of Operational Approach and Mission Analysis

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Develop situation overview of the operational area to include the PRC contested environment
and PRC threat overview.
2. Construct Friendly Assessment to include Facts, Assumptions, Limitations, Legal issues,
Vulnerabilities, Capabilities, Friendly networks, and Non-military networks.
3. Construct PRC Assessment to include Facts, Assumptions, Limitations, Legal issues,
Vulnerabilities, Capabilities, networks, command and control, and non-military networks.
4. Analyze U.S. and PRC Centers of Gravity at the Strategic and Operational levels.
5. Evaluate U.S. objectives, effects, tasks, critical information requirements, command
relationships, resource shortfalls, operational risk, and mission statement in relation to PRC
threats and hostilities.
6. Construct Operational Approach and Mission Analysis Briefing.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-538 (S): PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 3: Synthesis of Op Approach and Mission Analysis
CONTACT HOURS: 6.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS (pg.87)

1. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-
source research sources as required. [EL]

2. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

3. JW Course assigned readings. [EL]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

N/A

95
 Day 32 JW-539
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 4
Mission Analysis Briefing; Begin COA Development

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Deliver and Defend a Mission Analysis Briefing that counters PRC aggression in the Western
Pacific region.
2. Analyze PRC military doctrine, military strategy, military capabilities, and joint operations.
3. Examine how much U.S. coalition force/capability will be needed in the Western Pacific
region to counter PRC aggression at the end of the operational mission.
4. Analyze the tasks that must be accomplished in the physical domains, information
environment, cyberspace, and electromagnetic spectrum to achieve desired military end state
that counters PRC aggression in the Western Pacific region.
5. Sketch a deployment plan that includes the basing requirements to posture U.S. coalition
forces in friendly territory and the tasks to be accomplished.
6. Examine the following: are the planned U.S. coalition forces (combat, protection,
sustainment, theater enablers, and theater opening) enough to accomplish all tasks against
PRC aggressive behavior in the AOR? What order should the forces be deployed into theater?
7. Sketch U.S./coalition force employment, the sequencing of major tasks, sustainment, and
command relationships.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-539 (S): PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 4: Mission Analysis Brief and Defense; (JW-603E
part one); Begin COA Development
CONTACT HOURS: 6.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS. (pg.87)

1. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-
source research sources as required. [EL]

2. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

3. JW Course assigned readings. [EL]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

N/A

96
 Day 33: JW-540 and Day 34: JW-541
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 5 and Day 6
COA Development Day 2 and Day 3

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Examine flexible deterrent and flexible response options to deter or respond to a worsening
crisis with the PRC.
2. Assess the military and strategic impact of nuclear weapons employment on U.S. joint
operations, as required.
3. Identify the joint operating area (JOA) and develop Initial Course of Action (COA) Sketches
and Statements that counter PRC aggression.
4. Evaluate the validity of each COA to produce desired effects and objectives against PRC
aggression.
5. Compare each COA and determine which one performs best against established evaluation
criteria.
6. Produce a COA Development product that includes: Background of the issue in regards to
PRC aggression, strategic guidance, force allocation, JIPOE, PRC courses of action, PRC
threat networks, mission statement, commander’s intent, desired conditions and objectives,
friendly and PRC COG analysis, shaping activities, flexible deterrent options with desired
effect, description of COAs by phase, distinctions between COA’s, COA risks and
opportunities from friendly military forces, non-military and neutral networks, the information
environment in the JOA, PRC objectives.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-540 (S): PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 5 and Day 6: COA Development Day 2 and Day 3
CONTACT HOURS: 2x6.0-hour seminars

REQUIRED READINGS
1. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-
source research sources as required. [EL]

2. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

3. JW Course assigned readings. [EL

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

N/A

97
 Day 35 JW-542
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 7
COA Wargame and Comparison

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Through the wargaming process, closely analyze each friendly COA to identify the
advantages and disadvantages of each in accomplishing the desired effects and outcomes to
counter an aggressive PRC.
2. Create COA Decision Brief to include a review of PRC forces and composition (major
weapon systems, operational characteristics (air, ground, space-based, electromagnetic
warfare, and cyberspace capabilities), location and disposition, reinforcements, logistics, time
and space factors (their ability to move and reinforce positions), combat efficiency, other
threat networks, U.S and Coalition forces and composition (same as above), commander’s
intent, detailed presentation of each COA, COA analysis, COA comparisons, and COA
recommendations.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-542 (S): PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 7: COA Development Wargame and Comparison
CONTACT HOURS: 6.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS (pg.87)

1. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-
source research sources as required. [EL]

2. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

3. JW Course assigned readings. [EL]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

N/A

98
 Day 36 JW-543
PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 8
COA Decision Brief

LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. Deliver and Defend a COA Decision Brief to counter the PRC's aggressive activities in the
Western Pacific region.

LESSON OVERVIEW
JW-543 (S): PACIFIC ENDEAVOR Day 8: COA Decision Brief and Defense (JW-603E part
two)
CONTACT HOURS: 6.0-hour seminar

REQUIRED READINGS (pg.87)

1. PACIFIC ENDEAVOR scenario planning guidance, research materials, and other open-
source research sources as required. [EL]

2. JW Planning Study Guide. [EL]

3. JW Course assigned readings. [EL]

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

N/A

99
LtCol Steven E. Alsop

LtCol Steven E. Alsop is the Senior Marine Corps Advisor at the Air Command and Staff
College. A U.S. Marine Corps Infantry Officer and Expeditionary Reconnaissance
Officer, he completed the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in 2016. Major
Alsop has served in a variety of positions from Platoon Commander, Company
Commander, Battalion Operations Officer, and Battalion Executive Officer throughout his
16-year career. His assignments include 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 3d Battalion, 2d
Marines, 5th ANGLICO, Marine Corps Det. Ft Benning GA, 3d Force Reconnaissance
Company, and 2d Reconnaissance Battalion. He has multiple operational deployments
in command positions across the CENTCOM and PACOM AOR. LtCol Alsop is a
graduate of the Joint Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College.

Dr. James D. Campbell

Dr. James D. Campbell is the Chair of the Joint Warfighting Department at the Air
Command and Staff College. A retired US Army brigadier general, Dr. Campbell served
as an Infantryman and Strategic Plans and Policy Officer for 30 years, with assignments
at all levels of command and staff, in both the Regular Army and the National Guard.
Most recently he served as the Deputy Chief, Operations Plans Division at US Central
Command, and prior to his retirement served as the 39th Adjutant General of Maine with
the state cabinet-level position of Commissioner of the Maine Department of Defense,
Veterans and Emergency Management. Dr. Campbell holds a M.A. in European History
and a PhD in British History from the University of Maine. He is a graduate of the
CAPSTONE course at the National Defense University, the US Army War College, and
was an International Security Studies Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and
Diplomacy, Tufts University. Dr. Campbell has published works on subjects ranging from
Homeland Defense to Irregular Warfare, and 19th and early 20th century British Military
History. His current research interests focus on British Imperial military operations and
the Army in India.

Lt Col Joseph D. Beal

Lt Col Joseph D. Beal is an instructor and Deputy Department Chair in the Joint
Warfighting Department at the Air Command and Staff College. Lt Col Beal is a
Command Pilot and Weapons Officer with over 3000 flight hours. His operational and
staff tours include assignments to AMC, PACAF, and USAFE. He holds Master’s
Degrees from the University of Alabama, Air Force Institute of Technology, and Air
University. Lt Col Beal is a SAASS graduate and completed in residence IDE at the
Advanced Studies of Air Mobility (ASAM). Prior to his arrival at ACSC, Lt Col Beal was
Deputy Commander, 437th Operations Group, and Commander, 437th Operations
Support Squadron.

100
Matthew C. Brand

Matthew Brand is the Course Director for three IDE-level joint warfighting courses in the
eSchool of Graduate PME: Air and Space Missions, Air and Space in Joint Operations,
and Applied Air Space and Joint Warfare. He was a command navigator with 3500
hours primarily in the MC-130P Combat Shadow flying for Air Force Special Operations
Command. He also spent 13 years in education and training, with instructor tours at the
US Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) and Air War College, as well as
an observer/controller assignment working alongside the Army’s Battle Command
Training Program, helping prepare corps and division staffs for combat tours in
Afghanistan and Iraq. His combat tours include a year as General McChrystal’s
command historian in Afghanistan from 2009-2010. He holds an MA degree in
Management from Webster University and a Master of Military Art and Science degree
(Military History option) from CGSC. He has published two books on General
McChrystal’s strategic assessment and follow-on troop-to-task analysis to determine the
proper force buildup requirement in Afghanistan.

Lt Col Jerry Davisson

Lt Col Jerry Davisson is a Joint Warfighting instructor at the United States Air Force’s Air
Command and Staff College (ACSC). Prior to this assignment, he Commanded Air
Combat Command's Training Support Squadron Detachment 9 located at Luke Air Force
Base, Arizona. Enlisting in 1985, Lt Col Davisson served 14 years as a Munitions
Technician, then commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Program as a 2001
graduate of Eastern Kentucky University. He is a Master Air Battle Manager with over
2,270 hours in the E-3A/B/C, the AN/TYQ-23A Control and Reporting Center and Battle
Control System-Korea. He has served as an Aircrew Instructor and Evaluator and
participated in numerous contingency and combat operations to include operations
Desert Storm, Provide Hope, Iraqi Freedom, Active Endeavor, Provide Comfort, Afghan
Assist, and Unified Protector. Lt Col Davisson holds a Master's degree in Educational
Leadership, and he is a graduate of the Joint Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces
Staff College.

Lt Col Joseph L. Hall

Lt Col Joseph L. Hall is an instructor of Joint Warfighting and Air University Fellow at Air
Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery Alabama. He is a 2007
graduate of St. Joseph’s University where he received a BS in Computer Science. He
also has an MS in Cyberspace Operations from the Air Force Institute of Technology and
a Master of Military Operational Art and Science degree from Air Command and Staff
College. A Cyberspace Warfare Operations Officer, he has experience in base and
expeditionary communications, nuclear command, control, and communications, cyber

101
intelligence, and cyber operations planning. His staff tours include AF/A10 and
USAFCENT. His most recent assignment was the Director of Operations for the 2d
Communications Squadron at Barksdale AFB.

LTC Jonathan Hawkins

LTC Jonathan Hawkins is the Senior Army Advisor at the Air Command and Staff
College. LTC Hawkins is a 2004 graduate of Western Kentucky University where he
graduated with a BA in History. As a Field Artilleryman, he has served at all levels from
platoon to division staff, including multiple combat and operational deployments. LTC
Hawkins most recently served as the DIVARTY Operations Officer in the 25th Infantry
Division, at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. LTC Hawkins is a graduate of the Joint
Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College.

CDR Keith A. Henderson

CDR Keith A. Henderson is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at Air Command and Staff
College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. Commander Henderson is a 1998
graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy where he received a BS in Political Science. He
also has an MA in Military Operational Art and Science from Air Command and Staff
College and an MS in Joint Campaign Planning from National Defense University. A
career Naval Aviator, he has deployed on multiple ships in support of contingency
operations around the world. His staff tours include assignments at U.S. Africa
Command, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), and U.S. Indo-
Pacific Command.

Dr. Jon Hendrickson

Dr. Jon Hendrickson is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the
Joint Warfighting Department. After being awarded a Tyng Scholarship to Williams
College, he earned his PhD in military history from The Ohio State University, where he
was awarded a Mershon Center Fellowship to conduct research in Vienna, Rome, Paris,
and London. This research led to the publication of Crisis in the Mediterranean, a book
on the shifting alliances and naval races in the Mediterranean before World War I. After
graduating from Ohio State, he was awarded the Class of 1957 Post-Doctoral Fellowship
in Naval History at the US Naval Academy, and taught at Coastal Carolina University. He
has published and presented several papers on naval and military history, ancient
history, and diplomatic history. Dr. Henderson is a graduate of the Joint Combined
Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College.

102
LTC Walter L. Ivory

Lt Col Walter L. Ivory Jr. is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and
Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a 2005 graduate of
Southern University at New Orleans where he received a BS in Business Administration.
He also has an MBA from Trident University International. LTC Ivory completed US Army
Command and General Staff College in 2016. An Army Logistics Officer, he has served
in multiple command and staff assignments from the Tactical to Strategic echelons. He
has deployed three times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation
Enduring Freedom (OEF), and Operation New Dawn. In his most recent assignment was
as the Executive Officer for the Headquarters Department of the Army, Deputy G-4 at the
Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

LTC Andrew Jasso

LTC Andrew Jasso is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff
College. Lieutenant Colonel Jasso is a 1998 graduate of the University of Texas Rio
Grande Valley where he received a BS in Criminal Justice, and is a 2009 graduate of the
US Army Command and General Staff College. He has commanded an Infantry Rifle
Company and Headquarters Company, commanded a Basic Training Battalion, and has
held staff positions as Chief of Plans at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin,
California and at US Army Central Command (USARCENT) as a J35 planner for CJTF
Operation Inherent Resolve. His most recent assignment was as the Chief of Movement
and Maneuver for Operations Group Charlie at the Mission Command Training Program
at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Lt Col Ian W. Kemp

Lt Col Ian W. Kemp is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at Air Command and Staff
College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. Lieutenant Colonel Kemp is a 1997
graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he received a BS in Aerospace
Engineering. He also has a MA in Education (Curriculum Development) from the
University of Phoenix and a MS in Military Operational Art and Science from Air
Command and Staff College. A combat rescue helicopter pilot and Joint Personnel
Recovery Center director, he has served in permanent party and deployed assignments
supporting steady-state and contingency operations around the world. His staff tours
include assignments at U.S. Forces Korea, Air Combat Command, First Air Force (where
he commanded the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center), and U.S. Air Forces in
Europe and Air Forces Africa.

103
Dr. Robert M. Kerr

Dr. Robert M. Kerr is an Associate Professor in the Joint Warfighting Department. He

also previously served as Course Director for International Security 2: The Use of Armed
Force. He holds a PhD in Political Geography from the University of Oregon, and an MA
in Geosciences from the University of South Carolina. His BA is in History with an
emphasis on the Islamic World from Grand Valley State University. In addition to
teaching at ACSC, Dr. Kerr has worked at the Air Force Culture and Language Center,
and taught courses at the US Air Force Special Operations School, the Senior NCO
Academy, and the Air Advisor Academy. In 2008-2009 he spent 15 months in NE
Baghdad with the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division and 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
as an embedded political/cultural advisor. Dr. Kerr is a graduate of the Joint Combined
Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College.

Maj Thomas Kopietz

Maj Thomas Kopietz is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at Air Command and Staff
College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. Major Kopietz is a 2004 graduate of
St. Olaf College where he received a BA in Mathematics and Statistics. He has an MA
from Norwich University in Military History and an MS in Airpower Strategy and
Technology Integration from the Air University Center for Strategy and Technology. He
served as a Combat Systems Officer (CSO) on the B-52H at Minot AFB, ND. Additional
assignments include operational testing and multi-domain integration at Edwards AFB,
CA and Beale AFB, CA. In his most recent assignment, he was a CSAF Fellow in the
Blue Horizons Fellowship where he developed the concept of utilizing airborne
capabilities in support of space defense.

Dr. Brent Lawniczak

Dr. Brent Lawniczak is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies at Air
University’s Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). A retired Marine aviator (UH-
1N/UC-12), he has served in multiple theaters in various capacities. He served as the
Senior Marine Corps Advisor to the Commandant of ACSC from 2008-2012. Additionally,
Brent was qualified as a Command Pilot, Forward Air Controller (Airborne) (FAC(A)),
Forward Air Controller (FAC)/Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC), and Weapons and
Tactics Instructor. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration from Auburn University, and
his interests and expertise include joint planning, operational design, joint fires, maritime
and amphibious operations, aviation operations, policy formulation, American politics,
and international relations.

104
Lt Col Morgan D. Mackey

Lt Col Morgan D. Mackey is an instructor in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the

Air Command and Staff College. He serves as an instructor for two academic courses. Lt
Col Mackey is a Weather Officer with career broadening experiences as a wing Inspector
General, a Combat Aviation Advisor, and as a previous Air University faculty and staff
member. Most recent to his arrival at ACSC, he was the Air Combat Command Deputy
Director, Weather Requirements Division, assigned to an operating location at Offutt
AFB, NE. He was commissioned in 1994 after receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in
Geography from the United States Air Force Academy, and he subsequently earned a
Masters Degree in Meteorology from Texas A&M University in 1996. Lt Col Mackey is an
ACSC in-residence graduate, where he earned a Master of Military Operational Art and
Science in 2007.

Dr. Robert (Bob) Mahoney

Dr. Robert (Bob) Mahoney is a Professor in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the
Air Command and Staff College. He has a PhD in History from the George Washington
University, a MS in National Resource Strategy from the Eisenhower School, National
Defense University (NDU), a MS in Management from Webster University, and a BS in
Engineering Sciences from the United States Air Force Academy. Prior to arriving at
ACSC, Dr. Mahoney was the Dean of the Marine Corps War College and an Assistant
Professor at the Eisenhower School at NDU. His book, The Mayaguez Incident, was
published by Texas Tech Press. He is a retired USAF colonel with over 27 years of
service, commanded a KC-135 flying squadron, was on the AMC and CJCS staff, and
was a command pilot with over 3,500 hours in the T-37, T-38 and KC-135. His research
interests include the US Constitution, Joint Warfighting, Joint Planning, Operational
Design, Leadership, US Air Force History, Vietnam War era, WW II, Revolutionary War,
and Civil War.

LTC Fran Marks

LTC Fran Marks is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at Air Command and Staff College.
Lt Col Marks earned his undergraduate degree from Miles College (Political Science)
and his graduate degrees from Troy University (Public Administration) and the Army War
College (Strategic Studies). He has Commanded multiple Infantry Companies and a
Light Infantry Battalion. Lt Col Marks has held numerous multi-echelon Staff positions
and served as a Deputy Commander during peace and wartime. Lt Col Marks is a Senior
Service College Graduate and contributing author of Mission Command of Multi-Domain
Operations.

105
Maj Adam McLaurin

Maj Adam A. McLaurin is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at Air Command and Staff
College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. Maj McLaurin is a 2004 graduate of
the University of Florida where he received a BA in History. He also has an MA in Military
Operational Art and Science from Air Command and Staff College. A Marine Manpower
Officer, he has deployed to Afghanistan three times, once with 3d Battalion, 11th
Marines to Helmand Province, and twice in the AFPAK Hands program. Between
deployments as an advisor in Afghanistan he was the SFA/FID Integration Officer at the
Small Wars Center/Irregular Warfare Integration Division.

Dr. Ann Mezzell

Dr. Ann Mezzell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Joint Warfighting at the
Air Command and Staff College. She earned her PhD in Political Science from the
University of Georgia as well as an MA in the same field from the University of Alabama.
Her fields of concentration include international relations and comparative politics. In
addition to teaching core curriculum, she is an instructor for electives covering the topics
of state fragility and peacekeeping operations. Her research interests center on
American foreign policy, human security, and military strategy. Her recent publications
appear in Strategic Studies Quarterly and Parameters. Dr. Mezzell is a graduate of the
Joint Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College.

Dr. John L. Minney

Dr. John L. Minney is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Joint
Warfighting Department. A retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Minney is a
Master Navigator, and has flown the F-111, F-15E, KC-135, and C-130 aircraft. Dr.
Minney holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Alabama. He is a graduate of both
the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College in-residence programs and
is a graduate of the Joint Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College. Prior
to his arrival at ACSC he worked as an Assistant Professor of History at Concordia
College Alabama, and has taught as an Adjunct Professor of History at the University of
Alabama, Auburn University Montgomery, and Troy University. His research interests
and expertise are in Military History, Air Power History, the relationship between USAF
Doctrine and Technology, and Grand Strategy.

106
Lt Col Joselyn Molinari

Lt Col Joselyn Molinari is a 2020 graduate of Air Command and Staff College (ACSC)
and serves as the Director for ACSC’s Political-Military Affairs Strategist Program. In
addition to developing PAS officers, she instructs International Security I and Joint
Warfighting. Prior to her assignment at Maxwell Air Force Base, Lt Col Molinari was a
Director of Operations and a career intelligence officer with assignments at wing,
numbered air force, and major command positions. In addition, she is a graduated
Operational Warfare Instructor, qualified cyberspace mission commander and has
worked in several interagency positions including with the Department of State and
National Security Agency. Lt Col Molinari holds a Master of Military Operational Art and
Science degree from Air University, a Master of Arts in Global Security and Intelligence
Studies, and a Bachelor dual degree in Political Science and International Relations.

Lt Col Jason M. Newcomer

Lt Col Jason M. Newcomer, D.B.A. is an Associate Dean of Education at the Air

Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, AL. He leads diversity, equity,
inclusion, and access efforts for the 500-student and 140 faculty/staff resident college.
He also manages the college’s learning management system, PhD selection program,
and advises the Commandant on organizational change and leadership strategies. He is
an assistant professor of leadership studies and has numerous publications and
conference presentations in the leadership, management, and aviation fields. He holds a
Doctorate in Business Administration specializing in leadership, and a Masters in Military
Operational Art and Science. Lt Col Newcomer's Joint experience was as a
USCYBERCOM/J3F Joint Plans Officer, a team member on multiple Operational
Planning Teams, part of the Joint Interagency Task Force for cyber defense, and the
Branch Chief for USCYBERCOM/J38 offensive cyber operations.

Maj Kristen J. Nitzel

Maj Kristen J. Nitzel is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at Air Command and Staff
College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. Major Nitzel is a 2009 graduate of the
United States Air Force Academy where she received a BS in Foreign Area Studies. She
also has a MA in International Relations from Oklahoma University and an MS in Military
Operational Art and Science with a Joint All Domain Strategist concentration from Air
Command and Staff College. As a Logistics Readiness Officer, she has served in
EUCOM, INDOPACOM, and ACC, as well as Defense Logistics Agency-Energy Europe
& Africa. She deployed in support of Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent
Resolve as the J4 Deputy Chief of Mobility. Prior to her arrival at Maxwell, she served as
the Wing Executive Officer to the Commander, 96th Test Wing at Eglin Air Force Base.

107
Dr. Joseph E. Osborne

Joe Osborne is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the Department
of Space Power at the Air Command and Staff College. He is also a retired Army Special
Forces Colonel who has served in Command and Staff positions at every level. His
culminating assignment was as the J3, Director of Operations, at Special Operations
Command Central (SOCCENT) where he also served as the J5, Director of Plans, Policy
and Strategy. He has a PhD in International Conflict Management from Kennesaw State
University and a Master’s in National Security Affairs from the Naval Post Graduate
School. He also has a Bachelor’s in Criminology from Florida State University where he
was a Distinguished Military Graduate. He was also the Distinguished Officer Graduate
from the Special Forces Qualification Course. His recent publications include an
examination of the 2014 Syria Train and Equip initiative, and a case study on the Rojava
Kurds and the Battle of Kobani. His military assignments have included operations and
deployments throughout Africa, South and Central America, Asia, and the Middle East.
He has served as an A- Team Commander and Company Commander in 1st Special
Forces Group and as a Company Commander, Battalion S3 and Deputy Group
Commander in the 3d Special Forces Group.

Lt Col William Phillips

Lt Col William Phillips is the Deputy Course Director and an instructor of Joint
Warfighting at Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery,
Alabama. Lieutenant Colonel Phillips is a 2001 graduate of the Air Force Academy
where he received a BS in Computer Science. He also has an MBA from Trident
University International and a MS in Strategic Studies from Air War College. He flew KC-
135s at Fairchild before volunteering for the RQ-4 in 2008 and has worked in the High-
Altitude ISR community since that time, culminating in command of the 99th
Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron from 2016 to 2017. He completed multiple staff
assignments including the Joint Staff J-3, the 613 AOC, and PACAF/A3. His most recent
assignment was completing Air War College in residence in AY21.

Dr. Bradley F. Podliska

Dr. Bradley F. Podliska is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the
Department of Joint Warfighting at Air University’s Air Command and Staff College. He
has a Ph.D. in Political Science (International Relations major) from Texas A&M
University, a M.A. in National Security Studies from Georgetown University, and a B.A.
(with honors) in International Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr.
Podliska is a graduate of the Joint Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff
College. Prior to arriving at ACSC, Dr. Podliska worked as an intelligence analyst for the
Department of Defense and as an investigator for the U.S. House of Representatives

108
Select Committee on Benghazi. His publications include a book, Acting Alone: A
Scientific Study of American Hegemony and Unilateral Use-of-Force Decision Making
(Lexington Books) and a book chapter, “Security and the Surveillance State:
Bureaucratic Politics, the Intelligence Community, and Congressional Oversight”
(Campus Verlag). He recently retired as an intelligence officer in the US Air Force
Reserves and has served on the J2 staff with US Joint Forces Command and US
European Command.

Dr. James S. Powell

Dr. Jim Powell teaches Schriever Space Scholars as Assistant Professor of Military and
Security Studies in the Air Command and Staff College’s Department of Spacepower. A
retired U.S. Army colonel and strategic planner, he has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan
and has served in the Pentagon as speechwriter for the U.S. Army chief of staff and as
military advisor to the director of net assessment in the Office of the Secretary of
Defense. His previous teaching experience includes postings at the U.S. Army War
College, the School of Advanced Military Studies, as well as the U.S. Military Academy
at West Point. Dr. Powell holds a Ph.D. in history from Texas A&M University. He has
published Learning under Fire: The 112th Cavalry Regiment in World War II and served
as a principal author of the U.S. Army’s two-volume study on the Iraq War.

Research Interest/Expertise: World War II’s Pacific theater, strategic appraisal and net
assessment, learning and adaptation in military organizations, the 1973 Arab-Israeli War,
the Iraq War (2003-2011)

Dr. Brian R. Price

Dr. Brian R. Price is an Associate Professor in the Department of Warfighting at the Air
Command and Staff College. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los
Angeles (UCLA) in political science, and holds a doctorate from the University of North
Texas in military history. He is a graduate of the Joint Combined Warfighting School,
Joint Forces Staff College. He has conducted research for the POW-MIA Accounting
Agency, served as a Social Science SME serving special operations in Afghanistan, and
has served a double tour as Senior Social Scientist in RC East, Afghanistan, 2011-12.
He worked for ten years in Silicon Valley, rising to the level of Vice President, and ran his
own publishing company before taking his doctorate. His research interests focus on the
nexus between culture, technology and war, and his current research focuses on the
development of post-Vietnam TACAIR, a project for which he has conducted extensive
archival research along with oral histories on a number of senior officers. He is published
in a number of journals, and has several books in his second field, medieval and early
modern warfare. In his spare time, he teaches historical swordsmanship and has been
inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

109
Major William Staley

Major William Staley is an instructor of Joint Warfighting and Air University Fellow at Air
Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery Alabama. He is a 2008
graduate of the University of Central Florida where he received a Bachelor of Arts in
Political Science and International Relations. He also holds a Master’s of Business
Administration from the American Military University and a Master’s of Science in Military
Operational Art and Science from Air Command and Staff College. A Senior Pilot with
over 3,100 flight hours, he has instructed in the T-1A, C-17A, and T-6A aircraft. He has
deployed in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM, INHERENT RESOLVE, and
FREEDOM SENTINEL. Finally, he served as the C-17 representative to the Senate
Armed Forces Committee on pilot retention.

Dr. Christopher M. Stamper

Dr. Christopher M. Stamper is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in

the Department of Joint Warfighting at the Air Command and Staff College. A retired
U.S. Navy Commander, he has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Oceanography from the
United States Naval Academy, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic
Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He holds a Doctorate in Public Administration
from Capella University, specializing in East African Affairs. He has been a flight
instructor and taught at the US Naval Academy and the Air War College.

Lt Col Thomas A. Smicklas

Lt Col Thomas A. Smicklas is an instructor of Joint Warfighting at Air Command and

Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Alabama. Lieutenant Colonel Smicklas is a
1998 graduate of the University of Cincinnati where he received a BS in Hospital
Administration. He also has an MBA from the University of Maryland and a MS in Military
Operational Art and Science from Air Command and Staff College, and is a graduate of
the Joint Combined Warfighting School, Joint Forces Staff College. A space and missile
operator and financial manager, he has served in a variety of operational assignments to
include squadron command and deployed to Amman, Jordan in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom. He served two staff tours at Air Force Space Command and most
recently served as a Course Director in the Department of Military and Strategic Studies
and Deputy Director of the Department of Homeland Security Center of Innovation at the
US Air Force Academy

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Dr. Samantha A. Taylor

Dr. Samantha A. Taylor is an Assistant Professor of Military and Security Studies in the
Schriever Space Scholars Department of Spacepower at Air Command and Staff
College. Dr Taylor joined ACSC in 2021 and teaches War Theory and Joint War
Fighting. Before coming to ACSC she started her career in Professional Military
Education with a Postdoctoral Fellowship at U.S. Naval War College where she taught
Theater National Security Decision Making in 2017. In 2018 she left USNWC and taught
as Visiting Professor at US. Army War College in the Department of National Security
and Strategy where she taught theories of war, international relations, and national
security strategy and policy making. Her Ph.D. is in US diplomatic and military history
with an emphasis on the Cold War to 1998 from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Research Interest/Expertise: Along with US diplomatic and military history, Dr. Taylor
studies European military and diplomatic history, World War I, World War II, US national
security strategy and policy making, cultural history, international relations, and mass
communications.

Lt Col Brian Tileston

Lt Col Brian Tileston is an instructor at Air Command and Staff College’s Department of
International Security. In addition to teaching the International Security Course and Joint
Warfighting, he is the Deputy Director for the School of Advanced Nuclear Deterrence
Studies. Lt Col Tileston has multiple assignments throughout the nuclear enterprise and
deployments supporting combat operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the
Middle East. He has a Master’s Degree in Airpower Theory and Technology Integration
from the Blue Horizons Fellowship and a Bachelor of Business Administration in General
Business from Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas. Prior to his assignment at
ACSC, Lt Col Tileston was deployed for a year as the Chief of Strategic Plans/Deputy
Division Chief, Strategy Division, 609th Air Operations Center.

Lt Col Aaron “Camel” Tillman

Lt Col Aaron “Camel” Tillman is an instructor of Joint Warfighting and Leadership

Development at Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) at Maxwell AFB. Lt Col Tillman
is a 2002 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy where he received a Bachelor of
Science in Electrical Engineering. Lt Col Tillman is a 2014 Distinguished Graduate of
ACSC with a Master of Military Operational Art and Science. He holds a Master of
Aerospace Science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, where he graduated with
Honors. Prior to his current assignment, Lt Col Tillman commanded the 37th Flying
Training Squadron at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, where he led 80 personnel to create
1,190 Air Force military aviators from Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training for the

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U.S. and 30 allied countries. He is a Command Pilot with more than 3,300 hours in the
B-52, T-6, and T-37, including 300 combat hours. Lt Col Tillman served on staff in Air
Force Global Strike Command’s Strategic Plans, Programs, and Requirements
Directorate and deployed in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM and Operation
INHERENT RESOLVE.

Dr. Joseph “Jay” Varuolo

Dr. Joseph L. (Jay) Varuolo is a Professor of Warfare Studies at Air University’s eSchool
of Graduate Professional Military Education (PME). He is a retired USAF combat aviator
(B-1) and Weapon School Graduate. He has combat experience and has been an
Airborne Mission Commander in combat, multiple times. Additionally, he has an explicit
strategy background in two distinct theaters including Section Chief in the CFACC’s
Strategy Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom and architect of the Russian sections
of the Theater Security Cooperation Plan for EUCOM from 2004 – 2007. He served as a
senior diplomat at the US Embassy in Moscow, Russia and his policy expertise on
Russia has been sought by US Presidential delegations, US Congressional delegations,
Council on Foreign Relations, World Affairs Council, American Council on Germany and
academic institutions. His policy expertise extends across international, national, state,
and local government and transverses the spectrum from advice to final written form. His
policy experience encompasses multiple US government agencies and has ranged
contentious issues such as US military overflight of Russian territory and Russian/NATO
interoperability. He has a PhD in Political Science, Comparative Politics, from the
University at Albany’s Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy.

Dr. Christopher Weimar

Dr. Christopher Weimar is an Assistant Professor of National Security Studies in the

Joint Warfighting Department at the Air Command and Staff College (ACSC). He holds
an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the Graduate Center of the City University
of New York, an M.A. in International Relations from Boston University, and a B.A. in
Mathematics and Computer Science from Fordham University. A retired U.S. Air Force
Colonel, Dr. Weimar served in Active and Reserve status in Communications-Information
Systems Management, Cyberspace Operations, and Logistics Readiness. He has
performed at all levels from flight to Combatant Command and has deployed to Djibouti,
Kuwait, and Iraq. He served as the Deputy Director of Logistics and Engineering at North
American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command. He is a graduate
of ACSC and AWC by correspondence and completed the Joint and Combined
Warfighting School-Hybrid Program.

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