Below is a link to my warfighting discussion series I gave to ACE 2021. It went by a few names; Warfighting Wednesday, Tactics Tuesday, and Fighting Friday. The idea was ACE excelled at teaching technical, leadership, and tactical/operational planning but was missing the warfighting aspect. It is comprised of 6 different lectures. The first 4 are based on Col John Boyd’s “Patterns of Conflict” briefing. The 5th is based on the book “The Shadow War” by Jim Sciutto and the 6th is based on the book “Dark Territory” by Fred Kaplan. There are also summary slides at the end discussing the series intent, overview, and future work. This is not intended to be an academic lecture. The goal is to present topics and ideas and have discussions about how they could be used in the cyber and information domains.
Google Link to most up to date slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1mvSMl-TW1pQorPAw5ovVG6jZ83f1k5OL/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=111505919683135426079&rtpof=true&sd=true
Overview
OODA Loop
Interns will be introduced to Col John Boyd’s OODA Loop. We will discuss the concept in depth, how Col Boyd came up with it, and why it is so powerful when properly understood and applied.
Spheres of War
This week we will introduce the three spheres of warfare – moral, cognitive, and physical. We will discuss concepts in Sun Tzu’s Art of War and take a look at the dispersion and concentration game as well as the moral and mental games Ghengis Khan employed.
19th Century Strategic Thought
Our post-Gettysburg discussions will cover the ideas of the great 19th century military theorists with a focus on Clausewitz and his ideas of friction and center(s) of gravity.
Blitzkrieg, Schwerpunkt, and Maneuver Warfare
In this discussion we will look at how the Blitzkrieg came about, thetactics, technology and ideas that developed during WW I andculminated in WW II. We will cover command and control concepts such as Schwerpunkt and Fingerspitzengefühl. Finally we will discuss how Col Boyd, Col Mike Wyly, and Gen Alfred Gray took these concepts and introduced Maneuver Warfare to the US Marine Corp.
Changing Character of War
America’s adversaries are seeking asymmetric ways and means in waging a new type of war against the U.S. and its western allies. Russia and China are employing operations just below the traditional threshold of war designed to undermine our security and standing in the world. Our discussion will look at the changes in the character and conduct of war today.
Cyber and Information Warfare
Our final discussion will bring us up to modern day cyber and information warfare. We will look at cyber and information campaigns in recent history and ones that are currently unfolding. The goal will be to synthesize all the ideas and concepts we have generated from previous discussions and apply them to current and future problems.
