The Growing Imperative To Adopt "Flexibility" As An American Principle Of War (1999) By Robert S. Frost
 
The nine, American-adopted principles of war have been codified in US military doctrine for most of the 20th century. They are the principles of objective, offensive, mass, economy of force, maneuver, unity of command, security, surprise, and simplicity. Given this institutionalized practice whereby warfighting strategy is distilled into to a list of basic principles, the author asserts the principle of flexibility has been missing from that framework. Further, he argues the impetus to include flexibility as a principle will only grow. The majority of the paper is devoted to justifying the power of flexibility as both a principle of war and as a synthesizer of the other principles. Most importantly, the author argues, adopting flexibility as a principle of war establishes the vital frame of reference American military leaders and units need to confront the profoundly uncertain and challenging environment of the 21st Century across the spectrum of military activities.
 
Soft Cover
59 pages
In Good condition