Students survey twentieth-century military history to identify significant contributions to the body of war theory. Reflecting ACSC's emphasis on aerospace power, they examine the development of airpower technology, theory, and doctrine, to determine what airpower adds to humanity's quest for decision in war. Students describe airpower's contributions in terms of evolving aerospace power doctrine and theory, the revolution in military affairs construct, and the campaign-planning model. Throughout the course, students are challenged to think critically about the operational level of war, reviewing historical operations to extract and explain enduring principles of war and aerospace power. Instructional methods include lectures, discussions, and student-led historical case studies.
Lectures introduce broad concepts and provide historical continuity for seminar discussions.
Case studies offer an opportunity to evaluate theory and doctrine in an historical context. OF 5500, Operational Forces 4 Semester Hours Operational Forces provides students an operational level view of the US military and builds a foundation for understanding the military instrument of power. Students analyze the concepts essential for campaign planning. Building on an overview of the link between military strategy, service core competencies and capabilities, and service doctrine, students prepare for joint campaign planning with special emphasis on force application and military operations other than war. Throughout this course students are required to think at the operational level of war and evaluate operational military capabilities.