Heavy Matter
Subtitle: Urban Operations' Density of Challlenges
Publisher: Rand Corporation
Published: October 2000
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 48
ISBN-13: 9780833029096
Subjects: Urban warfare; United States; Military - Strategy; Politics / Current Events; Military; United States.; Political Freedom & Security - International Secur; Military tactics; Theory of warfare & military science; Urban communities; War & defence operations; Armed Forces; Drill and tactics
First sentence: Whether it be from Namsan in Seoul, Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, or the Empire State Building in New York City, an observer gazing down on a modern metropolitan area cannot help but be awed by the seemingly endless ground cover of structures and unceasing hum of human activity.
Description: This study proposes a new way of viewing urban operations, among the most complex challenges facing America's armed forces. Viewing urban operations in light of relevant densities, regardless of whether combat, stability, or support missions predominate, offers a viable means of approaching an otherwise most imposing puzzle. Doing so provides a vehicle to better understand how to conceptualize issues of pertinence, the tasks and missions that will address those issues, and the specific ways of employing elements of national power in the service of strategic objectives. Following an overview of density's potential influence on military operations, the author proposes and discusses five approaches to dealing with its challenges: Matching density with density, effectively reducing densities, maintaining selected densities, addressing density asymmetrically, and capitalizing on urban densities. He concludes with an analysis of density and its implications for information operations conducted in built-up areas.