dESigN aNd JOiNT OPERaTiON PLaNNiNg

T he current strategic operating environment in which US military forces operate has changed significantly in the past 20 years. The US military has shifted its strategy from a reactive, conventional-planning focus to one that encompasses a proactive, shaping strategy that focuses on a broad array of threats. Inherent within this shaping strategy is the requirement to set environmental conditions that directly or indirectly support US goals and objectives. To develop and execute a successful strategy, an in-depth understanding of the social make-up of the environment, to include the cultural, historical, religious, economic, and political aspects of that social framework, is necessary. Today’s military strategists and operational planners must be able to visualize the environment in all of its complexity to understand the competing actors and interests required in a shaping strategy. This ability to visualize actors and trends in time and space is known as operational art, further defined as the application of creative imagination by commanders to design strategies, campaigns, and military operations to organize and employ military forces. To apply operational art, the commander draws on characteristics such as judgment, perception, and character to visualize the environmental conditions necessary for success. In today’s environment, the commander must be able to integrate US military, Department of State, and other US governmental organizations, allies, and host nations to properly ‘shape’ the environment to attain US goals and interests. Some officers can perform this intellectual process intuitively, but most must rely upon a framework or process that informs and guides the understanding, design, and development of strategies and plans. Operational design and the joint dESigN aNd JOiNT OPERaTiON PLaNNiNg