The Roots of Military Doctrine: Change and Continuity in Understanding the Practice of Warfare

During the 1980s a fable circulated within the US Army concerning Soviet planning for a potential war with the United States. In the most common version, a Soviet general is alleged to have declared in frustration, "It is impossible to plan against the Americans because they don't follow their own doctrine." Many readers of this book will have heard (or said) that "doctrine is only a guide." Indeed, the tactical agility demonstrated by the US Army on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan is due in no small part to a cultural imperative that prizes solutions above all else. While not disputing the value of unorthodox solutions to difficult challenges, the organizational culture that underpins this perspective has resulted in a widespread lack of knowledge of Army doctrine by company and field grade officers and mid-level and senior noncommissioned officers. Recognizing this, the Army has dramatically re-engineered its doctrine to distill the timeless principles into a series of accessible, easily read documents. This process has led to a larger discussion of what should and should not be called "doctrine," and has also included discussion of how we as members of the profession of arms conceptualize warfare. Unfortunately, this conversation has not yet included the bulk of the Army's mid-level leaders. Dr. Jackson's monograph is an excellent contribution to remedy that shortfall. Its greatest value lies in the fact that it forces the reader to reconsider basic assumptions about the purpose and utility of doctrine, and what a nation's military doctrine says about its military institution. Jackson's arguments are well reasoned, his assertions are provocative, and his conclusions are profound.

Dr. Aaron P. Jackson is a Doctrine Desk Officer at the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Joint Doctrine Centre. In this appointment he has been project manager and/or lead author of six doctrine publications, including Australian Defence Doctrine Publication (ADDP) 00.1-Command and Control, edition 2, and ADDP 5.0- Joint Planning, edition 2. He has also contributed in various ways during the development of fifteen other joint doctrine and related publications, including interagency projects such as the Guide to Defence and Australian Federal Police (International Deployment Group) Interoperability for Offshore Operations, for which he was the ADF's primary representative and key content authority, and a contributing author. Aaron has also served in the Australian Army Reserve for over ten years. He has deployed on operations in Timor Leste and has served on exercise or exchange in the United States, New Zealand and the Philippines. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy (International Relations) and is appointed as a Visiting Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, Australia. He is the author of Doctrine, Strategy and Military Culture: Military-Strategic Doctrine Development in Australia, Canada and New Zealand, 1987-2007 (Canadian Forces Aerospace Warfare Centre, 2013), Keystone Doctrine Development in Five Commonwealth Navies: A Comparative Perspective (Sea Power Centre-Australia, 2010), and several peer-reviewed journal articles and other academic papers.