• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Preparing for Asymmetry: As Seen Through the Lens of Joint Vision 2020

Authored by Ms. Melissa Applegate.

September 2001

38 Pages

Brief Synopsis

Since the mid-1990s, the concept of strategic asymmetry has begun to receive serious attention from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The 1997 Quadrennial Defense Review, for instance, stated, "U.S. dominance in the conventional military arena may encourage adversaries to use . . . asymmetric means to attack our forces and interests overseas and Americans at home." But while American strategists and defense leaders sense the importance of strategy asymmetry, much analytical work remains to be done before it is fully understood. The author assesses the revisions to Joint Vision 2020, DOD's roadmap to the future, that must be undertaken in order to prepare for asymmetric challenges.

Summary

The U.S. military’s joint vision of how it will approach conflict in the future, Joint Vision (JV) 2020, is vulnerable to asymmetry. The tremendous relative military combat power of U.S. forces and our commitment to expanding that lead means that, for potential adversaries, asymmetric approaches will be their only recourse. Asymmetric strategies—intentional or opportunistic—will seek to counter the operational concepts underpinning JV2020. Successful asymmetric approaches could prevent the United States from fighting as designed or even at all. Alternatively, asymmetry may not defeat U.S. forces, but could prevent them from winning. Asymmetry affects the whole force and must be addressed in that context. Reliance on overwhelming offensive military power for warfighting and adopting a defensive strategy against asymmetric approaches will not ensure mastery of the asymmetric domain.

This monograph describes how the current vision invites defeat or slow degradation of military effectiveness by asymmetric means. It provides a background of why it is so hard to change and makes the argument for why we must adapt to the emerging potential of asymmetry. Gaining insight into the dynamics driving the significance, scope, and impact of this problem set leads to the conclusion that JV2020 operational concepts must be broader and more adaptive in nature. Mastering the asymmetric domain is a legitimate, challenging mission area that will require the same investment in time, energy, and intellectual capital that has been spent to achieve supremacy in conventional warfighting. This monograph proposes a set of complementary operational concepts that, incorporated into JV2020 through a transition process, will lead to an enhanced vision that incorporates asymmetric challenges, and result in a transformed vision that better supports U.S. forces to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to asymmetry.

This document is the output of The Army-Marine Corps Warfighter Working Group, Task 4 on Asymmetric Approaches. Army lead is the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (ODCSOPS) with the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (ODCSINT) in support. Marine Corps lead is the Deputy Commandant for Policy, Plans, and Operations (DCPP&O) with the Commanding General Marine Corps Combat Development Command (CG MCCDC) in support.

Access Full Report [PDF]: Preparing for Asymmetry: As Seen Through the Lens of Joint Vision 2020