Theater Campaign Planning: An Analysis of NATO's Northern Region

• Main Author: Swan, III, Guy C.
• Other Authors: ARMY COMMAND AND GENERAL STAFF COLL FORT LEAVENWORTH KS SCHOOL OF ADVANCED MILITARY STUDIES
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1989
• Subjects: Military Operations; Strategy and Tactics; *DEFENSE PLANNING; *NORWAY; *MILITARY STRATEGY; MILITARY FORCES(FOREIGN); POLITICAL ALLIANCES; PENINSULAS; FLEETS(SHIPS); NAVAL OPERATIONS; FOCUSING; THEATER LEVEL OPERATIONS; NATO; USSR; DOCUMENTS; Kola Peninsula; Norway; kola peninsula
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA216232; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA216232

But with the buildup of Soviet forces on the Kola Peninsula and within the Northern Fleet, Soviet regional TVD operations now have the potential to seriously threaten NATO's Atlantic SLOCs and even outflank allied forces in the Central Region itself. NATO continues to respond by partitioning the Northern Region among the three major NATO commanders, SACEUR, SACLANT, and CINCHAN, instead of unifying it into a viable theater of operations. The monograph examines the fundamental concepts of the Maritime Strategy to see if they have application in improving combined theater campaign plans in the Northern Region. The monograph is structured as a case study focusing on campaign planning from CINCNORTH's perspective, looking at the Northern Region as a theater of operations and analyzing CINCNORTH's role in it. The criteria used for evaluation are the seven tenets of a campaign plan. The monograph concludes that in the presently operational environment (geography, threat, coalition aspects, etc.) AFNORTH, as present structured, is not capable of conducting viable theater campaign planning. Further, the author feels that the distinct maritime nature of the area warrants consideration of the Maritime Strategy as a theater strategy. A model is offered to show how planning in this maritime theater should proceed. The monograph ends with recommendations for restructuring the theater, both in geographical terms and in the command's design itself.