Please respond to at least 2 other students. Responses should be a minimum of 150 words and include direct questions. Forum posts are graded on timeliness, relevance, knowledge of the weekly readings, and the quality of original ideas. Sources utilized to support answers are to be cited in accordance with the APA writing style by providing a general parenthetical citation (reference the author, year and page number) within your post. Refer to grading rubric for additional details concerning grading criteria.
Responses Due: Sunday, by 11:55pm, ET
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The desired characteristics of a national strategy are placed into a list that is composed of this criteria;
(Yim, 2004)
The desired characteristics of a national strategy document is to establish an overall goal or outcome. This document should outline how the end result will met and why it is necessary. It is imperative that all who partake in the strategy also buys into the strategy. Preparing for the worst outcome is imperative. Knowing what the enemy is capable of and not underestimating the enemy is key. The national strategy document should be broken down and delegated appropriately so that each person or group of people know what job needs to be accomplished.
The strategy hierarchy is similar to that of the military because it operates off a chain of command. The Commander in Chief is at the head of the chain of command and sets the overall mission objective. He then has his vision delegated to trusted appointed officials to be carried out. In the Military the Commander receives a list of task that must be fulfilled. The Commander then priorities these orders and put it out to his company. This is known as the Commander’s Intent. For example, the Commander’s Intent is what is expected to be done. This does not mean the Commander dictates how it will be done but only that the overall result is what was intended. The Non Commissioned Officers will delegate a more direct path the lower enlisted will accomplish the Commander’s Intent. However, it will then be broken down further as the lower enlisted will be the ones actually doing the lowest level of work and in turn will change a little more while still accomplishing the successful end result in theory. As an old saying goes, there is many ways to skin a cat.
References:
Yim, R. A. (2004). Combating terrorism: evaluation of selected characteristics in national strategies related to terrorism (USA, GAO, Homeland Security and Justice Issues). Washington, D.C.: General Accounting Office.
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Part I:
Ideally a national strategy document will provide an outline of things that should be done. When it comes to a national strategy document, it is desired that it have the following characteristics: “purpose, scope and methodology, problem definition and risk assessment, goals, subordinate objectives activities, and performance measures, resources, investments, and risk management, organizational roles, responsibilities, and coordination, integration and implementation”(2004, 11). With this guidance it allows the strategy to be more effective and more precise. Without that guidance it makes it unclear to the agencies that have to apply the national strategy to their overall mission. It is also important for the strategy to be suitable, acceptable, and feasible. According to Bartolomees, “suitability tests whether the proposed strategy achieves the desired end—if it does not, it is not a potential strategy. Acceptability tests ways. Does the proposed course of action or concept produce results without excessive expenditure of resources and within accepted modes of conduct? Feasibility tests means. Are the means at hand or reasonably available sufficient to execute the proposed concept? A strategy must meet or at least have a reasonable expectation of meeting all three tests to be valid, but there is no upper limit on the number of possible solutions. The art becomes the analysis necessary to select the best or most efficient or least risky”(16).
Part II:
Strategic hierarchy is where the objectives of the highest level of command end up overlapping. Not only do these objectives overlap, they also impact every level of command, even at the lowest level. The objectives apply to all levels but they also allow each level to tie into each other. This allows two separate organizations to help achieve a common goal together.
When it comes to most government organizations they all have a goal in mind and what it takes to achieve that goal. If you think about the United States Air Force(USAF) on a grand scale, it has its mission statement and what the end goal should be. Within the hierarchy of the USAF there are Major Commands (MAJCOMs) that have their own missions that they set out to accomplish but the objectives of the USAF are not lost throughout the MAJCOMs. The same can be said all the way down to the lowest level. This could also continue up to the other sister services and to the Department of Defense as a whole. It really comes down to whatever the higher authorities are hoping to accomplish.
References
Bartolomees, J. Boone. 2012. U. S. Army War College Guide to National Security Issues Volume 1: Theory and Strategy 5th Edition. 5th Edition ed. Carlisle Barracks,PA: Strategic Studies Institute.
U. S. Government Accountability Office. 2004. Combating terrorism: Evaluation of selected characteristics in national strategies related to terrorism. by Randall A. Yim, GAO-04-408T. http://www.gao.gov/assets/120/110567.pdf.
