Lifting the Fog of War

Rating:
Summary: Getting out of date for the best of reasons...
Review: ...the reality is catching up with the ideas projected by Admiral Owens! Battlefield communication, AirLand Battle and Operational Maneuver From the Sea are all part of the revolution (and that is no exageration) of the future that is now upon us and detailed in this book. How all this battlefield communication can be carried out are discussed, but picture it a bit this way - the Borg are here.

The American military have always operated on the idea that the individual private soldier (airman or Marine) is an archtype of the larger unit from the squad to the entire nation. A bit like fractals - each component looks like the larger unit. If the upper command are destroyed, each soldier knows what he is to do to accomplish the mission. How many times do we read of battles where companies are led not by captains but by the surviving corporal who knows the mission and takes over when required?

By lifting the fog of war thru extensive battlefield communication, each soldier, tank, fighting vehicle, attack helicopter, strike aircraft, mobile artillery piece, and commander knows what is happening, where, when, to whom. In the first Gulf War, a mobile gun would get 3rd- to 5th-hand data about a target and fire away hoping that the good guys had not moved onto the target area. Now, the good guys talk right to the gun crew and call in artillery as they need it. The same with aircraft and helicopter strikes.

The downside is that all these data are two-fold; first, the shear volume is overwhleming and available to too many levels of command. Like Nixon telephoning in a football play (yes, he did), the direction of the field can be shifted too high in the chain of command. A division commander in the field will usually be able to make a better decision than a general in Ft. Bragg, but each can now view action in real time via drones buzzing around the battlefield. It is the well controlled rear echelon general who can keep his yap shut when the action gets hot and heavy and offer help rather than opinion disguised as orders. (Oh the stories I have heard!) People can become saturated with the amount data and must learn to filter out the important from the interesting from the useless.

Second, the gear is sometimes trecherous. In Afghanistan, a trooper used his GPS to call in an airstrike. No big deal, easy as pie. Except that the batteries began to run low as he entered the target's coordinates. He popped out the old batteries, popped in new ones and sent the coordinates to the strike aircraft. Very cool - direct communication from the field to the strike! Except that he forgot, or was never told, that changing the batteries reset the GPS to HIS coordinates...Oops! You probably saw that one on CNN or Fox. "Incoming shrapnel!" Troops ducking behind mud walls, dead Americans and Afghans.

Still, the revolution means that the military of Viet Nam was as different from that of Desert Storm, as that of today is from Desert Storm. Glad to see it.

Rating:
Summary: Getting out of date for the best of reasons...
Review: ...the reality is catching up with the ideas projected by Admiral Owens! Battlefield communication, AirLand Battle and Operational Maneuver From the Sea are all part of the revolution (and that is no exageration) of the future that is now upon us and detailed in this book. How all this battlefield communication can be carried out are discussed, but picture it a bit this way - the Borg are here.

The American military have always operated on the idea that the individual private soldier (airman or Marine) is an archtype of the larger unit from the squad to the entire nation. A bit like fractals - each component looks like the larger unit. If the upper command are destroyed, each soldier knows what he is to do to accomplish the mission. How many times do we read of battles where companies are led not by captains but by the surviving corporal who knows the mission and takes over when required?

By lifting the fog of war thru extensive battlefield communication, each soldier, tank, fighting vehicle, attack helicopter, strike aircraft, mobile artillery piece, and commander knows what is happening, where, when, to whom. In the first Gulf War, a mobile gun would get 3rd- to 5th-hand data about a target and fire away hoping that the good guys had not moved onto the target area. Now, the good guys talk right to the gun crew and call in artillery as they need it. The same with aircraft and helicopter strikes.

The downside is that all these data are two-fold; first, the shear volume is overwhleming and available to too many levels of command. Like Nixon telephoning in a football play (yes, he did), the direction of the field can be shifted too high in the chain of command. A division commander in the field will usually be able to make a better decision than a general in Ft. Bragg, but each can now view action in real time via drones buzzing around the battlefield. It is the well controlled rear echelon general who can keep his yap shut when the action gets hot and heavy and offer help rather than opinion disguised as orders. (Oh the stories I have heard!) People can become saturated with the amount data and must learn to filter out the important from the interesting from the useless.

Second, the gear is sometimes trecherous. In Afghanistan, a trooper used his GPS to call in an airstrike. No big deal, easy as pie. Except that the batteries began to run low as he entered the target's coordinates. He popped out the old batteries, popped in new ones and sent the coordinates to the strike aircraft. Very cool - direct communication from the field to the strike! Except that he forgot, or was never told, that changing the batteries reset the GPS to HIS coordinates...Oops! You probably saw that one on CNN or Fox. "Incoming shrapnel!" Troops ducking behind mud walls, dead Americans and Afghans.

Still, the revolution means that the military of Viet Nam was as different from that of Desert Storm, as that of today is from Desert Storm. Glad to see it.

Rating:
Summary: Defenst Train Wreck?
Review: Adm. Owens was the Vice Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is aware that the Achilles Heel of our current Military capability is joint Service rivalry. Each Service will go its own way until it is too late or until the American people start paying attention. Adm. Owens explains the problem simply and eloquently. It is more about military culture than money. Since the money just isn't there, he explains how and why the culture must change. Unfortunately, this may mean the end of the Army Navy football game. If the two Services are taught to hate one another at the collge leve, why would they start cooperating when they become Admirals and Generals. According to Adm. Owens the U.S. has the technology to continue to be a great military power but the Services will have to stop trying to "outplay" their Service counter parts in real "wars".

This book provides great insight as to why it is so difficult to implement a Revolution in Military Affairs.

Rating:
Summary: Soaring Insight with an (unfortunate) Journalistic Tether
Review: Admiral Owens' recent book, Lifting the Fog of War, is a courageous, insider's explication of what's right and what's wrong with the Pentagon, today. It is a courageous statement because it breaks with the tradition that professional, senior military leaders do not criticize their contemporary professionals. Politicians, of course, certainly the civilians who challenge "professional military judgement" as the sole guide to designing and buying future military forces -- these have always been fair targets of American military professionals who turn to literature after they retire. And the book unfortunately has a few journalistic cheap shots. But what distinguishes it from journalism -- and makes this book a serious and significant work -- is the primary author's insights to the inner world of service parochialism. (One suspects Owens' collaborator on the book -- the journalist Ed Offley -- may be responsible for the slips into administration bashing and the newsy cliches.) It is a bold assessment of the central military problem currently faced by the United States; namely, a reluctance of the professional military leadership to accelerate the American Revolution in Military Affairs. Owens' description of the promise of information technology is brilliant and wise. Here is an in-depth explication of what could be done if the Pentagon had the courage and wisdom to move more expeditiously down the path it has already chosen. But it is more than a technological tour de force. The real power of the author's insight stems from his vision of the international political leverage the United States could gain from moving faster -- and why this would be good for the world. His specific recommendations at first seem a bit esoteric. Defense wonks will know what he's talking about immediately, but maybe not everybody. But they fit with the mainstream of the argument. And if the reader can avoid the diversions into journalism, they ought to end the book convinced the recommendations are right on and hoping Owens somehow gets tapped to be the next Secretary of Defense.

Rating:
Summary: Generals often fight the next war like the last war
Review: Anyone who doesn't think this is a timely and important book should study the military history of 1941 and 1942 with particular attention to the fall of the Philippines and Singapore. Generals often fight the next war like the last war to the pain of the nation and military. Admiral Bill Owens provides a compelling case for change. Lifting The Fog of War is a must read for all members of the military, congress, executive branch, and others interested in a strong U.S. military and peace. Questions that remain unasked thus unanswered are when, where, and why America should deploy military force.

Rating:
Summary: Generals often fight the next war like the last war
Review: Anyone who doesn't think this is a timely and important book should study the military history of 1941 and 1942 with particular attention to the fall of the Philippines and Singapore. Generals often fight the next war like the last war to the pain of the nation and military. Admiral Bill Owens provides a compelling case for change. Lifting The Fog of War is a must read for all members of the military, congress, executive branch, and others interested in a strong U.S. military and peace. Questions that remain unasked thus unanswered are when, where, and why America should deploy military force.

Rating:
Summary: Visionary And Frightful At The Dawn Of A Brave New Weapons!
Review: Excellent synopsis of the current perils we are facing, the future technologies we are developing and the need to reorganize our military to meet such goals.

The book details just how and where we will be able to conduct wars by seeing entire regional battlefields. The writer in a deep surreal way conveys how computer battlefields will depict from afar the real view of the carnage from human mistakes within the fogs of war.

Admiral Owens was recruited by Admiral Rickover who was known to attract, select and depend upon the best and the brightest America had to offer. Admiral Owen's apparently has accomplished the art of writing a good book as easy as he learned the art of warfare.

What I find striking is what America is not prepared for as we read and he speaks. Our ability to rapidly deploy in times of need to stop and start fighting is poor to non-existent.

Also, the threat of biological weapons is so real and can cause such damage, we must create technology that can trace such creations so they dare not use them.

Additionally, the coming age of genetic bombs capable of removing certain families, races and cultures needs to be addressed so all can be protected.

Furthermore, these brave new weapons for our brave new technological world must be understood from a view few want to contemplate upon, "The Sane Will Be Facing Insane Tactics, Deeds And Wars," if this becomes reality then the sane themselves must use insane tactics and then want?

Let this book be a wake up call to all before we cannot even counter attack those that cannot be held accountable. We must be prepared and ready to take on the challenges of rogue states, maniac leaders who exploit their own people and could less about human life and global harmony.

The book is brilliantly written by a superb writer and defender of freedom all of his life. We were lucky to have him serve and protect us. Now we are even more fortunate for him to pass on his wisdom for our future.

Magnificent Book, I Highly Recommend It To All!

Rating:
Summary: Problem stated and restated - Solution flawed
Review: I bought this book after hearing Admiral Elliot present his thesis at a professional seminar in June of 2001. He was impressive, compelling and concise. Unfortunately his book was a dissapointment. His position is that unless America's military undergoes a "Revolution in Military Affairs" it will become ineffective and implode by 2010.

Supported by Ed Offley the military reporter of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer the book is repetitive in the extreme and shy on anecdotal support that, it would seem, would be more abundantly available based upon Admiral Elliots extensive experience.

More importantly, the problem covered, the need to integrate information systems, communications, intelligence in a manner that will link all branches and functions of the military is critical.The problem and opportunities are explained but the proposed soluton for the problems is extreme, politicaly unworkable and totally unlikely unless the country first manages to survive the debacle that the admiral predicts!

Indeed, the recent performance of the military in Afghanistan both supports the Admirals thesis while demonstraing that all is not lost. Smart sensors of all types using integrated speial forces coupled with very smart munitions showed great promise while perfection was also lacking.

"Lifting the Fog of War" should be read as part of a building block study of appreciating where our military is however, it is a hard read and does not present a workable solution for the problems discussed.

Rating:
Summary: An important book about national security
Review: I worked with Bill Owens when I was Speaker of the House. He is a very intelligent patriotic career Naval officer who showed as much courage in the Pentagon as he did on the sea. He saw the need for a new information-age approach to national defense and he fought for it despite enormous bureaucratic opposition. When someone proposes a 50% (yes 50%) reduction in procurement bureaucracy in the Pentagon (page 234) then you can understand how many institutions and careers he is threatening.

This book is a clear indictment both of the Clinton-Gore Administration's approach to defense (under-funding and overusing the military thus stretching it to exhaustion and near the breaking point in Owens' analysis) and also a tough critique of the isolated service mentality and the unnecessary duplication and waste which still dominates the defense system despite a decade of talking about "jointness". If you care about America's continued ability to lead in the world this is a book you will want to read. It is also a book you should call your Congressman and Senators and ask them to read. In fact it is a book both Gore and Bush should comment on in the campaign.

Rating:
Summary: An important book about national security
Review: I worked with Bill Owens when I was Speaker of the House. He is a very intelligent patriotic career Naval officer who showed as much courage in the Pentagon as he did on the sea. He saw the need for a new information-age approach to national defense and he fought for it despite enormous bureaucratic opposition. When someone proposes a 50% (yes 50%) reduction in procurement bureaucracy in the Pentagon (page 234) then you can understand how many institutions and careers he is threatening.

This book is a clear indictment both of the Clinton-Gore Administration's approach to defense (under-funding and overusing the military thus stretching it to exhaustion and near the breaking point in Owens' analysis) and also a tough critique of the isolated service mentality and the unnecessary duplication and waste which still dominates the defense system despite a decade of talking about "jointness". If you care about America's continued ability to lead in the world this is a book you will want to read. It is also a book you should call your Congressman and Senators and ask them to read. In fact it is a book both Gore and Bush should comment on in the campaign.