...A third strong element of operational design for planning was decisive points. Planners used decisive points appropriately to give the commander a good sense as to the status of the operation and a measure for reaching operational objectives. The decisive points tied to the LOO and included actions such as suppress Scud Launch boxes and defeat IADS (Ibid.). The decisive points were important to the commander and deserved the allocation of forces required to reach the desired effect. An evaluation of OIF planning reveals the following weak elements of operational design: Center of Gravity (COG), forces and functions, and military end states. The decision to identify Baghdad as the Center of Gravity was among the planner’s most serious errors....
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...Operation Iraqi Freedom campaigns demonstrated differing success levels. Operational design promotes a comprehensive understanding of the environment and accurate problem definition, which are key to determining a feasible operational approach. The JFC’s operational approach serves as the initial planning guidance for the JOPP and sets the conditions for the entire planning process. Inadequate strategic direction, inaccurate understanding of the operational environment (OE) and incorrect problem definition resulted in an impractical operational approach to the Iraq war until reframing occurred with the 2006 surge. This paper describes General Franks’, Casey’s and Petraeus’ use of operational design. This essay discusses civilian policy shortfalls...
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...Understanding the Operational Environment in Mosul, Iraq SFC Leclerc, Silas Master Leaders Course 005-18 Understanding the Operational Environment in Mosul, Iraq In today?s modern battlefield, it takes a unique understanding of the operational environment and all the aspects that go along with it. As stated by Thomas Ricks in his book on Major General David Petraeus? leadership, ?The first and foremost task of a commander is to understand, with a steady head, the nature of the conflict in which he is engaged? (Knowlton, 2010 p. 5). On 6 February 2003, he got orders to deploy and by 21 March 2003, he was crossing the border from Kuwait to Iraq with 18,000 troops (Lundberg, 2006 p.1). By April 2003, MG Petraeus was in Nineveh...
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...Snyder University of Phoenix Axia Management Planning Paper The planning function of management is very important for the sustainability of businesses. Planning is essential for businesses and their employees to function efficiently and maintain profit levels. In addition, management has to assess their current companies and determine what steps are to be made in the future. In the event of problems, managers should follow procedures to continue functioning. In this paper, Halliburton will be discussed, and their planning functions. In addition, legal issues, ethics, and corporate responsibility will be discussed pertaining to management planning. Additionally, three factors that influence Halliburton’s strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency planning will be discussed. Ultimately, efficient planning is the key to success for businesses and organizations. Halliburton is one of the world's largest providers of products and services to the oil and gas industries. Halliburton is also the world’s second oil and gas operation, and it functions in more than 75 countries. In addition, Halliburton has many branches and affiliates that deal with companies all around the world. The company is based in Houston, Texas, and also has agencies in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. In recent years, Halliburton has been in a few scandals that has hurt their reputation. As a result, the public has view Halliburton in a different light. Many people believe they are...
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...Bush gave his military forces to invade Iraq and overthrow the Saddam Hussein and his government. These attacks resulted in an operation named “shock and awe”, which tumbled the nation’s government swiftly and allowed U.S. troops to create a sense of mission command within the overthrown country of Iraq. During the initial invasion Major General David Petraeus commander of the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division was given the critical task of creating mission command (ADRP 5-0, p.1-1) of the city of Mosul, Iraq (capital of Nineveh province). This paper will focus on Major General Petraeus understanding of his mission command in Mosul, based on his understanding of the following: the initial...
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...in revenue in 2008. Halliburton employees more than 50,000 people in approximately 70 countries and offer two major business segments. The Energy Services Group provides the technical products and services for fuel exploration and production, and (KBR) Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc. KBR is a construction company that has refineries, pipelines and chemical plants. This paper will cover the various methods of Halliburton’s planning functions of management, legal issues, ethics, and corporate social responsibility. The paper will also explain three factors that influence Halliburton’s strategic, tactical, operational, and contingency planning. Planning Functions of Management As planning is an important function of management, it allows an organization to achieve its maximum potential. The planning function is a methodical approach for taking the goal and turning them into plans and strategies. An example of a planning function that Halliburton utilize is Knowledge Management, which is processes, tools, and behaviors that are deliver the correct content to the correct people at the exact time needed and in the correct context so that they can make the best decisions possible for the business, and promote the newest innovative ideas (Leavitt, 2002). One example of how the Knowledge Management provided...
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...Syrian President Bashar Assad warned against Western intervention in his country's 7-month-old uprising, saying such action would trigger an "earthquake" that "would burn the whole region." Assad comments were made against a backdrop of growing calls from anti-regime protesters for a no-fly zone over Syria and increasingly frequent clashes between government troops and army deserters, the most recent of which left at least 30 troops dead Saturday. I still think Western intervention will be appropriate if civilians continue to be hurt in the region. Syria has gone through drastic changes recently. The Arab League foreign ministers meeting approved sanctions against Syria on Nov. 27, the US Navy has dispatched an aircraft carrier for Syrian coastal waters, and the United States, Turkey and other countries have started evacuating nationals from Syria. These concerns have become the focus of world attention. Western intervention in the Syrian situation is a strategic consideration that has to do with reshaping the regional order, while the intensity of intervention mainly depends on the development and evolution of the state of affairs. The Western countries, represented by the United States, have increasingly intensified regional intervention to avoid becoming the biggest loser in the wave of the Middle East, and taken different treatments and multiple standards among the Middle Eastern countries according to their needs. The situations inside and outside Syria have undergone...
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...conditioners, you name it, KBR supplied it for the troops gathering there for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. According to CorpWatch, KBR received a ten-year, no-bid contract that provided international logistical support services for the Army, known as LOGCAP, the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (CorpWatch, 2010). While KBR held the contract, the company’s employees in Kuwait handed off the actual work to subcontractors that were hounding the KBR offices looking to get a lucrative piece of the action during wartime business. Work amounting in billions of dollars that was subcontracted led to major controversial headlines worldwide, as these questionable agreements that included $186 million in bloated overcharges that was discovered by Pentagon auditors, of the $186 million, $108 million was excessive costs. Many of the questionable contracts were carelessly written and very little or no effort was made to seek competitive offers. It seems that often times politics is separated from the ethical practices other organizations are subject to upholding as everyday principles and values. When an organization is able to profit in such an obvious way and has lead to many deaths the ethical and social responsibility can no longer be ignored, and this company should suffer serious consequences for their actions. Due to the mismanagement, poor planning and oversight of work in Iraq Halliburton since separating itself from Kellogg, Brown, and Root (KBR) is no longer giving armed...
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...Talisman’s Decision to Enter Iraq Robert A. Neufeld Athabasca University Executive Summary The board of directors of Talisman Energy Inc., a Canadian publicly-traded oil and gas company, has been presented with a request from management that the company jointly purchase a 40 percent interest in Block 44 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq with another Canadian firm called WesternZagros, The investment is potentially very profitable and fits well into Talisman’s growth strategy however it is also very risky. Within its recent past Talisman suffered reputational damage and was forced to sell off its operational investment in Sudan after underestimating the risks involved in operating in a politically unstable region and specifically the efforts of non-governmental organizations and resulting pressures from stakeholders. The board needs to decide if it should enter Iraq and if Talisman can successfully operate there in a corporately responsible and profitable manner while managing many apparent risks. The main risk is the political and legal relationship between the Kurdistan and the Iraqi Central Government is transitory if not non-existent, and there is higher international support for Iraq unity than Kurdistan independence. The risks are great enough that Talisman should wait to enter Iraq. Problem Statement Can Talisman enter and operate as a joint venture in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in a profitable and corporately responsible manner that avoids the issues faced...
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...and instruct operatives to prepare for and carry out new attacks. Bin Laden and other leading Al Qaeda figures have referred to their public statements as important primary sources for parties seeking to understand Al Qaeda’s ideology and political demands. Global counterterrorism operations since 2001 appear to have limited Bin Laden’s ability to provide command and control leadership to Al Qaeda operatives and affiliated groups. Other Al Qaeda leaders and affiliates continue to release statements that encourage and provide guidance for terrorist operations. Iraq has become a focal point for jihadist rhetoric, underscoring Al Qaeda leaders’ interest in Iraq and support for the ongoing insurgency. Statements released by Osama Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri since late 2004 have rekindled public debate in Europe and the United States surrounding Al Qaeda’s ideology, motives, and future plans for attacks. Statements released following the July 2005 Al Qaeda-linked suicide bombing attacks on the London...
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...Assessment Critical Description of Organization’s current strategy Strategic Direction: WesternZagros’ vision is to be recognized, through consistently superior business performance and operations excellence, as one of the leading junior oil and gas companies active in Iraq (University of Guelph, pg C-101). The company’s goal is to focus on growth for exploration and development in the PSC lands in the KRG so they can steadily increase efficiency and reliability in the oil and gas industry. Westernzagros’ organizational strategy to achieve their goal is to focus on exploration success, operational excellence and cost management. The company’s strategic direction is consistent with the other components of strategy because the scope of the company’s strategic direction is aligned with the management’s vision, value and...
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...the war’s end when developing offensive or defensive strategy. A strategic pathway incorporates preplanning all engagements to achieve the overall objective. The initial exit plan may change as battle campaigns progress. Social and political pressures may build, calling for amendments; these factors may drive changes to the exit plan. If the strategy is changed too frequently the objective will not be reached, major concessions made be made to all or some of the key players, leading to prolonged efforts, costs, and political unrest. The United States loses advantage in military conflicts when a 360 degree strategy does not exist. Political, strategic, operational and tactical powers without an exit strategy included as part of the contingency campaign historically prolongs warfare, loss of major concessions or objectives. This domestic political context pressured the United States leadership to alter its exit strategy and begin pulling out troops, ending in complete...
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...Ideologies Christopher J. Minchin Norwich University FIRST DRAFT SOCI 401A Culture and Anthropology February 16, 2016 Tracey Poirier Source: The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP).), Jan, 2016. “If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles“ –– Sun Tzu, Chinese philosopher and military strategist, around 500 BC. “Our terrorism against America is blessed terrorism.” –– Osama bin Laden (on video) “The acme of this religion is jihad.” — Osama bin Laden (Bergen, 2001, p. 41) Many have asked, “what can we do to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)? ” There have been a variety of suggestions from airstrikes, isolation , establishing a national unity government in Iraq to the feasibility of a counter-offensive using 'local' militia's and only as a last resort U.S. Boots on the ground. These are all worthy ideas; however, it is imperative to get a fundamental understanding of what has caused this problem because ISIS is growing and becoming stronger (even though current air strikes and counter-offensives have been successful). Before a decision can be made a rigorous analysis is necessary, a sociological analysis, so that the United States and the rest of the world can determine what must be done regarding ISIS and why. (Thesis): This paper will argue that the challenge of removing IS lies in our ability to understand and realize that...
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...controlling. Planning is to identify where one wants to go a, why he or she chooses to go there, how he or she will get there and what is required to accomplish it. Planning is looking ahead and deciding what future courses of action can be accomplished. This is the beginning step for any company in its business operations. Therefore, it is the same with Halliburton, one of the world’s largest companies. This company is as large that to be as successful as it is, one knows that its planning has to be effective. This company’s management knows that planning for such a large scale and so diversified that it must make sure its systems activity knows when, how and whom is going to carry out the jobs and duties. Halliburton must have a detailed plan for its future actions and is its strength for making all of their expansions. Haliburton has made many mergers and acquisitions over the years. One of the most recent acquisitions was on September 17, 2010; it acquired Boots and Coots, Inc, which created the industry’s premier intervention service and pressure control product service...
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...INTRODUCTION 1. From time immemorial the land known today as Iraq has been the scene of conflict. Iraq has been, not only a strategic highway linking the Eastern Mediterranean lands with those of the Orient, but also the scene of frequent clashes between empires and great powers. It has seldom been the master of its own destiny, and in the numerous conflicts that stud its history, it has more often than not, been a pawn or the prize of other powers seeking regional hegemony. Until the beginning of twentieth century, most conflicts in the region were imperialistic in nature and involved Iraq because of its strategic important position. However, the discovery of vast oil deposits in the region in 1907 added another element to the equation, and conflicts, since have sprung from imperialistic motives as well as from a desire to protect or control sources of much of the world’s most important strategic resource. 2. Iran-Iraq war and the misadventure in Kuwait bear testimony to the misuse of power by Saddam Hussein. Saddam had always been labeled by the West as a producer of weapons of mass destruction. Ultimately a stage had reached where US and UK convinced themselves that Saddam was stockpiling these weapons. They demanded a change of regime and when threats were not taken seriously by Saddam, they launched Operation Iraqi Freedom or Gulf War II, despite all the opposition the world over, to attack and liberate Iraq. 3. Operation Iraqi Freedom consisted of the largest special...
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