Ray D. Hendrickson III
Published: 1992
Total Pages: 144
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This thesis provides a comprehensive look at how well fire support planning doctrine is integrated into the tactical decision making process. It examines whether or not fire support planning can be doctrinally accomplished at the corps to brigade levels, The thesis also discusses the current trends in fire support planning as revealed by Operation Desert Storm. Although the brigade, division, and corps have minor differences, the process and problem of fire support planning are basically the same. The current planning process is decision making; the problem is an incongruous fire support doctrine. The fire support doctrine and the decision making process have developed independent of each other. It is left to the fire supporter to somehow merge these two independent processes into a coherent fire support plan. Besides the decision making process, several additional considerations for fire support planning are emerging. In Operation Desert Storm these considerations create a totally new set of planning problems. If these planning problems are trends for the future, the challenges to fire support planning process are growing faster then our ability to manage them. The study concludes with a few recommendations on how to resolve some of the more pressing problems. Fire Support Planning, Tactical decision making Process Targeting Process, Four Basic Fire Support Tasks.
