Research Guides: QPME: Warfighting: History of the MCDP, Roots of Maneuver Warfare, and the Doctrine in Action: Context and Background

Warfighting Panel - Intellectual Renaissance

Intellectual Renaissance

The post-Vietnam era was a period of reformation within the U.S. military establishment. The Marine Corps, facing close scrutiny, experimented with various exercises while searching for and developing the niche it would serve for the nation. As the video clip shows, this period of activity could best be described as an "intellectual renaissance" within the Marine Corps.

Read transcript (see p. 7)

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Video credits

Context & Background

John R. Boyd (1927-1997)

United States Air Force pilot, military strategist, originator of the OODA Loop decision-making theory, and co-creator of the Energy-Maneuverability (E-M theory) of aerial combat.

Boyd gave his Patterns of Conflict briefing at Quantico's Amphibious Warfare School (AWS) in early 1980.

His OODA loop theory influenced the "intellectual renaissance" of developing and changing ideas on warfighting in the Marine Corps.

Energy-Maneuverability Theory

Boyd recognized victory in aerial engagements did not go to the faster or higher-flying aircraft, instead, the victories go to the pilot whose aircraft had superior sustained turn performance, allowing maneuvers behind the prey.

OODA Loop

Boyd perceived four elements of command and control. These functions form the core of Boyd’s research of commanders and armies at war. In a dynamic environment, competitors with superior OODA capability out-think and out-maneuver lesser opponents. The model applies to fighter aircraft, military organizations, and private business.

Observation: New information
Orientation: Comprehending data
Decision: Validating the orientation
Action: Implementation

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About Colonel John Boyd (1927-1997)

From Erie to the Air

For Erie, Pennsylvania, native John Boyd, an early career as an Air Force pilot led to greater renown as a military strategist. For more information on the life of Col John Boyd watch the following video by the Erie Hall of Fame.

Maneuver Warfare Handbook

Maneuver Warfare Handbook by William S. Lind
Call Number: VE23 .L45 1985
ISBN: 9780865318625
Maneuver warfare, often controversial and requiring operational and tactical innovation, poses perhaps the most important doctrinal questions currently facing the conventional military forces of the U.S. Its purpose is to defeat the enemy by disrupting the opponent's ability to react, rather than by physical destruction of forces. This book develops and explains the theory of maneuver warfare and offers specific tactical, operational, and organizational recommendations for improving ground combat forces. The authors translate concepts'too often vaguely stated by manuever warfare advocates'into concrete doctrine. Although the book uses the Marine Corps as a model, the concepts, tactics, and doctrine discussed apply to any ground combat force.
Active Duty/Reserve Marines: To access this book online, email mcu_virtual @ usmcu.edu from your work account, and request login information.

About William Lind

	William Sturgiss Lind, Director of the Center for Cultural Conservatism at the Free Congress Foundation, is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. Born on 9 July 1947, he graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1969 and received a Master's Degree in History from Princeton University in 1971. He worked as a legislative aide for armed services for Senator Robert Taft, Jr., of Ohio from 1973 through 1976 and held a similar position with Senator Gary Hart of Colorado from 1977 through 1986. He joined Free Congress Foundation in 1987. Mr. Lind is author of the Maneuver Warfare Handbook (Westview Press, 1985); co-author, with Gary Hart, of America Can Win: The Case for Military Reform (Adler & Adler, 1986); and co-author, with William H. Marshner, of Cultural Conservatism: Toward a New National Agenda (Free Congress Foundation, 1987). Mr. Lind co-authored the prescient article, "The Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation," which was published in The Marine Corps Gazette in October, 1989 and which first propounded the concept of "Fourth Generation War." William S. Lind

William Sturgiss Lind, Director of the Center for Cultural Conservatism at the Free Congress Foundation, is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. Born on 9 July 1947, he graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1969 and received a Master's Degree in History from Princeton University in 1971. He worked as a legislative aide for armed services for Senator Robert Taft, Jr., of Ohio from 1973 through 1976 and held a similar position with Senator Gary Hart of Colorado from 1977 through 1986. He joined Free Congress Foundation in 1987.

Mr. Lind is author of the Maneuver Warfare Handbook (Westview Press, 1985); co-author, with Gary Hart, of America Can Win: The Case for Military Reform (Adler & Adler, 1986); and co-author, with William H. Marshner, of Cultural Conservatism: Toward a New National Agenda (Free Congress Foundation, 1987).

Mr. Lind co-authored the prescient article, "The Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation," which was published in The Marine Corps Gazette in October, 1989 and which first propounded the concept of "Fourth Generation War."

William Lind

William S. Lind

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