¶ … Enemy of the U.S. Military
The United States military is currently wrapping-up two full-scale wars in which its performance was tested in ways previously unforeseen. One particular aspect of the military's standard operating procedure which has become a problem is its dependence and use of PowerPoint presentations to organize information regarding battlefield operations. For instance, in the book Fiasco, by Thomas Ricks, a tale is recounted how the general who actually led the ground forces in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Gen. David McKiernan, "grew frustrated when he could not get Gen. Tommy R. Franks, the commander at the time of American forces in the Persian gulf region, to issue orders that stated explicitly how he wanted the invasion conducted, and why." (Bumiller, 2010) The problem lay with General Franks' complete reliance on PowerPoint presentations containing slides which, while seeming to explain a point, instead contained vague and often confusing information. The New York Times article titled "We Have Met The Enemy and He is PowerPoint" provides a perfect argument for why the U.S. military has become too dependent on PowerPoint presentations and the illusion of control and understanding they provide.
"PowerPoint" is a program which was acquired by Microsoft after it first went on sale in 1987 and allows users to create comprehensive slides that can be used in conjunction with a presentation. Over the years the program has been incorporated by the U.S. military as the primary means by which to present information. However, in the attempt to the organize the highly complex information regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the graphs, charts, and bullet-points that were created to simplify the information have become a source of confusion and hostility. Case in point, the so-called "spaghetti graphic,"...
U.S. Military Chain of Command The traditional wars that have followed the Europeans models developed by Napoleon basically incorporate the leadership in writing and training troops for rules of engagement. Rules of Engagement (ROE) is described as a management tool that help in keeping soldiers within control and aligned with the specific mission. This management tool has contributed to benefits and costs in which training ROE in each leadership level down
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U.S. National Strategy What three United States national interests do you think will be at great risk over the next five years? Describe those interests and identify which instruments of national power can be leveraged to protect or advance those national interests and how those instruments can be used. As President Obama stated in his addresses to Congress in February 2009, the most important problem that the country faced was the economy,
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