Physical Metaphor in Military Theory and Doctrine: Force, Friction, or Folly

摘要

This study assesses the validity and general utility of selected instances ofphysical metaphor in tactical military theory and doctrine. An analytical framework is built upon the curriculum of the Advanced Military Studies Program, US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS. The advice of expense is integrated through a review of scholarly works on human communication, cognition, and complexity. A review of four historical cases is used to help scope and provide insight for the analysis. The resulting framework allows the separation of instances of metaphor, and their associated theories, into categories according to the level of complexity of the phenomena they represent. Specific evaluation criteria are developed to enable objective judgement of the justifiability and general utility of the metaphor in a 1997 military context. Individual instances of the use of physical metaphor in military theory and doctrine are treated as data. A representative sample of forty-four (44) primary sources of military theory and doctrine yields hundreds of such data points. These are grouped by metaphor, and four of the metaphors are selected for evaluation. The selected metaphors are center of gravity, tempo, phase transition, and friction.