Airman Leadership School (ALS) Joint Operations Review

Compendium of vocabulary and definitions from Airman Leadership School (ALS) lecture notes on joint operations, core values, warfare levels, and Agile Combat Employment (ACE).

Joint interorganizational coordination

cooperation, coordination, and integration of the activities of governmental and non-governmental entities with military operations to achieve a unified action

Unity of Effort

coordination and cooperation toward common objectives, even if the participants are not necessarily part of the same command or organization - the product of successful unified action.

Stakeholder

a person, organization, or entity who affects or can be affected by actions of the U.S. military. Do not necessarily have shared goals or objectives with the USG or DOD.

Mission Partner

an agency or other external organization that the U.S. military works with within a specific situation or operation, based on an agreement, commitment or willing arrangement, to advance their mutual interests.

Air Force Core Values

Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence in All We Do

Army Core Values

Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage

Coast Guard Core Values

Honor, Respect, Devotion to Duty

Marine Corps Core Values

Honor, Courage, Commitment

Navy Core Value

Honor, Courage, and Commitment

Command and Control (2)

provides access to reliable communications and information networks for joint operations

Global Strike

involves the ability to project military power more rapidly, more flexibly, and with a lighter footprint than other options

Air and Space Superiority

control of the air domain is crucial to the success of modern and emergent warfare and guarantees availability of other core missions to combatant commanders

Rapid Global Mobility

quickly projects air power to anywhere on the face of the early, providing swift deployment and the ability to sustain operations

Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)

provides situational awareness and necessary information to decision makers

Instruments of Power

Diplomatic, Information, Military, Economic, Financial, Intelligence, Law Enforcement

Diplomatic (Instrument of Power)

Providing foreign aid to a partner nation.

Information (Instrument of Power)

Using media and social media platforms to influence public opinion.

Military (Instrument of Power)

Deploying armed forces for defense, humanitarian missions, or peacekeeping operations.

Economic (Instrument of Power)

Developing and maintaining a strong economy.

Financial (Instrument of Power)

Denying specified individuals or groups access to funding sources.

Intelligence (Instrument of Power)

Collecting information on a terrorist network

Law Enforcement (Instrument of Power)

A government agency arresting criminals and terrorists.

Purpose of employment

The strategic, operational, or tactical purpose of employment depends on the nature of the objective, mission, or task.

Conventional warfare

traditional military operations between nation-states or armed groups, using non-nuclear weapons and tactics

Irregular warfare

type of conflict where the rules are always changing that involves acts such as guerrilla tactics, subversion, or sabotage

Operational level of warfare

generally the realm of Combatant Commanders and their subordinate components. The focus of this level is the application of operational art

Strategic level of warfare

integrates national policy decisions into the development and promulgation of national, defense, and military strategies

Tactical level of warfare

where the conduct of battles and engagements seeks to achieve military objectives. assigned to joint force commanders and subordinate units.

National Security Council

established in 1947 and is primarily responsible for coordinating and overseeing national security efforts in the United States

SecDef

principal assistant to the President in all matters relating to the Department of Defense

Operational Chain of Command

runs from the President, through SecDef to the Combatant Commanders

Administrative Chain of Command

runs from the President, through SecDef to the Secretaries of the Military Departments

Service Component Command

a command structure within a unified or joint force where a particular branch of the armed forces has operational control over its forces

Geographic Combatant Command

assigned a geographic Area of Responsibility (AOR) within which their missions are accomplished with assigned and/or attached forces

Joint Task Force

may be established on a geographical area or functional basis when the mission has a specific limited objective and does not require overall centralized control of logistics

Functional Combatant Command

operate worldwide across geographic boundaries and provide unique capabilities to geographic combatant commands and the armed services

Subordinate Unified Command

established to conduct operations continuingly in accordance with the criteria set forth for unified Combatant Commands

Combatant Command

a command with a broad continuing mission under a single commander and composed of significant assigned components of two or more Military Departments

Army Mission

to deploy, fight and win our Nation's wars by providing ready, prompt, and sustained land dominance by Army forces across the full spectrum of conflict as part of the Joint Force.

Air Force Mission

reflects a commitment to achieve and maintain superiority across all domains through the application of Airpower to gain a distinct advantage over our adversaries.

Marine Corps Mission

provides fleet marine forces of combined arms, together with supporting air components, for service with the fleet in the seizure or defense of advanced naval bases; land operations

U.S. Navy Mission

defends freedom, preserves economic prosperity, and keeps the seas open and free.

National Guard Dual Mission

consists of both federal and state roles.

U.S. Coast Guard Departmental Organization

Organized under the Department of Homeland Security

Space Force

provides Guardians to conduct global space operations that enhance the way our joint and coalition forces fight, while also offering decision makers military options to achieve national objectives.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Command Authority

False; the Chairman does not have command authority.

Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

a full voting member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

SEAC Seniority Position

False; the statement that the SEAC is the second most senior enlisted service member by position is incorrect.

Joint Staff Functions

False; the statement that they are tasked with execution of overlapping functions is incorrect.

AFPP

Air Force Planning Process

AFPP Steps

1. Planning initiation, 2. Mission Analysis, 3. COA Development, 4. COA Analysis and Wargaming, 5. COA Comparison, 6. COA Approval, 7. Plans & Orders Development

JADO

Joint All-Domain Operations

JADO Principles

1. Mission Command, 2. Delegation of Authority, 3. Information Sharing, 4. Multi-Domain Planning, 5. Risk Identification, 6. Synergistic Effects, 7. Flexibility + Versatility, 8. Concentration

Armed Conflict

A situation in which combat is the primary means to satisfy interests.

Cooperation

Mutually beneficial relationships with compatible interests.

Competition

Relationships with incompatible interests-none seeking to escalate to armed conflict.

Commander's Intent

a clear and concise statement that frames the operation's purpose, its desired end

Mission Ready Airmen

trained in expeditionary skills and capable of accomplishing diverse tasks, often trained as a cross-functional team to provide support to ACE force elements

Condition Based Authorities

published set of authorities that are delegated down the chain of command from one commander to another, to be activated only when specified conditions are met

Goal of Agile Combat Employment (ACE)

to complicate or negate adversary responses by complicating enemy's targeting process and creates political and operational dilemmas for the enemy

Agile Combat Employment (ACE) Practice

proactive and reactive operational scheme of maneuver executed within threat timelines to increase resiliency and survivability while generating combat power.

Mission Command

approach to C2 that empowers subordinate decision-making for flexibility, initiative, and responsiveness in the accomplishment of commander's intent

ACE enablers

1. Mission Ready Airmen, 2. Mission Command, 3. TFP