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.

Marine Corps Warfighting Publication (MCWP) 3-16, Fire Support Coordina- tion in the Ground Combat Element, is a framework for coordinating and em- ploying supporting arms in consonance with maneuver elements.

This paper focuses on the formulation of doctrine since World War II. In no comparable period in history have the dimensions of the battlefield been so altered by rapid technological changes. The need for the tactical doctrines of the Army to remain correspondingly abreast of these changes is thus more pressing than ever before. Future conflicts are not likely to develop in the leisurely fashions of the past where tactical doctrines could be refined on the battlefield itself. It is, therefore, imperative that we apprehend future problems with as much accuracy as possible. One means of doing so is to pay particular attention to the business of how the Army's doctrine has developed historically, with a view to improving methods of future development.

The manual describes the general strategy for the U.S. Marines but it is beneficial for not only every Marine to read but concepts on leadership can be gathered to lead a business to a family. If you want to see what make Marines so effective this book is a good place to start.

Field Manual (FM) 3-09 is the Army's keystone doctrine for fire support. This manual is a guide to action for the employment of fire support in decisive action as a part of unified land operations. The foundation of unified land operations is built on initiative, decisive action, and mission command-linked and nested through purposeful and simultaneous execution of both combined arms maneuver and wide area security-to achieve the commander's intent and desired end state (Army Doctrine Publication (ADP) 3-0).The challenges of future armed conflict make it imperative for the Army to produce leaders and forces that exhibit a high degree of operational adaptability. Achieving the necessary level of operational adaptability requires the Army to build upon a foundation of two broad responsibilities within the framework of fullspectrum operations:- Army forces conduct combined arms maneuver (CAM) to gain physical, temporal, and psychological advantages over enemy organizations. Applying an expanded understanding of combined arms, Army forces integrate the combat power resident in the Army's six warfighting functions with a wide array of related civil and military capabilities to defeat enemies and seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. - Army forces conduct wide area security (WAS) to consolidate gains, stabilize environments, and ensure freedom of movement and action.This publication identifies the principles of fire support, describes the fires warfighting function in terms of its major components, functions, and required products and describes how fire support is employed in terms of the operations process. The scope of this publication is broad in its focus in order to deal with the fire support structure as a complete entity. It gives equal treatment to the diverse assets that are designated as fire support resources. The successful employment of fire support depends on the synchronization of all forms of fire support with all warfighting functions. This fire support keystone doctrinal manual should be used by commanders and staff who must employ fire support within their operations.Army forces are employed with other Services as part of a joint force. Consequently, this FM is not only based on ADP 3-0, but is also grounded in joint doctrine such as found in JP 3-0, JP 3-09, and JP 3-60. Fire support is provided by mortars, cannon field artillery, rockets, missiles, naval surface fire support (NSFS), non-Army attack helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and unmanned aircraft systems. Fire support may be enhanced by those systems that enable the conduct of electronic attack.This publication describes the field artillery as the principal means of fire support available to the commander, and charges the field artillery to integrate, coordinate and synchronize all available fire support with the commander's concept of operations. This is the ultimate challenge of fire support. This FM helps commanders and their fire support staff officers and fires unit commanders meet this challenge by providing a clear and concise picture of fire support and why it must work as a unified system.