Military Doctrine

Military Doctrine

Military Doctrine

Fundamental principles by which military forces guide

their
actions in support of national objectives. Is
authoritative but requires judgment in application. (NATO)
1. Definition: It is the best path chosen to follow in conducting war
and military affairs.
Doctrine is the whole aggregate of well thought,
analyzed and interrelated governmental directive
concerned with the on going or future wars.

As Defined in Ethiopian
context

Doctrine is defined as a high level government document of a

nation reflecting the nations view of war and its conduct, the
preparations necessary for and should the war start the
methods of winning the war.
The document reflecting the views of the government on
power about the war, the nations security threat analysis,
based on the actual and probable enemy, the type and
strength of military power the country must build as well as
how the war should be conducted is known as military
doctrine.
It guides all war related activities

It provides directions on the main aspects

2. Components of
Doctrine

Doctrine is composed of two

a.Political aspect of doctrine
aspects.

Reflects the government political

objectives
Once has been defined and decided it
must be followed indisputably.
The political aspect is based on
National security/National
interest/
Threat perception

Economic and military strength

Resource and Geography
History
Science and technology
Based on the social and political conditions,
doctrine determines the purpose /objective/
of the war.
Determines on how the war is conducted
based on concrete threat analysis.
Determine nations preparation for war.
Determines the build up of the armed forces

b.Military Aspect of Doctrine

On the basis of the countrys political
objectives, previous war experiences,
the military aspect doctrine focuses on:
Military organization
Military education and training
Combat readiness
Weapon type and size
Command and control
This requires continuous development
and improvement.

3. Military Doctrine has National

Character
Differences in political systems and
objectives.
Diversity of the type and nature of
threats
Differences/ disparity in economy and
technology among countries.

6. The Basis of Ethiopian Military

Doctrine
a) National political system
b) National interest
c) Threat analysis
Global
Regional
Internal
d) Foreign affair policies

e) Economic and military capabilities

f) Natural resource and Geography
g) History
h) Level of scientific & technological

The Essence
doctrine

of

Ethiopian

military

1. The war in to which we enter must be just-war and

peoples war in its nature
War should not be a matter of choice but the only
alternative and as the last resort.
If entered it is conducted by mobilizing the entire
population
If entered it is conducted by mobilizing the
country's population
2. In war against internal anti-constitution insurgents
supported by external forces, the war is coordinating
the defense force and peoples effort.
3. Building defense capability in accordance the
countrys economy.

Principles of building and

developing defense forces
The

armed forces must be the reflection of

the democratic system and loyal to the
constitution
Build the armed forces that have close tie
with the people
Maintain internal democratic relation in
the armed forces.
Develop highly qualified armed forces but
small in number.
Balanced representation of Ethiopian

Military Science and

Art

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Military Science and Art

a) Military Science
Military Science is a system of Knowledge
concerning the nature, essence and
conduct of war (armed conflict).
Examines war and all military affairs
(technical & psychological) past and
present in a scientific way and develops
practical recommendation for victory in war
as part of social science its developments in
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line with the development of the society.13

It is the result of social, political,

economic, cultural, historical etc changes.
This shows that it requires scientific
approach.
The nature and character of war. Military
organization, training and education are
studied in a scientific method.
-Military Geography, technology and
armament and their role in the conduct of
war are studied and directed scientifically
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Military Art: -Military

art is the theory and practice of

preparing for and conducting military actions
on land, sea, in the air and in space.
-The study and practice of military science
and art applies in all types and levels of war
-The conduct of war is both science and Art.
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b)Sources of Military Science

and Art.
1.Military
Doctrine
The general direction on which war
is conducted are clearly defined in
the military doctrine, hence military
science and art based on doctrine.
Sources as a base to direct the
military strategy operation and
tactics in scientific and Artistic way
and win the war.
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2. Scientific analysis of war and Army as a

source
3. The Nature of threat and theatre of war.
Full analysis of threat strategy and
tactics
The theatre of war / Operation / (terrain,
weather etc) its impact and how to fight
Scientifically studied.
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c.Ethiopian Military Science

and Art

Bases
High level doctrine
Philosophical orientation about
war and military
The nature of our enemy and
the likely battlefield
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 It consists of basic principles of

our military strategy and
military tactics
This basic rules and principles
are applicable to the war and
battle level
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Direct battle field

Rules

Rule 1. Offensive and

Annihilative Approach
Reasons: war of survival
survival in Ethiopian context
has to do with development
and good governance
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Instrumental arts for the first

Rule
1.Building offensive culture and
psychological readiness
A .at the strategic level
The whole nation and members of the armed forces
must be aware of the war so that we can bring our
political superiority in to play
B .at the tactical level
Democratic and comradeship relationship between
different levels of the members of the armed forces
Participatory decision making and problem solving
process
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Ensure enduring political awareness at unit/formation
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2. Demonstrate offensive posture

a. At the strategic level
Garrisons must be established in areas
where we can decisively react to any would
be invasion or threat
Integrating the military power with civil
administration, local militia and the
community so that we can maximize our
combat effectiveness, intelligence etc
Establish sustainment systems in all
garrisons to sustain the force in its defensive
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and offensive endeavors

b.At the tactical level

Regiments and Divisions must ensure
permanent readiness with maximum
possible sustainment standards
Ensure continuous up-to-date knowledge of
enemy and terrain
Up-to-date disposition of force consistent
with the up-to-date enemy movements
Clear division of work among units and
formations
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3.Up-to-date knowledge about enemy

a. At the strategic level
Up-to-date information about enemys
weapons, human resources(moral
etc.. ), C2, doctrine and concept,
intention, disposition and capability
analyzing and Integrating all the
information from different sources
Secure and effective dissemination of
information to all concerned bodies in the
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war decision making process.

b. At the tactical level

Maximize human intelligence through the
local community both armed and un armed
people
Continuous deployment of reconnaissance
units and gathering information, carried out
counter intelligence
Establish reporting system from the lowest
unit to the center
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4.Always seize Initiative

Based on the psychological readiness,
offensive posture and clear knowledge of
the enemy;
our forces must take always the initiative.
In other words our plan and our ways of
fighting must dictate the battle field, not the
enemys.
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Rule 2. Operational/battle
field framework
1.Off-balance and Annihilate
a. Attacking enemy key linkages and
cohesion

The top command of an operation or battle must focus on

the over all enemys balance

Enemy strength and vulnerabilities must be identified

All efforts must focus to exploit vulnerabilities and

undermine strengths to put the enemy off-balance

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b. Off-balance to destroy
Off-balance is a means to destroy the
adversary, not an end by itself
Off-balance must follow by
annihilation of the intimidated and
disorganized enemy. Otherwise a
clever commander can revive and
reconstitute himself to halt our end
state
Off-balance is a process through out a
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2. Off- balance
This is the stage where the enemy forces starts
loosing the war and friendly forces starts wining it
Enemy reaction becomes unorganized and
unfocused
Loose coordination and confused
communication
3. Phasing
a. Off-balance phase
It is an effect as a result of interrelated and well devised
process
Tasks may include: information operation and deception to
blind and force the adversary to make wrong decisions,
brief engagements and clearing small enemy units to
facilitate by-pass to the main force and expose the enemy
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b. Annihilative phase
This phase involves exploitation and pursuit the
disintegrated and intimidated enemy to deny
reconstitution and resilience
It also involves deepening and aggravating the
disintegration and disorganization of the enemy.
Instrumental military arts to the rule
Maneuver
Surprise
Linking the two phases

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Rule 3 concentration of
force at a selected
a. Generic
criterion toof
select
main attack
direction
attack

direction
The shortest possible path to attack
enemy CoG
Convenience to proceed from phase 1 to
phase 2.
Convenience passage for the attacking
force (tank, motorized if applicable)
Protection and concealment

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b. Steps to select main attack direction

Identify all possible directions
Compare and contrast their relative
strength and weaknesses based on the
main criterion
Select a direction with minimum weakness
and maximum strength
Establish supporting supported
relationships b/n the the main direction and
the subsidiary directions
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c. Instrumental military arts to the 3rd rule

1. Identify decisive point, key juncture and hold
back the enemy in this key juncture
Has two dimensions: identify the key/decisive
points and exerting efforts in this selected areas
Concentrate enough force in the decisive points
Dispersed combat power may be overwhelmed
by enemy combat power and hence lead to
defeat; because failure to deal with the decisive
point is failure to deal with the main strength of
the enemy

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2.Concentration of force in the main

direction consists of:
a) Assign enough force in the key juncture
to overwhelm the enemy both in quantity
and quality
b) Economy of force--- avoid any excess
deployment of force.

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Rule 4 Continuous and

sequential attack
Interrelated and harmonized effects through
sequential actions
The philosophical foundation for this rule is
the military version of for every action,
there is equal and opposite reaction which is
one of the law of physics
Our war is war of survival and hence it
involves aggressive action and reaction; I.e.
domination through continuity sequentially is
a must to achieve survival and destruction of
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the adversary.

Instrumental arts for the 4th Rule

1. Permanent readiness

to ensure agility

To sustain the operation and maintain the

forces offensive posture
Key tasks

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a) provide every unit with the required

logistical and personnel components.
The nature of the operation must be
determined before hand and preparation
of ammunition, explosives, medicine etc
must be with the consideration of the
nature of the operation
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b) Ensure mobility every unit/formation

should be able to move in the shortest
possible notice with its full load of
equipments, materiel and personnel.
c) Intelligence preparation it is
imperative to prepare, analyze and
disseminate intelligence information to
2. Comprehensive plan
all concerned bodys.

a) challenges, frictions and set directions to

operational/battle plan must give a sense of holistic
direction, the transformation of the cumulative effects of
each activity into full success
b) The plan must cover the full spectrum of the war, the
operation or the battle
c) The plan must predict the foreseeable solve the problems
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3. Maintain momentum
Momentum refers to progressive
advance/development and ever-growing action to keep
the pace of the operation and the position you have
achieved.
Remember the reaction, adaptability and counter
measures from the enemy side. To this effect:
Know the enemy tactics, intention and
mindset
economic use of force
Sustain the force by providing the
necessary logistical support
Reconstitute yourself
Timely correction of mistakes
Exploit success
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4. Continuous and effective maneuver and fire

power
Any offensive operation, especially our way of
annihilative approach involves continuous and
effective maneuver and fire.
Continuity of maneuver keeps the enemy in
disadvantageous position and effective fire
supports maneuver

5. Reconstitute and maintain ones own

pace
Clear division of efforts: assign enough reserve
Develop contingency plan
Control combat effectiveness: replacement of
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retired forces and replenishment of materiel 39

Military Strategy

1. Evolution of Strategy
Security strategy: - Insignificant
in the pre-nation state era.
Countries/territories were politically
and economically self-sufficient;
hence, Foreign policy strategy was
meaningless.
Military strategy, derived from
national strategy, was shallow

After the creation of Nation states

(16th century) states unable to
secure their national Interests.
Begun seeking ways to secure
those in their possession and gain
what they need.
This has become the question of
survival.
Strategy gained new and allinclusive meaning (political,

2.What is Strategy?
Is a plan designed to achieve
specific objective.
At national level strategy deals
with the political economic and
military etc to secure the
national interests.

What is National Power?

A) Power: Is the ability to influence others
The ability to control minds of others
The ability to control recourses and
actors.
b) National power
Is the Capability of a nation state to
preserve its own national interests, a
achieve foreign policy objectives and to
influence the behavior of other states.

National Interest
Nations needs and wants?
Are ranging from those vital for
national survival of key values
through important interest to
peripheral ones;
Vital internists such as security,
stability prosperity etc
Peripherals;- the nation would like
to promote, protect or attain but not
willing to bear substantial cost &

In most cases the nations interest

may be; - National survival and security
- Political and territorial integrity
- Sustained economical
development and prosperity
- Peace and stability

However the application varies from

country to country
Some countries emphasize from insideout.
Others emphasize from outside in
Some others view globally

In practice the threat to the national

interest also vary.

National Security Strategy

It is the art and science of
developing, applying, and coordinating
the instruments of national power
(Diplomatic, economic, military, and
information) to achieve objectives that
contribute to national security.
Formulation of strategy differs
according to the view of those
designing it.

Idealist /Liberal View

Lots of cooperation in the world,
not just rivalry
States do not compete/ do not
worry for power
States try to build Just World
Order
Create enforceable international
Law
Institutions are important to
influence states through spread of

Realist View
States seek to increase their power
Other powerful states are rivals
Human beings are greedy, insecure, and
aggressive .so the states {but not
necessarily WAR}
Durable peace based upon stable balance
of power.
No world government, No unbreakable
international RULE
World is Anarchy.

Economic View
Economically strong state endures the challenges of the
world

Military Strategy
Jommini
The art to conduct war on map
The art to study the whole war
space
Clausewitz
The art and science to reach the
strategic objective through operations
Chinese view
The planning and direction of the
overall war situation.

Military strategy: -

Is the art and science of distributing and

applying military power to attain national
objective in peace and war.
It is part of the national security strategy
and derived from the goal and objectives
of the national security strategy
Serves to attain these National
Objectives

National Power
Defined as the ability of a nation
to influence the behavior of other
states to achieve its national goals
and objectives.
Countries are characterized by
interaction to
Preserve National interest
Achieve National objectives
Influence other countries

 Power is used to accomplish these

ends.
But power is not fairly distributed
among nations
Power is used peacefully or
violently
What Power Disparity are its
elements.

Elements of National Power

Geography

Political

National will

Military

Economy

Size &shape
Configuration
Location
Climate
Vegetation & soil
Mineral &Energy
Population &
characteristics

Political Culture
Organization
Stability
International
agreements

National integration
Quality & Strength
of Leadership
Courage

Size
Organization
Equipment
Mobilization
Deployment
Employment
philosophy
Alliance

Decision structure
Mobilization
Capital infrastructure
National Resource
General conditions
International trade
Multinational
enterprises
International financial
Finance

Instruments of National Power

DIME

Information

Economic

Instruments
of National
Power

Diplomatic

Military

Diplomacy
DIPLOMATIC RECOGNITION
INTIMIDATION

NEGOTIATION
TOTAL EMBASSY EVACUATION

RECALL AMBASSADOR
COORDINATION WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS/NGOs
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

COALITION BUILDING

RESTRICT DIPLOMATIC ACTIVITIES

EMBASSY DRAW DOWN

PUBLIC SUPPORT

BREAK DIPLOMATIC RELATION

Information
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

PUBLIC POLICY STATEMENTS

PRESS RELEASES

MILITARY DECEPTION
SATELLITE LINKS

PSYCHOLOGICAL OPERATIONS
ELECTRONIC WARFARE

COMPUTER NETWORK OPERATIONS

NEWSPAPERS

OPERATIONS SECURITY

INFORMATION OPERATIONS
WORLD WIDE WEB

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

MEDIA

CYBER WARFARE

Military

NON-COMBATANT EVACUATION OPS (NEO)

DEPLOY CARRIER STRIKE GROU
AIR STRIKES
WAR
NUCLEAR DETERRENCE

CLASSICAL MILITARY OPERATIONS

COMBINED TRAINING/EDUCATION
SECURITY ASSISTANCE
OVERSEAS PRESENCE
STRIKES/RAIDS
FORCE PROTECTION OPERATIONS
MILITARY TO MILITARY CONTACT

NATION BUILDING
SHOW OF FORCE

UPGRADE ALERT STATUS

PEACEKEEPING/ENFORCEMENT

BLOCKADE

Economic
FOREIGN AID

TRADE PROMOTION

REGULATION

FISCAL POLICY
FOREIGN AID

TRADE SANCTIONS
TRADE POLICY
DEBT FORGIVENESS

FREEZE MONETARY ASSETS

TRADE ALLIANCES

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
TRADE PROMOTION

EMBARGOES
SECURITY ASSISTANCE
MONETARY POLICY

TECHNOLOGY CONTROLS

SEIZE REAL PROPERTY IN U.S.

Instruments of National Power

MIDLIFE

Information

Diplomatic

Finance

Instruments
of National
Power

Economic

Military

Legal

Intelligence

Diplomatic

Law Enforcement
(Legal)
UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTIONS
STATIONING AND OVERFLIGHT RIGHTS

REVIEW DECISIONS OF NATIONAL/MULTINATIONAL LEGAL ORGANIZAT

TREATY COMPLIANCE

CUSTOMARY INTERNATIONAL LAW

EXTRADITION

INTERNATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

Intelligence
ANALYSED INFORMATION
PARAMILITARY ACTIVITY
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
EXTERNAL TRAINING
COVERT ACTIVITY
EXCHANGE OF INTELLIGENCE INFORMATION WITH
OTHER STATES/MULTINATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

Finance
REGUATING MONEY CIRCULATION
FREEZING SUSPECTS ASSETS
CONTROL OF COUNTER-FEIGHT
MONITORING MONEY IN-OUT FLOWS
.ETC

National Objectives are expressed in terms of

national interest and are vital to the survival of
the nation
National interests in general are : Security
Political and and territorial sovereignty
Economic Stability
Fulfillment of national purpose

WAR may be caused if these National

Interests are threatened

National interests are general and have to be

specified by goal and objectives
Goal and objectives are more concrete and specific
than Interests
Goals are those a nation accomplishes expands and
protects its endeavors
Formulation of strategy is based on the world
outlook of who involved in formulating and what
he/she believes is the nations interest and the
ideology followed to achieve them.
IDEALISM
REALISM

Military strategy in Ethiopian c

The over all Ethiopian military
strategy emanates from the national
security strategy.
The national security strategy states
major aspects of the nations prime
focus areas to secure its national
interests and achieve national security
objectives.

The Foreign Affairs and National Security

Strategies states the following strategies: Devote prime focus to activities at
home
Strategy Centered on Economy
Full Utilization of benefits based on
proper analysis
Minimizing threats on the basis of
proper Analysis
Reducing Vulnerabilities to threats
Building strong implementation
Capabilities

Building Reliable Defense

Capabilities
Our diplomacy has major role in reducing
tensions, in avoiding conflicts through early
negotiation
In ensuring reliable national security and
peace, a strong defense plays an
indispensable role.
Creating efficient and state-of-the-art
information network enhances the efforts of
developing our defense strategies
Creation of capable national defense force is

Strength of military power is a pre- condition

for deterrence and effective diplomatic action
If conflict breakout strong military would help
to acquire victory with minimal damage
Problems in building strong defense force
Priority of placing all efforts to economic
development
The need to build strong defense reduces
expenditures for development
Limitation of resources
Taking in to consideration the above mentioned
problems, the federal government has designed

a. Capacity building on the basis of

thorough threat analysis

Proudly declaring that we shall build a
defense force next to none is no solution
The building of a defense force should
start from the analysis of present threats
to national security.
Followed by regularly reviewing our
threat analysis
We need to build defense force that
can either deter or face them if situation
demands
The defense we build should be within

b.Building Capacity by focusing

on man power development
Build man power that can successfully utilize
logistics and weapons of war to win the battlefield
State-of-the-Art weapons and logistics would
make no difference in the absence of manpower.
Strong defense force means mobilization of
capable soldiers
Focus on qualitative aspect of training to reduce
costs
Stress on the importance of human military
capability because we have advantages on this
aspect
Our men's commitment springs from the
trust (belief )of the existing system's principles
and doctrines and their readiness to sacrifice

c.Cost effective use of

financial resources
Given the very low level of economy
cost reduction is a matter of survival
We must make sure that every
expenditure contribute to our security
We must balance the economic
development with the defense
requirements
We need to train sufficient number of
qualified soldiers backed by reserve forces
Utilizing the potential labor and
creativity of our defense force.

d.Ensuring Symbiotic linkage

between defense expenditure
and the economy
Any expense for the military
represents money that can we can not
use for development
We could devise mechanism whereby
the economic and defense sector can
benefit on another (military consumptions
from civilian sector and manufacturing
capability of defense industries use for
economic sectors)

e.Building capacity in the basis of

economic development and current
threats
Limiting our military expenditure to the 2% of the
GNP
However, with economic development the defense
budget will increase
Depending on the growth of defense threat and fast
developing military crisis there will be a possibility of
increasing defense spending
Since our objective is to prosper no need of
achieving the state of military arrogance
We engage in war only for one reason __ when
conditions are imposed that block our path of
democracy and development

Questions?