The Operational Arch

John Boyd's Patterns of Conflict w Dr. Jim Greer

Jun 3, 2023

Dr. Jim Greer, an expert in John Boyd's Patterns of Conflict, discusses moving beyond the OODA loop to understand conflict fully, emphasizing Boyd's holistic approach to warfare. Topics include the correlation of tactics and strategy in warfare, the impact of Boyd's work on operational art, the importance of visualization skills in a military context, unleashing cognitive leadership in strategy, and the strategic importance of attacking the enemy's morale.

29:30

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Episode guests

Jim Greer

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Quick takeaways

Boyd's theories go beyond OODA loop, emphasizing interconnected systems in conflict.

Understanding conflict dynamics through Boyd's cognitive approach and exploring deeper dimensions beyond OODA loop.

Deep dives

Boyd's Influence on Understanding Operational Art

Boyd's impact on the study of operational art is profound, highlighted by his emphasis on integrating history, theory, and practice. His concept of Grand Tactics bridged tactics and strategy, akin to today's operational art. Boyd's legacy challenges military practitioners to delve beyond the surface of concepts like the oodle loop and grasp the interconnected systems in conflict.

Introduction

2min

John Boyd's Impact on Operational Art

9min

Exploring the Relationship Between OODA Loop and Visualization Skills in a Military Context

2min

Unleashing the Power of Cognitive Leadership in Military Strategy

14min

The Strategic Importance of Attacking the Will in Military Campaigns

3min

Season 1 episode 9 of the Operational Arch is part one of our conversation with guest Dr. Jim Greer as he takes us on a deep dive into John Boyd and his Patterns of Conflict. He explains how we tend to get caught up in Boyd's OODA loop, often at the expense of Boyd's other insights into the nature and character of conflict. He explores the concept of the OODA loop as a point of departure and offers a perspective we should think about and employ Boyd's theories in a more complete way to help make sense of complexity and find advantage.

Dr. Greer is currently a professor at the Advanced Military Studies Program. He served thirty years in the US Army, commanded at all levels from platoon through Brigade, is a prior director of SAMS, and is a veteran of six combat tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and the Balkans. Dr. Greer retired as a COL and holds a Doctorate in Education from Walden University.

Link to Boyd's Patterns of Conflict slide deck: http://www.projectwhitehorse.com/pdfs/boyd/patterns%20of%20conflict.pdf

MAJs Kesley Kurtz and Josh Bedingfield are the hosts for this episode. You can contact them at operationalarch@gmail.com with any questions you may have.

School of Advanced Military Studies: https://armyuniversity.edu/CGSC/SAMS/SAMS Twitter: https://twitter.com/us_sams Intro and Outro Music: "On and On" by Christian Bedingfield

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The Operational Arch

John Boyd's Patterns of Conflict w Dr. Jim Greer

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Boyd's Influence on Understanding Operational Art

Boyd's Cognitive Approach to Conflict

Balancing Physical, Mental, and Moral Aspects of Warfare

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts