Phase
Phase — In joint operation planning, a final stage of an operation or campaign during which a large portion of the forces and capabilities are involved in similar or mutually supporting activities for a common purpose [U. S. Department of Defense, p. 184].
Operational phases are a way many in the military and Department of Defense (DoD) think about going to war. Joint Publication, Joint Operations describes phases zero through five (0-V) and calls them “notional operational plan phases.” Joint Operation Planning further describes the phases and their notional application. These operational phases were initially intended to help frame or construct planning.
Notional operational plan phases cannot address the layers and levels of complexity in any environment. The erosion of the operational level of war and a growing and inextricable direct link between the strategic and the tactical (or direct) levels are other reasons the phased approach fails. The operational level of war may quickly be coming to an end, and though this is not the primary point of this article, it is an essential premise. The combined and linear fashion of the levels of war and operational phases results in a race to the lowest common denominator and the prettiest slide rather than any reasonable solutions [Otto, p. 78].
U. S. Department of Defense. (2017). Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, JP 1-02. NC: Lulu Press.
Otto, G. A. (2017). The End of Operational Phases at Last. InterAgency Journal, 8(3), 78-86. NY: Simons Center.