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Appendix. METT-T, KOCOA, and the Principles of War: A Template Guiding a Better Understanding of Battlefield Behavior and Detritus
- University Press of Florida
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appendix METT-T, KOCOA, and the Principles of War: A Template Guiding a Better Understanding of Battlefield Behavior and Detritus Lawrence E. Babits KOCOA is an archaeological acronym for identifying key terrain aspects of a battlefield culled from United States Army Field Manuals (U.S. Army 2001, 1986). Taught at the most basic unit levels, squad and platoon, KOCOA analysis is one subset of three military formats that both guide and explain battlefield activity. They are regarded as “part of the troop leading procedure” (U.S. Army 1986: 2-1). Together with a fourth analytical tool, the principles of war, these formats provide a key for understanding behavior during battle. The army’s analytical formats may be grouped as follows : (1) strategy, tactics, operations, and logistics; (2) METT-T; (3) KOCOA; and (4) principles of war. Together these formats guide researchers to a better junction of military practice with the historical and archaeological record. Strategy, Tactics, Operations, and Logistics Strategy, tactics, operations, and logistics are the four major divisions of the military art. While strategy, operations, and tactics often overlap during practical application, they are theoretically distinct and are treated as such in their definitions. They are often misused by those with little understanding of the arts of war or military science . Here, they are defined as they are currently taught by the United States Army (Stewart 2005: 12–13). Strategy can be regarded at the “prelude to battle” as it “deals with both the preparation for and [the] waging of war and has often been defined as the art of projecting and directing campaigns” (Stewart 2005: 12). Strategy is the overview planning for campaigns and wars. Tactics is the term used for “executing plans and handling troops in battle” (Stew- Lawrence E. Babits 264 art 2005: 12), including the strategic plan’s application in conjunction with available weapons and troops. Tactics are, to a large extent, dictated by available weaponry, terrain, and combatant training. Tactics “is the ideal way of using a unit or units to accomplish” a mission (U.S. Army 1986: 2-3). Operations connects tactics and strategy, as it means “putting one’s army into the most favorable position to engage the enemy and depriving the enemy of freedom of movement” (Stewart 2005: 13). Strictly speaking, the term operations does not refer to actually engaging the enemy (which would be tactics), but it does include movement to contact and generating the material requirements for battle. Logistics is defined as “planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of forces” (Stewart 2005: 13). This term refers, in some ways, to deploying troops but more importantly to supplying forces with the equipment and materials needed to wage war. This rubric includes feeding, uniforming, arming, supplying, and housing forces, as well as moving forces and their equipment into combat. METT-T A further theoretical consideration organizes a leader’s thoughts prior to engagement in tactical operations. The acronym METT-T was created to ensure that a commander considered especially relevant impacts on the planning process. The letters in the acronymstandformission , enemy, terrain, troopsavailable(friendlyforces), and time/ weather.Aleaderuses“thecommander’sestimateofthesituation toanalyzeMETT-T information, compare course of action, and make a decision that produces a tentative plan” (U.S. Army 2001: 133; U.S. Army 1986: 2-1–2, 4-6, 4-16). Mission, simply stated, is the plan and whatever is necessary to accomplish the plan. Mission is “a thought process by which a leader ensures that he knows what is required” (U.S. Army 1986: 2-7). What are the objectives? Is there a plan to move beyond the initial objective? The analysis starts by examining the mission from the leader’s perspective but continues to include the “commander’s intent” two levels higher up the chain of command. Analysis should examine specified tasks: those articulated in the orders, as well as the implied activities that must be completed to ensure success. What tasks are essential to completing the mission? What limiting factors are there, and what specific constraints are being imposed? (U.S. Army 2001: 133–34; U.S. Army 1986: 2-11). The term enemy refers to opposition forces and their basic threat to friendly forces (U.S. Army 1986: 2-14–16). Analysis must consider the type of enemy being faced, their size, their tactics, and the equipment that they can bring to bear. The way the enemy is organized may have meaning as well (U.S. Army 2001: 134). For example, theenemy’sbeingacavalrydetachmentonthemove,ratherthananartilleryfortification...