0101. The preparation and execution of joint operations are dependent on a solid conceptual foundation and on Armed Forces’ personnel having a common under-standing of the tasks to be carried out. This edition of the Armed Forces Joint Operational Doctrine (FFOD 07) sets out overall guidelines as to how the Armed Forces should approach today’s challenges and those of tomorrow.
Points of departure and ambition
0102. FFOD 07 has the following points of departure:
• The greater part of the tasks carried out by the Armed Forces, and the conflicts with which service units have to deal, are by definition something other than
“war” in the traditional sense. They are complex and characterised by unclear boundaries between peace, crisis and armed conflict. The handling of all the challenges that this implies requires a broad spectrum of coordinated military and civil contributions.
• The Armed Forces must be able to contribute to the nation’s defence in times of peace, crisis and armed conflict, either in a leading or a supporting role. The Armed Forces must also be able to contribute forces to operations abroad and to operate jointly with allies or other actors.
• The fundamentals for national operations and operations abroad are the same, and all operational units of the Armed Forces must be able to deal with ope-rations in both settings.
• A well developed professional culture, based on shared values and a common understanding, is essential to our ability to carry out our complex tasks.
WHAT IS A DOCTRINE? – DIFFERENT PRIORITIES
A military doctrine can take many forms. Firstly it can constitute an aid to the com-mand and control process, in which case it will place emphasis on the description of methods and processes and the definition of concepts. NATO’s AJP series (Allied Joint Publications) provides an example of such doctrines. Secondly a doctrine can be pro-duced as a theoretical basis for military activities and would then be focused on reasoning based on military theory and security policy. Thirdly a doctrine can be ori-ented towards the development of a professional culture within the military organi-sation. It will then place weight on imparting those ideas, values and attitudes which should characterise the organisation. The earlier edition of the Armed Forces Joint Operational Doctrine (FFOD 2000) had both theoretical and cultural ambitions. First and foremost its aim was to inculcate and implement the concept of a manoeuvrist approach. FFOD 07 is an example of the third category.
0103. This doctrine is intended as a tool for the development of a joint operatio-nal culture, starting with the individual, to give robustness in complex operations both at home and abroad. The theoretical content is limited to what is relevant for the Armed Forces’ Operational Foundation and the foundation itself has an emphasis on how we should approach our operational challenges. Flexibility and the combined fundamentals of effect-based-, network-based- and manoeuvrist approaches constitute the joint operational culture that the Armed Forces wants to develop. In this context, approach means adopting as second nature the essence of certain theoretical attitudes at the individual level. The Armed Forces choose to focus on these fundamentals instead of describing exact procedures in order to avoid being associated too closely with definite concepts, procedures or tech-nological solutions which can quickly become outdated. The Armed Forces’ Ope-rational Foundation also encompasses three opeOpe-rational methods (the manoeuvre method, the attrition method and the stabilizing method) which can be combined to achieve the desired effect. This reflects an acknowledgement that the techni-ques of the manoeuvre method alone are not sufficient in all operations.
0104. The emphasis placed on developing a common operational culture means that FFOD 07 is toned down on the command and control side and contains few descriptions of procedures. On a national basis this is governed by the Chief of Defence’s strategic directive for operational activity (Forsvarssjefens strategiske direktiv for operativ virksomhet - FSDO), and internationally by those NATO doctri-nes that Norway has ratified.
0105. FFOD 07 is the starting point for training and discussion as well as providing the guidelines for the development of the component doctrines, other doctrines and conceptual documents. This provides a common conceptual framework and a reference point for research and development (R&D) activities in the defence community. It will also act as an aid for civil partner organisations such as the police, the customs and excise authorities together with other government agen-cies, non-governmental organisations and others who wish to familiarise themselves with the fundamental principles and ideas on which Norwegian defence and the Norwegian Armed Forces are based.
A DOCTRINE’S TIME HORIZON
What time horizon should a doctrine have? Too short a perspective can result in the doctrine failing to have an effect before a new one is on the stocks. On the other hand a long per-spective can mean that the doctrine may in time come to be regarded as a static document with little relevance. The Norwegian Armed Forces take the view that work on doctrine should be a continuing process, not least in order to embody new trends relating to the use of military force. At the same time it is important to have a given document to relate to.
This doctrine has therefore been developed with a time perspective of five to ten years.
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The doctrine and other guidance documents
0106. Figure 1.1 shows an overview of doctrines and doctrine-related documents for the Norwegian Armed Forces (full lines represent mandatory guidance and stippled lines represent guidelines only). Norway has no approved national doctrine hierarchy, but there are a number of guidance documents at national level.
Figure 1.1, FFOD AND OTHER DOCUMENTS GOVERNING THE CONDUCT OF OPERATIONS
0107. The doctrine takes as its starting point guidance documents from the Nor-wegian Ministry of Defence, including the current Strategic Concept for the Armed Forces. The Chief of Defence’s strategic directive for operational activity (FSDO) gives a detailed exposition of how the Armed Forces are to employ their opera-tional resources and it forms the basis for the development of concrete concepts and plans at a joint operational level. This doctrine gives guidelines for the further development of FSDO with associated concepts and plans. It also governs the development of national component doctrines which in turn form the basis for the development of regulations and directives applicable to the way in which units of the Norwegian Armed Forces conduct operations. The NATO doctrines provide important guidelines for the development of both FSDO and FFOD. The
doctrines
Planning
Concepts
Plans
Conduct
Field-manuals
Political guidance-documents
Component-doctrines
NATO doctrines also give direct guidance for operational planning by providing guidelines for the planning process itself.
A NORWEGIAN DOCTRINE?
The Norwegian Armed Forces Joint Operational Doctrine was first issued in the year 2000. The main ideas on which the doctrine was based – manoeuvre theory and manoeuvre warfare – constituted the doctrine’s operational method. FFOD 2000 was based on documents including the Chief of Defence’s fundamental guidelines for the development and use of Norwegian forces in peace, crisis and war published in 1995.
Prior to this there had been no written Norwegian doctrine that applied to the Armed Forces as a whole, although work was proceeding on the development of doctrinal guidelines, including tactical directives, for each of the service branches. Although there were no written doctrines at the joint operational level until 1995, there existed views within the Armed Forces on war, warfare and principles for the development and use of military forces at this level which were shared by the majority of serving officers. Such views formed the basis for teaching and operational planning and so to that extent constituted an implicit doctrine. Some of this thinking found expression in the comprehensive planning work carried out by Headquarters Defence Command and the Defence Commands North Norway and South Norway during the Cold War period.
The structure of the doctrine
0108. The doctrine is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 sets out its underlying ambition and its place in a Norwegian and an allied context. Chapter 2 deals with the complex challenges and operational framework facing the Armed Forces in today’s world, as well as the way in which the Armed Forces transform these tasks into operations at home and abroad. Chapter 3 describes the Armed Forces’ Ope-rational Foundation and thus forms the doctrine’s central core, while Chapter 4 contains the theoretical and conceptual basis for this operational foundation.
Chapter 5 describes joint operations with components and functions. Chapter 6 describes the professional culture that the Armed Forces wish to develop and apply in carrying out our missions.
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