Deterrence Across the Ages

Deterrence Across the Ages

There are those who assert that deterrence is greatly overrated, poorly understood, and desired today mostly out of nostalgia. Not so. Campaign planners in operational joint forces around the globe increasingly find themselves confronted with the challenge of developing concepts of operations that will in practice provide commanders with a realistic likelihood of deterring potential adversaries who are willing to take on the United States of America. The growing complexity of deterrence compels military professionals to develop ways to plan and achieve deterrence at the operational level of war.

Deterrence is a World Cup sport, and we are only beginning to reinvigorate our state of conditioning to play the twenty-first-century game. The practice of deterrence has fundamentally changed, and all the thinking and theorizing we might do should be translated into capabilities and playbooks for the real world. As the United States continues to strengthen its nuclear enterprise, we need to advance the art of deterrence campaign planning and toughen our practices. Deterrence at the operational level of war is an idea whose time has come.