ABSTRACT
US Army Principle of War FM 100-5, Operations The decision to use the military element of national power to attain a national goal is only the first of many decisions which must be made if the chaos of war is to result in anything close to the desired new order. If, after an analysis of the situation, the national leadership decides to use military force they must then determine exactly how best to employ that force. The more specifically the desired order can be described to the military leadership the better the chances of keeping the chaos of war under some semblance of control. In modern warfare military forces must also be told what they are not to do, since the weaponry available to them will frequently have the power to expand war’s chaos beyond the attainment of a specific goal.
