The End-Ways-Means-Risk Construct
The combatant commander has to use system theories to determine the Ends-Ways-Risks construct. Therefore, the systems model covers many grounds, and the officer can get lost in the networked links and nodes. A commander must comprehend the desired end-state, the strategies to achieve it, and the required resources. The first step of identifying the needed ends must align with the mission and effect-inclined planning. The second phase is challenging because the officer must determine critical capabilities and the most appropriate actions to attain the ends. The third step entails listing the means for executing the competencies. The fourth phase calls for the commander to select the best means and capabilities for achieving the strategic mission.
It is risky for the commander to remove an existing entity and establish a new authority. The means of removing a prevailing unit include coercion through armed forces, which leads to injuries and death. The revolution requires the leader to plan and ignite the initiation phase. The commander has to initiate the action through violent activities, which provoke the existing authority. The support structures should be in place before a revolution starts. The best way of creating the conspirators is through indoctrination, equipping, and military training. The supporters should include the ideological missionaries and organizers comprised of military trainers in the armed wing.
Approaches to Reduce the Risk
The commander should engage in stability operations, which are interdependent relationships among initiatives, opportunities, and risks. The leader must be willing to assume a certain level of threats to generate critical opportunities. The Sunni Awakening in Baghdad is an example of a risk and opportunity relationship. The US commanders work with Sunni groups to marginalize Al-Qaeda. Therefore, the combatant coordinates with the existing authority’s former insurgents to achieve its mission.
The second approach is composite risk management, which offers a concrete sequence for making decisions. The combatant commander should highlight resource constraints inherent to the operation and the potential dangers. The officer should also underline the jeopardies, initiatives, and survey alignments to battleground opportunities. Furthermore, the commander has to give deliberate processes the unit should follow to work through the challenges.