C402 Operational Art & Design Exam AY 16-17

Name: __________________________________ Date: __________________
C402 Operational Art & Design Exam AY 16-17
Instructions: The C402 Operational Art & Design Exam is worth 35% of the C400 block grade.
The exam is worth a total of 200 points and consists of a Part One and Part Two. C402 Part One
has six requirements; Part one focuses on the strategic theater level of war. C402 Part Two also
has six requirements for you to answer; Part Two focuses on the operational level of war.
You may use the C400 online lessons and readings to help you answer the exam; moreover, you
should not start the exam until you have finished both C401 and C402 lessons. View the
computer-based instruction (CBI), complete the lesson readings, and watch the instructional
videos prior to starting the C402 Exam.
All work must be your own. Do not discuss this examination or your answers with anyone other
than a Department of Distance Education (DDE) instructor or your academic advisor. Your
answers to the exam questions must be typed and double-spaced throughout, and must use Times
New Roman 12-pitch font and one-inch margins. Write your answers as complete sentences, not
as bulletized comments. This assignment does not have an associated CGSC Form 1009W
Writing Evaluation.
There is1 reading for the exam. Usethe“Operations DESERT SHIELD / DESERT STORM”
readings found in Blackboard. Read this document thoroughly, and then answer the exam
questions, which begin on page three of this document. The primary doctrinal reference is Joint
Publication 5-0 The Operations Process (2011). Other references include:
 JP 1-0 Doctrine for the Armed Forces of the United States (2013)
 JP 1-02 DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (2016)
 JP 3-0 Joint Operations (2017)
If you state information from the lessons, readings, or doctrinal references as part of your
answer, you must give a citation in accordance with ST 22-2(Turabian endnotes or footnotes).
Overview:On 2 August 1990, Iraqi forces under Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait with the intent
of placing what it claimed as its ‘nineteenth province’ under Iraqi control. President
Bushcondemned the invasion and met with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Colin
Powell;US Central Command Commander, General Norman Schwarzkopf; and National
Security Council members in determining a response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.A decision
was made for US Central Command (USCENTCOM) to develop potential military options while
other senior United States Government officials conferred with neighboring nations in the
region. On August 4, USCENTCOM Commander, General Schwarzkopf, briefed President
Bush on a proposed plan for the deployment of a defensive force to Saudi Arabia.The following
day, senior United States Government (USG) officials consulted with King Fahd of Saudi Arabia
on the proposed defensive plan and to assure Saudi leaders of President Bush’s pledge of support
for the Kingdom’s security and stability. On 9 August 1990, an element of the XVIII Airborne
Corps arrived in Saudi Arabia in preparation for the arrival of the ready brigade of the 82d
Airborne Division in support of Operation Desert Shield. Operation Desert Shield would serve
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as a defensive force to defend Saudi Arabia and to buy time for follow on heavy forces to arrive
into country. Operation Desert Storm is a clear example of the use of operational art that guides
joint operations today. Modern warfare demands a joint approach (JP 5-0).
Note: Regurgitating doctrine is NOT enough to receive a passing grade on the exam; you must
be able to APPLY what you have learned about operational art and design.
CGSC does not tolerate cheating, plagiarism, or unauthorized collaboration. Therefore, you
should review CGSC Bulletin #920, Academic Ethics Policy (February 2016) and the DDE
Academic Ethics brief posted on the course information page. Violation of academic ethics will
result in an investigation and possible removal from the course.
Final note: Put your answers in the spaces provided underneath the respective question.
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Part One: Strategic Theater level of war [100 points possible]
Questions in this part of the exam are about events that occurred during Operation Desert
Shield but are focused on the Theater Strategic level.Operation Desert Shield (Defense of
Saudi Arabia 2 August 1990-16 January 1991) was a Major Operation in support of the
Southwest Asia Campaign.A campaign is a series of related major operations aimed at
accomplishing strategic and operational objectives within a given time and space (JP 5-0
pages II-22). Your answers on this portion of the exam will focus on the Theater Strategic
issues of Operational Art.
1. Describing the Operational Environment [20points]
JP 5-0 states that “The operational environment is the composite of the conditions,
circumstances, and influences that affect the employment of capabilities and bear on the
decisions of the commander. It encompasses physical areas and factors of the air, land, maritime,
and space domains and the information environment (which includes cyberspace). Included
within these areas are the adversary, friendly, and neutral actors that are relevant to a specific
joint operation.” See JP 5-0 pages III-8 to III-11 for additional detail.1
United States and her coalition forces launched a launched Operation Desert Shield to prevent
Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army from toppling Saudi Arabia government after the Iraqis
successfully took over Kuwait and renaming it its nineteenth Iraq district. The US and the allied
forces therefore made a strategic decision to first secure Saudi Arabia from impending invasion
by the Iraq army. This was to help the US and the coalition forces base to launch attacks aimed at
recapturing Kuwait from Iraq2. Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait because he accused them of
stealing Iraqi’s fuel using slant underground drills that made fuel flow towards Kuwait from Iraq.
The then US President Bush did not agree with Saddam and when Saddam decided to invade
Kuwait Bush demanded that Iraq withdraw forces from Kuwait and have legitimate government
restored. But Saddam refused these demands and thus the US and the allied forces decided to
launch recapture of Kuwait by first securing the neighboring Saudi Arabia where they will use a
base to attack Iraqi forces in Kuwait. Thus Operation Desert Shield was meant to shield Saudi
Arabia from Iraqi’s attack1.
1United States Army, War In The Persian Gulf, ebook, 1st ed. (Washington, D.C, 2018),
accessed January 24, 2018, https://history.army.mil/html/books/070/70-117-1/CMH_70-117-
1.pdf.
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Using the portion of the reading focused on Operation Desert Shield, describe the operational
environment in the summer of 1990. Be sure to describe the conditions that led up to the United
States and its Coalition partners deploying forces to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Shield.
Your answer should be no more than 250 words.

2 Joint Operation Planning, ebook, 1st ed. (New York, 2011), accessed January 24, 2018,
https://grugq.github.io/resources/jp5_0.pdf.
2. U.S. Theater Strategic Level objectives [10points]
- Immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of all Iraqi forces from Kuwait;
- Restoration of Kuwait's legitimate government;
- Security and stability of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf; and
- Safety and protection of the lives of American citizens abroad3
3. Identifying Operational Risk [20points total]
“Operational design supports operational art with a general methodology usingelements of
operational design for understanding the situation and the problem.” (JP 5-0, III-2)
JP 5-0 states that an “Operational risk defines aspects of the campaign or operation in which the
commander will accept risk in lower or partial achievement or temporary conditions. It also
describes areas in which it is not acceptable to accept such lower or intermediate conditions.”
The United Sates and her coalition partners accepted operational by deploying elements of the
82d Airborne Division to Saudi Arabia so that the forces could buy time by engaging adversary
forces before the US and the allied forces could arrange themselves and launch a serious
offensive forces to defeat the Iraqis. The early forces sent to Saudi Arabia risked being killed all
of them because they were mainly defensive and not offensive forces. So in exchange of this
risk the US and the allied forces got time to prepare and assemble forces which will now try to
overcome Saddam’s forces in Kuwait. Another advantage is that the earlier 82d Airborne
Division forces prevented Iraqi forces from invading Saudi Arabia and taking up strategic
positions in Saudi Arabia which will mean before US and the coalition forces could rescue
Kuwait they will have first needed to defeat Saddam in Saudi Arabia to open the leeway to fight
Saddam in Kuwait. Geographically, Saudi Arabia borders Kuwait the other side is the Persian
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What were the U.S. Theater Strategic Level objectives outlined by the President (POTUS)
forOperation Desert Shield? Your answer should be approximately 150 words.
Describe how the United States and its Coalition partners accepted operational risk (window
of vulnerability in the reading) in immediately deploying elements of the 82d Airborne
Division to Saudi Arabia in the early days of Operation Desert Shield. Your answer should
be no more than 250 words.