Stuart, Dr Paul H (Florida International University, Miami, USA)

Operational Maneuver: Creator of the Decisive Point Stuart, Dr Paul H (Florida International University, Miami, USA)

Publisher Marketing: This monograph inquires into the nature of operational maneuver by addressing the following research question: Can operational maneuver be used to create the decisive point? It uses the following methodology to answer this question. First, it discusses both operational maneuver and the decisive point. Next, it examines three historical examples of operational maneuver to establish a relationship between operational maneuver and the decisive point. It also uses these examples to illustrate factors that are prerequisites for operational maneuver to create the decisive point. Finally, it examines current U. S. Army doctrine to see what the doctrine says about operational maneuver, the decisive point and the prerequisites for successful operational maneuver. The monograph draws three conclusions. First, operational maneuver can create the decisive point. Next, U. S. Army doctrine uses the term decisive point but does not define what the term means. Furthermore, the doctrine does not clearly link operational maneuver to the decisive point. Finally, the prerequisites for operational maneuver that are illustrated in the examples of operational maneuver are listed in the doctrine, but with the linkage of operational maneuver to the decisive point there may be other factors (such as surprise, risk taking, or a strong attack at a weak point) that come into play. Contributor Bio:  Stuart, Paul H Paul H. Stuart earned an MSW at the University of California, Berkeley, and an M. A. in History and a Ph. D. in History and Social Welfare at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has worked as a social worker in public welfare, recreation services, health care, and community mental health. He has served as a clinical social worker in the Indian Health Service, U. S. Public Health Service, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Stuart had over 30 years of teaching experience in South Dakota, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Alabama, before joining the FIU faculty in 2007. His research has focused on the history of Indian-white relations in the United States, the history of social welfare, and the history of the social work profession. He is the author of several books, including The Indian Office: Growth and Development of an American Institution, 1865-1900 (UMI Research Press, 1979) and Nations within A Nation: Historical Statistics of American Indians (Greenwood Press, 1987), in addition to numerous articles and chapters in books. He co-edited the Encyclopedia of Social Welfare History in North America (Sage, 2005), with John M. Herrick of Michigan State University. He has been active as a reviewer and editorial board member for scholarly journals and is currently Archives Editor for the Journal of Community Practice.