Pivots of Operations: Implications for Operational Sustainment Design

In the monograph, I define pivots of operations in the context of Jomini's theoretical writings and relate the concept to Carl von Clausewitz's concept of culmination. I analyze two historical illustrations used by Jomini from Napoleon's campaigns and two twentieth century campaigns to see how the concept has evolved. Based on the historical examples, I summarize the characteristics of pivots of operations and suggest desirable features of modern pivots. Using a hypothetical theater, I demonstrate how pivots may be used today to design the operational sustainment structures for a theater of operations. Then, I compare this model to current and emerging U. S. Army and joint sustainment doctrine to assess their sufficiency. The criteria for analysis throughout are the elements of operational sustainment design enumerated in FM 100-5, Operations: lines of support, staging, altering lines of communication, sustainment priorities, and force expansion. I conclude that the pivots of operations concept provides a common, unifying link between the doctrinal elements of operational sustainment design. Furthermore, it ties sustainment design closely to the theater concept of operations. Finally, pivots of operations offer significant benefits for sustaining the emerging warfighting concept for the future.