Plan of action, matches a means to an end

The How operations will be conducted to achieve national Interests

Originates in policy

Guidance that is directive and instructive

Fundamental principals the military forces use to guide their actions in support of national objectives

Is based on the administrations mental image of the world

It is authoritative, but also requires judgement

Within military operations it can be expressed as rules of engagement defining what we can kill/not kill

Required The Secretary of Defense (SecDef) to produce a National Defense Strategy

Required the President to report regularly to Congress and the American people on the National Security Strategy

Required CJCS to outline the military's role in achieving national objectives or enduring interests

Guidance that is both directive and instructive

Defines how operations should be conducted

Continuous matching of ends, ways, and means

Creating it begins with our leadership's mental image of the world's current situation

Oftentimes found in the Rules of Engagement, identifying what we can/cannot attack

Supports of national objectives, is authoritative, and requires judgment in application

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to outline the military's role in achieving national objectives or enduring interests

President to report regularly to congress and the American people on the National Security Strateg

Secretary of Defense to produce a National Defense Strategy

Identifies what interests the nation has and the importance (priority) for each

Deciding what national instruments of power are appropriate and available

Outlines the military's role in achieving national objectives or interests

Presents fundamental principles for employing US military forces

Is owned by the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

Is the capstone publication of the US joint Doctrine hierarchy

Understanding the strategic guidance by determining the end state and objectives

Identifying the adversary's principal strengths and weaknesses

Developing an operational concept that will achieve strategic and operational objectives

The use of creative thinking by commanders and staff

Items a commander has to consider

Ensures a certain amount of structure exists and that the Strategy a commander uses fits into the larger national big picture

Overhead guidance and structure that a commander must follow

Creative thinking by commanders to design and/or modify strategies

Elements commanders have little or no control over but must consider when devising a strategy

Elements commanders have some degree of control over

Economy

Diplomacy

Information

Media can affect military budget

Social media can affect information operations

Media can restrict military operations

Press affects public opinion

Diplomacy

Economy

Information

The U.S. can disregard the political realities of the situation during multinational operations

Provide greater security than the United States could achieve independently

Underpin unified efforts to address 21st-century challenges

To create confusion among the enemy by disguising our strategy