Attacking the Center of Gravity

One thing I teach in advanced Intelligence classes is what’s called “Center of Gravity” analysis.  That’s a concept first described by Prussian military strategist and “cerebral savage” Carl von Clausewitz, and one that’s now used in the Army and Marine Corps to describe any idea, base, or associations that are critical in enabling an adversarial force to continue the mission.

Remember those gyroscopes you played with in grade school?  Perfect example of a “center of gravity”.

A gyroscope’s center of gravity is the spinning wheel that allows it to stand up-right and balance.  When that wheel slows down or is otherwise disrupted, the whole thing falls down.  What is Earth’s center of gravity?  If the sun were to be moved or its course altered, its gravitational effects on Earth would change.  I’m no astrophysicist, but I think the case could easily be made that all life as we know it would end.

Now consider the likely threats to your community in any SHTF scenario.  What is the Leroy Jenkins Gang’s center of gravity?  What idea, base or associations enable him to continue spinning in your Area of Operations?  We identify, make plans, and then disrupt that center of gravity.

Maybe some folks don’t like the “battle for legitimacy” or the “parallel war” fought among the people because these concepts aren’t sexy and they don’t fit the hero paradigm that internet commandos have imagined for themselves.  Disrupting an organization’s center of gravity may certainly require kinetic activity (i.e., war fighting and violence) and so we always have to be prepared for that course of action; however, in counterinsurgency and stability operations, there stands a great chance that the center of gravity for insurgents is the populace — non-combatants.

Read the Remainder at American Guerilla