On Flexibility: Recovery from Technological and Doctrinal Surprise on the Battlefield - Tapa dura

"A highly original work, dealing with an important and little-explored subject." -- Martin van Creveld "[A] thoroughly researched and objective work of events impacting America's military affairs and security policies." -- Parameters "This book combines solid history and an innovative analytical structure. It begins to fill in a serious hole in our understanding of flexibility or what could better be called 'adaptation under fire.' It is strongly recommended for senior military leaders and students of military innovation and force planning. In the future, surprise will continue to characterize the character of modern warfare, and the need to be flexible will be at a premium. On Flexibility provides great insights on flexibility and will prove to be an enduring contribution to our understanding of military history and to enhancing our ability to adapt when we hopefully do not get things too terribly wrong." -- Frank Hoffman "This is an outstanding work. Inculcating adaptability, flexibility, and responsiveness to surprise is the chief preoccupation of the major armies of the world. Doctrine writers, practitioners, scholars, and policy-makers concerned with the effectiveness of military force should read this book." -- David Betz, Department of War Studies * King's College London * "Originally published in Israel in 2007, this thoughtful work by Col. Finkel (IDF) looks at how modern military forces have coped with surprise in terms of innovative technologies, techniques, or tactics." -- A. A. Nofi * StrategyPage.com *

On Flexibility presents a force planning concept that will enable armies to cope with the growing diversity of battlefield requirements, and especially with technological and doctrinal surprises, through applied adaptability and flexibility, minimizing the over dependence on intelligence and prediction involved in this process today.