US naval and Marine special forces operate in an intense, always-changing environment that includes not just the blood and violence of the battlefield, but also the complexity and sophistication of the mid-21st century technology environment. It is unsurprising, then, that today's well-educated Marine officers find themselves drawing on concepts developed in the broader world outside the battlefield, such as design and systems theory.

Smart, self-questioning officers are always interrogating their methods to be sure that they are not getting locked into an obsolete method that is incompatible with the latest environment. This document discusses the concept of operational design and its application in military planning.

It emphasizes the importance of understanding complex problems and the need for collaboration with inter-agency and coalition partners. The document provides a case study of how operational design was used in Colombia to address insurgency.

It acknowledges the limitations of operational design but highlights its potential benefits in developing comprehensive strategies. The document suggests integrating operational design into Naval Special Warfare planning processes and the need for education and training in system theory and operational design for NSW leaders.

This annotated edition illustrates the capabilities of the AI Lab for Book-Lovers to add context and ease-of-use to manuscripts. It includes five types of abstracts, building from simplest to more complex: TLDR (one word), ELI5, TLDR (vanilla), Scientific Style, and Action Items; three essays to increase viewpoint diversity: Grounds for Dissent, Red Team Critique, and MAGA Perspective; and Notable Passages and Nutshell Summaries for each page.

. .