Editing Military doctrine (section)

==Defining doctrine==

[[NATO]]'s definition of doctrine, used unaltered by many member nations, is:{{Sfn|NSA|2013|p=83}}
{{cquote|Fundamental principles by which the military forces guide their actions in support of objectives. It is authoritative but requires judgement in application.}}

In 1998 the Canadian Army stated:<ref>Canada Department of National Defence. ''The Conduct of Land Operations'' B-GL-300-001/FP-000, 1998: iv–v.</ref>
{{cquote|Military doctrine is a formal expression of military knowledge and thought, that the army accepts as being relevant at a given time, which covers the nature of conflict, the preparation of the army for conflict, and the method of engaging in conflict to achieve success ... it is descriptive rather than prescriptive, requiring judgement in application. It does not establish dogma or provide a checklist of procedures, but is rather an authoritative guide, describing how the army thinks about fighting, not how to fight. As such it attempts to be definitive enough to guide military activity, yet versatile enough to accommodate a wide variety of situations.}}

A U.S. Air Force Air University staff study in 1948 defined military doctrine functionally as "those concepts, principles, policies, tactics, techniques, practices, and procedures which are essential to efficiency in organizing, training, equipping, and employing its tactical and service units".<ref>Evaluation Division, Air University. "To Analyze the USAF Publications System for Producing Manuals", staff study, 13 July 1948, quoted in Futrell, Robert Frank. ''Ideas, Concepts, Doctrine: Basic Thinking in the United States Air Force'', 1907–1960. December 1989, Air University Press</ref>

A U.S. Army essay written in 2016 similarly defined military doctrine as "consist[ing] of tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs)".<ref name=spencer16>{{cite web |last1=Spencer |first1=John |title=What is Army Doctrine? |url=https://mwi.usma.edu/what-is-army-doctrine/ |website=[[Modern War Institute]] |access-date=25 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825105556/https://mwi.usma.edu/what-is-army-doctrine/ |archive-date=25 August 2022 |date=21 March 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

In 2005 [[Gary Sheffield (historian)|Gary Sheffield]] of the Defence Studies Department of [[King's College London]]/[[JSCSC]] quoted [[J F C Fuller]]'s 1923 definition of doctrine as the "central idea of an army".<ref name=sheffield05>Gary Sheffield, 'Doctrine & Command in the British Army, A Historical Overview', Army Doctrine Publication Land Operations, DGD&D, [[British Army]], May 2005, p. 165</ref>

In 1965 the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] ''Dictionary of Basic Military Terms'' defined military doctrine as "a state's officially accepted system of scientifically founded views on the nature of modern wars and the use of the armed forces in them. ... Military doctrine has two aspects: social-political and military-technical."<ref name=soviet65>Moscow: Voenizdat, 1965, quoted in Odom, 1988</ref> The social-political side "encompasses all questions concerning methodology, economic, and social bases, the political goals of war. It is the defining and the more stable side." The other side, the military-technical, must accord with the political goals. It includes the "creation of military structure, technical equipping of the armed forces, their training, definition of forms and means of conducting operations and war as a whole".<ref name=beleyev84>A. Beleyev, "The Military-Theoretical Heritage of [[M. V. Frunze]]", ''[[Krasnaya Zvezda]]'' (Red Star), November 4, 1984, quoted in Odom, 1988</ref>