This monograph examines whether a planned operation in a campaign should be executed unchanged, modified, or canceled. A campaign is a progression of sequential or simultaneous operations designed to accomplish a strategic objective. A campaign plan organizes these operations, but it is not a rigid document. Instead, campaign planning should be flexible, and allow for changes during the execution of the campaign. Modern warfare is complex, and careless changes to the campaign plan can unravel the detailed planning that synchronizes the campaign. A commander considering modifying or canceling an operation must balance the benefits of a change with harmful consequences. The monograph investigates these issues using the historical experience of Operation STALEMATE in the Pacific in World War II. This American operation seized Peleliu and Angaur Islands in the Palau Island Chain from the Japanese in September 1944. The operation is especially appropriate for this study because senior commanders considered modifying or canceling it before it began. The operation was modified; part of it was executed, and part of it was canceled. American operational planning was mature at this point in the war; experienced leaders formed and commanded the operation. The operation was joint, and it used forces from the Army, Navy, Army Air Force, and Marine Corps. The monograph concludes that operations need review before execution. The commander must determine if the operation still contributes toward victory, and evaluate whether its modification or cancellation would significantly increase the risk of defeat. He should also consider the impact of changes on the tempo of the campaign. Modifying or canceling an operation could accelerate or slow tempo. He must make these determinations based on the end state of the campaign. An open ended campaign, without a defined end state, offers no basis for evaluating its component operations' contributions to the campaign. The commander can properly assess the operation only if it is part of a campaign planned in depth.

ADA 284719 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)