hen
be further developed, if necessary, into a general plan for the
commander's force and, finally, into a detailed plan, as the solution
of the problem. (See page 22.)

The Major Components of a Military Problem. Each plan considered by
the commander will involve (page 21) two major considerations:
namely--an effect to be produced and the action required to produce
it; or, in military terms, a correct military objective (or
objectives) and effective operations for its attainment. The selection
of correct military objectives and the determination of effective
operations for their attainment are therefore the two major components
of a military problem, because they are the principal considerations
on which depends the soundness of military decision. To meet these
requirements is a prime function of command, one which demands
professional judgment of the highest order.

The major components of a military problem are of course intimately
connected, because a purposeful action, accomplished, is equivalent to
an objective, attained. Furthermore, the attainment of an objective
involves the accomplishment of effective operations.

Because of the importance of the subject, the relationship between
these two major components deserves very careful analysis. As has been
observed (page 30), the action to be taken depends, in the first
instance, on the effect to be produced. Therefore, the objective is,
as compared to the action to attain it, the paramount matter.
Moreover, there is necessarily included, in the procedure of selecting
a correct objective, a consideration as to whether the action to that
end will be feasible and as to whether the consequences involved will
be acceptable on the basis of the costs which will be exacted. If,
then, the objective has been correctly selected in any situation, this
procedure will have included, as a necessary incidental, the
determination also, in the proper detail, of the operations required
for its attainment.

Of the two major components involved in the selection of the best
plan, the primary relates, therefore, to correct objectives.
Accordingly, this consideration is most aptly expressed in terms of
the "selection" of objectives. The "determination" of necessary
operations is a proper expression of the procedure therein involved,
because this procedure, though also involving a major component of the
problem is dependent on the primary consideration of objectives.

A valid guide f