Air War over Serbia

An examination of the public affairs strategy of the Air War Over Serbia (part of the NATO Operation Allied Force), reveals that tactics were well understood, but strategic guidance was missing. The research involved looking at the archive of information gathered primarily in theater which related to the conflict. While it is as important to win the information war as it is to win the physical war, both campaigns need an overall game plan, a sense of direction, and a way to assess the results. The information campaign was a shotgun approach, lacking in concentration of forces or effort. Justas the operations effort must take into account, the public information portion of a conflict must assess the enemy threat and be prepared to counter asymmetric warfare--in this case blatant propaganda and control of media access--and be prepared to launch a credible offense.