Using concepts taught throughout the J300 Lesson, Operational Art & Design, you will write a 2000-2500 word analytical/research paper on a Operation Just Cause.
You will analyze Operation Just Cause from the perspective of the operational art & design concepts and terms from chapter IV, JP 5-0, Joint Planning and/or from other appropriate joint doctrinal publications. You can analyze the entire campaign/operation, a single battle, or a group of battles from the campaign/operation. Use the following questions to guide your analysis:
How did country X’s military leaders apply operational art during the campaign/operation?
How did country X’s military leaders design the campaign/operation?
How did country X’s military leaders understand the operational environment?
What problems did country X’s military have to solve?
What approaches did country X’s military use to solve the problem and achieve the termination criteria or military end state?
What were the termination criteria and/or military end state?
What were the military objectives?
What effects were established to obtain the military objectives?
What was the adversary/friendly center of gravity and the associated critical factors?
How did country X’s military attack/defend the adversary/friendly center of gravity, directly or indirectly?
What decisive points were established?
What lines of operation/effort were established?
What defeat/stability mechanisms were used?
How did country X’s military apply the concepts of anticipation, operational reach, or culmination?
How were operations arranged? Did country X’s military consider the arranging factors – simultaneity, depth, timing, or tempo? Did country X’s military use the arranging tools – phases, branches and sequels, or operational pauses?
Was the campaign/operation design focused on defeating either adversary forces, functions, or a combination of both?
Was the campaign/operation phased? Did country X’s military consider numbers, sequence, overlap, or transitions? What phases of the joint operation model were used?

You do not have to address all the guiding questions, but you are expected to integrate the operational art & design concepts and terms from chapter IV, JP 5-0, Joint Planning and/or other appropriate joint doctrinal publications into your paper. The majority of the word count must address operational art & design concepts and terms from the perspective of your assigned historical event. This will ensure you understand the lesson material. Articles from databases such as ProQuest, EBSCO, Google Scholar, or military schools such as USASMA, CGSC or the Army War College are the best types of sources for research and will help ensure you receive a maximum score. These types of databases will ensure you use scholarly, peer reviewed articles for your research. Books written about your historical event are also appropriate for your research.
The paper will be in APA format and have a title page, a reference page, and 2,000 to 2,500 words of content (does not include the cover and reference pages). You will use Times New Roman, 12-font, and double-spaced. Do not try to cover everything. Focus on the factors you consider most important in analyzing Operation Just Cause. You will use a minimum of five resources for your paper.
In the introduction section, ensure you have a purpose statement that includes your major points and briefly describe the historical background of the assigned event. Your thesis must be the last sentence in you introduction paragraph. In the body section of the paper, ensure to include your evidence (in-text citations) and have good transitions between major points. For the conclusion, ensure to summarize all major points. Do not include new information in the conclusion. Finally, ensure you check grammar, spelling, sentence structure, punctuation, passive voice (not allowed) and APA format. See the grading rubric for further guidance.
Level one headers: Introduction, Ends, Ways, Means, Risks and Conclusion. We are focusing on what went wrong and/or what went right.
According to Purdue Owl, an analytical paper breaks down an issue or an idea into its component parts, evaluates the issue or idea, and presents this breakdown and evaluation to the audience.

Cited work cannot be more than 15% of the overall paper.