Center of Gravity

Excerpt from Notes of a Counterinsurgent

Center of Gravity

“Serving in the Joint Staff as the focal point in counterinsurgency operations and training, I went to Vietnam eight times between 1962 and 1964. In those early years, I learned something of the complex nature of the conflict there. The problem of seeking out and destroying guerrillas was easy enough to comprehend, but winning the loyalty of the people, why it was so important and how to do it, took longer to understand. Several meetings with Sir Robert Thompson, who contributed so much to the British victory over the guerrillas in Malaya, established a set of basic counterinsurgency principles in my mind. Thompson said, "The peoples' trust is primary. It will come hard because they are fearful and suspicious. Protection is the most important thing you can bring them. After that comes health. And, after that, many things--land, prosperity, education, and privacy to name a few."

--Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak, USMC

Center of Gravity (COG) - is what the enemy must have to achieve his objectives. COG can be physical, mental/perceptual or morale.

Critical Capabilities (CC) - are those capabilities that constitute the center of gravity; its what the COG has to offer; without critical capabilities the COG is likely nothing.  CCs can be physical, mental/perceptual or morale. 

Critical Requirements (CR) - are those requirements that give an entity its Critical Capabilities (CC). CRs can be physical, mental/perceptual or morale.

Critical Vulnerabilities (CV) - those critical functions most susceptible to attack. CVs can be physical, mental/perceptual or morale.