The Art of Naming Military Operations: Operations in the World Wars, Using Nicknames to Shape Perceptions, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Shield, Just Cause, Military Strategy

Effectively naming operations is a powerful means of winning the war of images, a war which is just as critical as the war on the battlefield. In the image war, the operation name is the first bullet fired, and quite possibly the most critical. If artfully molded and aimed, it can be a key ingredient for victory. The U.S. military leadership has begun to learn this truth; since 1989, major military operations have been nicknamed with an eye toward shaping domestic and international perceptions about the activities they describe. Like the senior military leadership, mid-level staff officers must acknowledge the significance of operation names and must develop their skill in crafting them, for, like any aspect of operational planning, this function will initially fall to them. Since creating nicknames is an art rather than a science, the best way to learn the art of naming operations is to study the origins and development of the practice to glean lessons, positive and negative, from past practitioners.