Question about ‘folding the enemy in on himself’

[Joseph Sweeney]

Hello,

I was wondering if someone could tell me what it means to ‘fold the enemy in on himself’ and how does one accomplish it? I have read about Boyd’s ideas but I am not sure I fully understand this one. If anyone could help me understand it I would be greatly appreciative.

[Bob Weimann]

Hello Joseph, I am surprised that no one has tried to answer your question and I thought I would take a stab at it. If I am off-base, I am sure some of these folks will correct me. The answer can be found in both of Col Boyd,s briefs, “Paterns of Conflict” and “Strategic Game of ? and ?”; they can be found here: http://www.d-n-i.net/dni/john-r-boyd/
For a short answer, I believe Boyd is talking about the mental state of the opponent when everything he observes (unfolding events) and does seems to be working against him. Folding the enemy to the point where they cannot cope and they do nothing.
Boyd, during his “Patterns” brief, would talk about discussions he had with fighter pilots that had been shot down in dogfights. He noticed they talked about the same mental state, where no matter what counter move they executed, if they could not shake the opponent off his tail, their brained turn to “dish water” (it was overwhelmed) and they did nothing and were shot down.
The first place Col Boyd mentions “folding the enemy back on himself” is in “Patterns of Conflict” Slide 132. (Boyd first developed the Patterns of Conflict brief and then later moved onto the “Strategic Game of ? and ?”)
Slide 132:
“• Enmesh adversary in an amorphous, menacing, and unpredictable world of uncertainty, doubt, mistrust, confusion, disorder, fear, panic, chaos … and/or fold adversary back inside himself;

thereby

• Maneuver adversary beyond his moral-mental-physical capacity to adapt or endure so that he can neither divine our intentions nor focus his efforts to cope with the unfolding strategic design or related decisive strokes as they penetrate, splinter, isolate or envelop, and overwhelm him.”

Later in the Patterns brief,Boyd states (Slide 178):

“– Altogether Variety/Rapidity/Harmony/Initiative enable one to:
Operate inside adversary’s observation-orientation-decision-action loops to enmesh adversary in a world of uncertainty, doubt, mistrust, confusion, disorder, fear, panic, chaos, … and/or fold adversary back inside himself so that he cannot cope with events/efforts as they unfold.”

I believe that Boyd evolves and expands the explanation in his “Strategic Game of ? and ?” Brief:
Slide 47:
Which carries us to the
? question ?
•How do we fold adversaries back inside themselves, morally mentally physically … without suffering the same fate ourselves?
or put another way
•How do we physically isolate our adversaries yet interact with others outside ourselves?
•How do we mentally isolate our adversaries yet keep in touch hence interact, with unfolding events?
•How do we morally isolate our adversaries yet maintain the trust/confidence of others and thereby interact with them?


Slide 44:
• The ability to operate at a faster tempo or rhythm than an adversary enables one to fold adversary back inside himself so that he can neither appreciate nor keep up with what’s going on. He will become disoriented or confused;
which suggests that
• Unless such menacing pressure is relieved, adversary will experience various combinations of uncertainty, doubt, confusion, self deception, indecision, fear, panic, discouragement, despair, etc., which will further:
Disorient or twist his mental images/impressions of what’s happening;
thereby
Disrupt his mental/physical maneuvers for dealing with such a menace;
thereby
Overload his mental/physical capacity to adapt or endure;
thereby
Collapse his ability to carry on.

[Joseph Sweeney]

Thank you for responding, Bob.

So as I understand it, saying that an opponent has been folding inside himself is a way of saying that the opponent has been physically-mentally-morally isolated. That he has been presented with a situation with which his mind does not know how to cope because it has ether been cut off from outside information or one has maneuvered in such a way as to get inside his OODA loop. His mind in effect becomes a closed system or he is deciding and acting to slowly and therefore cannot adapt to what is happening around him. Is that about right?

I look forward to meeting you at the conference. This will be my first. Have you been to any previous Boyd Conferences or will this be your first as well?

Joseph Sweeney

[Bob Weimann]

Hi Joe, I think you got it...or at least you got it from my way of thinking. I would change the wording in your second sentence to read like this: he has been presented (drop the word situation) with a series of unfolding events getting inside his OODA loop that overwhelms his decision process. This causes his mind, in effect, to become a closed system and/or he is deciding and acting too slowly and therefore cannot adapt to what is happening around him."

This will be my first conference, if I attend. I managed an invite to the last one but some family events forced me to miss it. I am thinking that the same things will happen this year but we will see. I see in your profile you are a army NCO, can I ask where you are stationed? Thanks, Bob

[Joseph Sweeney]

Right now I am in Iraq, but I will be headed back to Germany soon.

[Bob Weimann]

Hi Joe, I was wondering because I live in Raleigh and I was thinking you might be in Bragg and I was going to offer a face-to-face but ... lol...that looks like that is not feasible. Let me ask you what you have been reading for Boyd and Maneuver Warfare? Maybe I can help by recommending a couple things. Take a look at this link http://www.military.com/Opinions/0,,Lind_Index,00.html and a article called the "Canon" if you have not read Stormtroop Tactics, might be a good place to start. Bob

Joseph Sweeney said:

Right now I am in Iraq, but I will be headed back to Germany soon.

[Joseph Sweeney]

I have read a number of books and articles, to many to list them all here. I first learned about maneuver warfare when I bought The Last Hundred Yards by Poole. It talked about using maneuver warfare ideas in small unit tactics. I have also read Lind’s Maneuver Warfare Handbook and both Chet’s and Osinga’s books on Boyd’s ideas. I even ordered a small pamphlet by Lt Gen. Van Riper about terminology. I have of course read and reread Sun Tzu.

I read Major Vandergriff’s book Raising the Bar and found out the officer corps is having a lot of the same problems I have witnessed in the NCO corps. It is most depressing.

I am hoping that a lot of the people I have read show up to the conference.

Can I ask what it is you do and what got you interested in Boyd?

[Bob Weimann]

Hi Joe, I have been involved with Maneuver Warfare since 1980 when I heard the Boyd brief as a student at the USMC Amphibious Warfare School. I will tell you more but it is probably best to give it to you in an email. Let me say that I have been interested in how we take this concept and get it down to the company, platoon and squad level since 1980. I think you are wrestling with that same issue and I think I can help you. I retired in 1996 and started a second career and got interested again since the Iraq occupation started. I am a contributing editor (fancy name for "fat, old, retired guy") for the web site DefendOurMarines.com. Take a look at the "Case for the Combat Squard Leader" article. Here is my email: [e-mail]. Send me your email and we can get an exchange going. Thanks, Bob

Joseph Sweeney said:

I have read a number of books and articles, to many to list them all here. I first learned about maneuver warfare when I bought The Last Hundred Yards by Poole. It talked about using maneuver warfare ideas in small unit tactics. I have also read Lind’s Maneuver Warfare Handbook and both Chet’s and Osinga’s books on Boyd’s ideas. I even ordered a small pamphlet by Lt Gen. Van Riper about terminology. I have of course read and reread Sun Tzu.

I read Major Vandergriff’s book Raising the Bar and found out the officer corps is having a lot of the same problems I have witnessed in the NCO corps. It is most depressing.

I am hoping that a lot of the people I have read show up to the conference.

Can I ask what it is you do and what got you interested in Boyd?

[Joseph Sweeney]

I sent you 2 e-mails. Did you get them?