The Learning Curve: MACV's Grasp of Intelligence, PSYOP, and Their Coordination, 1965-1971
PhD thesis — Air University, 2015. Full text: https://archive.org/details/DTIC_AD1015736
Arguments
The Learning Curve: MACV's Grasp of Intelligence, PSYOP, and Their Coordination, 1965-1971
It separates adaptation from victory — an organization can be learning and still lose, which is the question facing every military in an information fight today.
Even while losing the Vietnam War, MACV demonstrated measurable learning-organization traits in how it coordinated military intelligence and psychological operations across three phases (1965–67 buildup, 1968–69 Tet/peak, 1970–71 Vietnamization) — judged by refining Harvard's David Garvin's learning criteria into a scored scale and applying it to MACV records from the National Archives and the Army Heritage Education Center.
Why it matters
It separates adaptation from victory — an organization can be learning and still lose, which is the question facing every military in an information fight today.
Use when: Losing organizations can still learn — judge adaptation by process, not by the final scoreboard.