What is the difference between 'strategic' and 'tactical'?

Answer 1

There are three commonly identified 'levels' in war.

The strategic level is where national and political goals are turned into military objectives. At the strategic level most of the decisions are made by the civilian leadership with the military providing advice.

The operational level is concerned with the maneuvering of armies, fleets etc. This is all large scale and tends to involve a series of battles in order to achieve an objective set by the strategy.

Now we get to the tactical level. The tactical level is concerned with how a battle is fought. This can range from a general deciding where to out his brigades - to a sergeant telling an individual soldier to fire a particular weapon.

Answer 2

The only real difference is the amount of planning. Strategic strikes will take a whole lot more planning than a Tactical strike. This is the reason we have Strategic Fighters and Bombers. These will generally take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to put a plan together that can get the job done within the parameters set. Tactical Fighters, Attackers, and Bombers are often those that are ready for action at a moments notice, and are handed split second strike missions in response to an attack. You really won't find these types of missions outside of the Air Force and Navy, unless you run into Spec Ops people. The Army and Marines will do more strategic than tactical. They like to plan their attacks before committing that many people to a battle.

Answer 3

Strategic has do to with the big target like a country it's economy ,leaders,and communications. Tactical is the individual battles.

Answer 4

M1A1 hit it right on the head

I was going to say the difference between Strategic and Tactical is about 3 extra stars.

Answer 5

the level of abstraction of the action plan to the goal.