Research for WARFAR

'Mission Creep' is a code-word phrase that influences the US government s approach to military operations even though no common definition or understanding exists as to what 'mission creep' means. This research memorandum attempts to shed some light on the term and improve the level of debate surrounding mil tary operations and tasks within these operations. Using NATO operations in Bosnia-Herzegovina as a basis, it examines nine conceptions of 'mission creep', providing examples of the term used in each context and implications of eac h definition. The paper also explores the anxieties and causes of 'mission creep' and provides a framework for understanding and describing the dimensions of mission change.