A debate is raging within the defense community about the pattern of future war
and how best to prepare for it . One idea gaining acceptance is the concept of hybrid war. The term hybrid war as currently understood has multiple meanings and...
Afghanistan looms as the key foreign policy challenge for the Obama administration. Under the previous Bush administration, foreign policy was driven primarily by security considerations, and Afghanistan was viewed a frontline state in the Global...
Army commanders on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan lead their forces using a computer-enhanced communications network allowing them to stay connected with dispersed elements and maintain a high level of situation awareness (SA) of their...
As a result of technological maturation, Congressional mandate, and battlefield use, the U.S. Army is currently involved in a tremendous amount of activity surrounding the development of unmanned systems (UMS). While current systems require near...
As with a local insurgency, the Global War on Terror requires the US and her allies to win the support of neutral, wavering and hostile audiences in addition to defeating an enemy. At the tactical and operational levels of war, those audiences...
Between April and August 1943, the U.S. Army’s II Corps saw two of its division commanders relieved of their commands. Each relief appeared tied to battlefield setbacks. MG Orlando Ward of the 1st Armored Division was relieved after his division...
Chaos theory is a poorly understood concept in social science and in military analytical decision making systems. Military decision makers require a multidisciplinary approach of mathematical analysis, modeling and simulation, topology, and...
Coercion theory is traditionally segmented into compellence and deterrence. Recently
theorists have begun to consider coercion comprehensively. This monograph continues that line
of study and defines coercion as the threat of, or use of, elements...
Colombia's future hangs in the balance with dire implications for Latin America and U.S. national interests. After almost forty-five years of existential conflict, Colombia has the opportunity to be a peaceful and stable country, which is essential...
Commanders and other leaders in the Army must constantly consider how their organization is changing and how it must change to remain relevant and effective in its combat roles. When planning and conducting an organizational change, these...
Cultural awareness is a force multiplier; failure to recognize this can have adverse impacts on operations. Since the first coalition troop deployments to Afghanistan after the events of 9/11, the U.S. Army has received much criticism over the lack...
Current operations indicate that improvements are warranted within our Battle Command (BC) planning method to support complex and ill-structured problems. Several modified approaches have been reviewed and synthesized into a general theoretical...
Currently, the United States finds itself in a very similar predicament to what Great Britain experienced after emerging from the First World War as she set about the governance of a growing empire during the interwar period. With the stated intent...
Despite the complexity of the Contemporary Operating Environment, the United States is still wedded to a national security system created in 1947. The United States places itself in jeopardy by using a system created at the end of World War II for...
Doctrine is under attack from within the military and by the American press. The length of the current conflict has been "perceived" as too long, and the United States Military, according to some has been to slow to adapt. Accusations of "gaps"...
Doctrine requires the Army to conduct full spectrum operations, giving equal consideration to stability operations and Defense Support of Civil Authority (DSCA) with the traditional missions of offense and defense. This shift in doctrine, among...
Does third party military intervention help or hurt an incumbent government during an insurgency? This study attempts to answer this question by testing prevailing military theories of counterinsurgency in the context of third party intervention...
During the Vietnam War and the years following, there has been a contentious debate regarding the nature of the conflict. Some proponents argue it was an insurgency while others claim it was a conventional war, with each side advocating the...
Economics is a critical component of military operations and will continue to be so in the future. Understanding this is vital to successful military operations. The military requirement for understanding economics and its application in operations...
Failed, failing, and collapsed states and regions all provide opportunities for conflict and intervention in order to promote the security of the United States. Recognizing the opportunity to implement a change in how the United States plans and...