Causal claims are unavoidable in military affairs. However, causal claims are also insufficient when attempting to understand and intervene in complex environments. Hence, notions of conventional causality must be supplemented with an understanding...
The Department of Defense emphasis on stability operations caused the United States Army to change its operational concept to Full Spectrum Operations (FSO). The acknowledgment of the importance of stability operations however, does not translate...
Today's operational environment consists of uncertainty, chance, friction, and complexity. Change and adaptation that once required years to implement must now be recognized, communicated, and enacted far more quickly. To effectively respond to the...
The way the Bundeswehr as an organization collects, analyzes and disseminates lessons learned from its operational experiences is not only of utmost significance for force protection and effectiveness in missions but also gives critical indications...
In 2004, the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr released a concept for the realignment of field grade officer development. The concept claims to respond to the requirements of the contemporary and future operating environment and attempts to ensure...
This monograph examines the ambiguities of Chinese strategic and military thought and introduces a new concept of Chinese Strategic Art to help analysts understand how the People’s Republic of China (PRC) thinks about and practices strategy. This...
Air Force Noncommissioned Officer’s School in Koszalin was formed on 1st of July 2004, according to the decision of the Polish Air and Air Defense Forces Commander. The NCO School is subordinated to the Polish Air Force Commander and trains...
With the advent of Field Manual (FM) 3-24, Counterinsurgency, a debate has arisen concerning the manual's origins and its applicability to today's insurgencies. Critics, such as Colonel Gian Gentile, claim that the manual is overly influenced by...
Military practitioners are often asked to make plans that could have enormous strategic effects without having a good understanding of their operational environment. It is exactly this relationship between the plan, the environment, and the end...
The evolving U.S. stabilization, reconstruction and development doctrine displays the tenets necessary to stabilize a state following conflict; however, this doctrine remains insufficient for insuring long-term stability. To adequately guide...
The U.S. Army’s renewed emphasis on developing organizations to conduct Security Force Assistance (SFA), particularly the Advise and Assist Brigades, is indicative of both increased operational requirements in Iraq and Afghanistan and renewed...
Traditional models representing how messages are communicated through traditional media are inappropriate for depicting how they are communicated (or, rather, exchanged) through the new media. The former depict monologic (one-to-many) communication...
The problem facing practitioners of emerging Army doctrine is how to expand the use of assessments beyond detailed planning to support conceptual planning during design. This raises the question, will the use of assessments enable the commander to...
It is not known against whom or where the United States Army will fight next, nor is it clear what the nature of that conflict will be. What is relatively certain is that the United States Army will likely initially get it wrong, regardless of its...
This monograph examines whether the addition of design to U.S. Army doctrine, along with other changes, can clarify the concept of the learning organization and make it more achievable by operational units at the battalion and brigade levels. While...
Since its establishment as a state Israel's geo-political circumstance demands that the small nation state adapt to an ever changing threat environment. Israeli defense policy traditionally consisted of deterrence through a dominant military...
This monograph examines the relationship between reconnaissance and the application of operational art. The operational artist requires reconnaissance to arrange tactical actions in time, space, and purpose to achieve an overarching strategic...
The United States Army is concluding its responsibilities in the Global War on Terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq by conducting Counter Insurgency Operations now doctrinally associated with Wide Area Security (WAS). The point of this paper is to...
Second Place Winner of the MacArthur Military Leadership Writing Competition for the CGSC Class 2011-01. Writing is on the decline in the Army officer corps. Thoughtful, precise writing in staff papers has been replaced by hastily composed emails...
Military history has always been a focus of the Armed Forces in the United States. Throughout history, the military has tried to document its conflicts or wars it has been engaged in as far back as the Vietnam War. Military Professionals have...