In 1961, the new Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara directed a joint aircraft acquisition program called the TFX, which would produce the first common aerial platform for multiple services. The resulting drama, subterfuge and resistance by the...
The Department of Defense has a mission to fight and win two major theaters of war in "close succession." Mobility is the critical link, providing the capability to deploy forces and meet mission requirements. One aspect of mobility critical to...
The end of the Cold War marked the end of an era in United States national security. The bi-polar global balance of power, which defined our nation’s defensive strategy for more than 30 years, was replaced with the uncertainty of failed...
The purpose of this study is to examine the Norwegian Army's leadership development program through an analysis of theoretical framework, formal guidance as well as a qualitative survey to Norwegian commanders. This analysis aims to identify how...
The Department of Defense (DoD) has come under increased scrutiny in recent years due to poorly performing acquisition programs and massive budgetary requirements. In addition to a challenging economy, prolonged conflict since 2001, and a US...
With the United States 19 reliance on rapid power projection, there is little prospect demands on airlift will decrease. On the contrary, today 's significant gap between requirements and capabilities will likely increase as the nation faces new...
The Defense Acquisitions System (DAS) supports the defense of our nation by developing and procuring weapons systems for the Armed Services. Unfortunately, the DAS frequently fails to produce the weapons systems within budget or on time. Thus, the...
The United States Military has utilized the Decide, Detect, Deliver, Assess (D3A) and Joint Targeting processes in Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas over the last ten years. In that period, a common issue with the processes has emerged the ability...
General Laurence S. Kuter served as both an operational planner and commander during the Second World War. As a planner, he co-authored Air War Plans Division Plan 1 (AWPD-1); the basic strategy upon which the United States Army Air Forces waged...
Over the last eight years, combat operations in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) have put a tremendous strain on the US Army's aviation fleet. In February 2004, the Army canceled the cornerstone of Army Aviation Transformation, the $48...
America’s AF has adopted a strategy that reduces and then modernizes its remaining legacy fleet of combat aircraft. The strategy attempts to free up the necessary funding required to procure a modernized AF with all stealth bombers and fighters....
Modern airships by design are capable of short-take off and landings (STOL), and vertical take-off and landings (VTOL). This VTOL capability enables the airship to land practically anywhere, independent of most infrastructure support. This...
War is the outward expression of competition between complex adaptive political and military systems. In war, competing systems introduce new technological means to gain comparative advantage over other systems and the environment. Greater...
Although there are credible threats to the United States Global Positioning System (GPS), sustainment of the constellation remains the greatest challenge. As GPS satellites reach the end of their operational life cycle, there is a risk the United...
Developing a strategic bomber in today's budget constrained environment is a challenging prospect. The design requirements must address conflict across the spectrum and remain relevant regardless of the enemy America faces. The operational concept...
The purpose of this monograph is to answer the question; a brigade in 96 hours: can the U.S. Air Force move the U.S. Army in time? In doing so this monograph explores the roles and missions of the U.S. Air Force and its Air Mobility Command (AMC),...
Unmanned aircraft are rapidly becoming the platform of choice for military and governmental leaders. In recent years, the United States (US) government has expressed great interest in Unmanned Aircraft Systems for military and other governmental...
United States. Army. Engineer Center and Fort Leonard Wood.
The Guidon came into being as a weekly publication in 1966 under the title Fort Leonard Wood Guidon. Between 1966 and 1987 the title was simplified to Guidon before becoming Essayons in 1988. The name reverted back to Guidon in 1999. It has been...
The purpose of this monograph is to prove that by 2015 uninhabited combat aerial vehicles will have reached a level of capability at which they will be of utility to the joint force commander. This is important to the military to understand...
As described in the 2004 National Military Strategy, the US military must be capable of rapidly projecting military power to achieve full spectrum dominance over any situation or against any adversary in any theater. The US military projects land...