Nearly twenty years ago, as a new student in the Army's Command and General Staff Officer's College, Infantry Branch officers introduced to me the relatively newly codified doctrinal term "center of gravity." Throughout the "best year of our lives"...
This study examines current U.S. Army attack helicopter doctrine, tactics, techniques, and procedures (DTTP) to determine their adequacy in supporting the full range of attack helicopter employment in the multi-polar environment of the New World...
Beginning in the Korea War, through Vietnam and continuing with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, US forces have been involved in combat typified by close, sharp actions - often without the doctrinally prescribed firepower to support the...
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...
This survey of American field advisors in Korea, Vietnam, and El Salvador is a study on how the United States military had built foreign armies in Korea and Vietnam. The goal of this survey was to understand American field advisors—to determine...
The Global War on Terror brought about several military assistance efforts that include the training and development of foreign security forces. The United States has been providing advisors to foreign security forces around the world for over 120...
This monograph examines the effectiveness of the combined French and American Training Relations and Instruction Mission. The United States' fears regarding the spread of communism during the 1950s appeared justified in Vietnam following the French...
This study investigates Afghanistan influences in the Tajikistan civil war. Ongoing conflict in Afghanistan overlaps the Tajikistan conflict developing after the USSR's 1991 breakup. The Tajikistan civil war includes elements of ethnic, religious...
With combat formations schedule to begin drawing down in July 2011 and the role of US forces in Iraq already shifting away from the lead, the future of these two nations will grow increasingly dependent upon the indigenous security forces and the...
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is combating an insurgency and simultaneously rebuilding its infrastructure to become a strong sovereign state no longer requiring assistance from the U.S. government (USG) or other nations. Key...
From December 1, 2008 to January 9, 2009, thirty-two students from Staff Groups 16A and 16B at the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) conducted an operational level study in order to recommend a course of action for the Afghanistan Campaign...
It's becoming clear that the so-called “War on Terror” is not just any war, and, therefore, is not a matter of getting in and getting out. When the U.S. pulled out of South Vietnam in light of the Paris Peace Accords, the country toppled,...
The United States' post-9/11 global strategy demonstrates an interest in Africa that contrasts with decades of relative indifference. The 2006 National Security Strategy has stated the United States' commitment to promote security, stability,...
History illustrates that without unity of command and a mechanism to enable unity of effort, achieving strategic and regional objectives is rare. AFRICOM, a newly established Combatant Command, faces innumerable challenges within the continent of...
One of the most complex challenges facing the U.S. military today is the problem of imposing stability over the chaos that follows major combat operations. Despite the U.S. military’s predilection to distill warfare into the linear, Newtonian...
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...
This monograph analyzes a recent study by the Air force to establish an Air Battle Force (ABF) for projecting tactical airpower in peacetime contingency operations. This ABF would be a single unit, trained and equipped with several different types...
The small wars fought by the French in Algeria and the United States in Vietnam provide lessons for the United States military to use today. Although neither France nor the United States met their strategic objectives, their command and control...
Several recent targeting studies have fundamentally shaken the Air Force to its core by challenging the service's ability to employ precision munitions. The erosion of the targeting skill sets occurred gradually. Protracted low-intensity conflict...
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...