Learning Counterinsurgency: Observations from Soldering in Iraq Lieutenant General David H. Petraeus, U.S. Army The Army has gained a great deal of experience in Iraq and Afghanistan about COIN operations. Here, one of the Army's most experienced...
This study examines the operations of the 7th Armored Division from 16 December 1944 through 29 January 1945. The focus is on the nature of combat as seen from the perspective of battalion through division-level commanders. The 7th Armored Division...
Throughout history, a common phenomenon of warfare has been the encirclement of the forces of one or both warring factions. The nature of future war -- taking place in a battlefield that will be characterized by fluid activities, greater confusion,...
This study examines the first battle of World War II: the defense of the Philippines on the Bataan Peninsula. Only those units properly equipped, adequately trained, and led by officers who were knowledgeable on the current doctrine are examined. A...
This study attempts to investigate how the Philippine Scouts originated and how they were used during the Philippine Insurrection. It focuses on determining the precedence for the U.S. Army's use of indigenous soldiers prior to 1899. Given this...
This study is an analysis of the benefits and constraints associated with implementing Air Training Command's proposed specialized Weapons Systems Officer (WSO) training concept in the U.S. Air Force Undergraduate Navigator Training (UNT) program....
This thesis provides a comparative policy-process perspective of Vietnam intervention. It is comparative in the sense that the Eisenhower administration's policy process in the 1954 Indochina crisis is used as a basis to compare the Johnson...
This project examines the military ramifications of the emerging revolution in military affairs and the changing strategic environment. Assessing two strategic approaches, Joint Vision 2010 (evolutionary force design) and a rising advocacy of...
This thesis identifies the operational and strategic centers of gravity of United Nations Operations, Somalia II (UNOSOM II). The research demonstrates that UNOSOM II failed to correctly identify its own strategic center of gravity. This failure...
'Operational IPB' describes U.S. Army doctrine for the precombat intelligence estimate process employed at the operational level of war. Its methodology is contained in an appendix to a tactical field manual, FM 34-130, Intelligence Preparation of...
"The purpose of the plan is to provide modernization recommendations for the M270 Family of Munitions Rocket and Missile Systems fired either from the Multiple Launch Rocket System, M270, or other future launchers such as the lightweight High...
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...
A number of dramatic international events have significantly altered the strategic environment facing the U.S. These changes have led to a shift in operational focus away from Europe to a wider range of contingencies in other areas of the world....
A review of Army leadership doctrine exposes a disconnect. Army doctrine states that development of the “warrior spirit” in soldiers, leaders, and organizations is vital to the Army's success. However, the Army does not have a uniform...
A Theater Special Operations Command (SOC), a sub-unified command, advises combatant commanders on the capabilities of Special Operations Forces (SOF), provides SOF for employment, and integrates SOF fully into theater plans by planning,...
A View from the FA49 Foxhole: Operational Research and Systems Analysis. Lieutenant General David F. Melcher, U.S. Army, and Lieutenant Colonel John G. Ferrari, U.S. Army; Functional Area 49, the Operations Research Systems Analyst career field, is...
Abstract: This paper will examine the question…”were our military forces prepared to engage in combat prior to 9/11?” It is easy to see that we were, however, our preparation was with a different enemy. We were prepared to fight a different...