It is dangerous to assume that in today's operating environment, a universally accepted definition of what war is, and what war is not, is readily available. While most Soldiers and policy makers claim to know war, "knowing it when they see it," is...
The Sunni tribal uprising against Al Qaeda in Iraq, known as the Anbar Awakening, was the decisive event in the counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq. To capitalize on discontent between the Sunni population and Al Qaeda, U.S. commanders on the ground...
Based on experiences with long-duration operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States Army recognizes the need for commanders and their staffs to have new tools and ways of thinking to deal with complex problems. The specific approach the...
Is it possible to determine how close an army is to collapse? Are there indictors that give warning that the force is reaching the limits of its endurance? With the U.S. Army in its seventh year of sustained combat in the War on Terror with no end...
Reconciliation remains an elusive concept in both domestic and international contexts as well as academic and governmental contexts. The military role in reconciliation remains even more elusive. As such, this monograph seeks to clarify what the...
This work proposes a novel approach to military transformation, 'Adaptive Transformation,' that accounts for an inescapable reality in the current and future operational environment: uncertainty. Military planners and decision makers have to face...
This monograph investigates the nature of the resistance within the United States Army to the inclusion of homosexuals into the wider force and the preparation necessary at the macro level for potential social change should Congress repeal US Code...
Military officials often utilize the PMESII-PT acronym (Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information, Infrastructure, Physical Environment, and Time) as an analytical start point to assess an operational environment. However, the linear...
The United States Army's study of counterinsurgency operations is limited, with few notable exceptions, to those that occurred in the Third World from 1950 to the present day. Few American officers, NCOs or soldiers are familiar with other...
Over the past decade, the U.S. government struggled consistently to establish a solid foothold in the global marketplace of ideas. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks and through two persistent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan the...
In complex operational environments marked by uncertainty, lethal threats, and long term commitments, the Army's junior officers shoulder a burden that requires critical thinking and a willingness to exercise initiative and make decisions. In light...
The historical examples of World War I, World War II, Korea, and the 1991 Gulf War are the basis of the current Joint and Army campaign planning doctrine. These conflicts highlight the requirement to centrally plan campaigns that efficiently...
Officer education is a major component in the preparation for the next war. The Command and General Staff College (CGSC) is the Army's principal institution for educating field grade officers. War's chameleon nature sometimes denies and frustrates...
The strategic and operational environment in which the United States military will operate in for the foreseeable future is characterized by its complexity. Historically the United States military has taken a linear approach to understanding the...
This monograph examined three of the variables that impact the civil-military relationship with regard to understanding how military advice is received by civilian leadership -- combat military experience of civilian leaders, political expertise of...
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 purpose of this monograph is to examine what institutional challenges exist within the Air Force that prevent the service from producing leaders competitive for Geographic Combatant Command positions. The author proposes the Joint Force Air...
The Standing Joint Task Force today serves as an enduring organization of the national security environment. Of the numerous Standing Joint Task Forces operational around the world, this paper examines two whose missions support defense of the...
This monograph examines the execution of the Commander’s Emergency Response Program (CERP) by operational forces and offers a methodology to better its execution. This study asserts that CERP is a necessary and appropriate program for operational...
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...