In 1986, the US Army introduced Carl von Clausewitz's concept of center of gravity in Field Manual (FM) 100-5, Operations, and defined it as the ""hub of all power and movement upon which everything depends."" The manual explicitly stated that the...
This monograph analyzes the Army's ability to implement operational culture skills to meet the intent of the vision set forth in the 2009 Army Culture and Foreign Language Strategy. First, the monograph reviews Army operations since Vietnam. This...
Baumann, Robert F.; Gawrych, George W.; Kretchnik, Walter E.
With the aid of a generous grant from the US Institute of Peace, Robert Baumann, George Gawrych, and Walter Kretchik were able to access and examine relevant documents, interview numerous participants, and visit US and NATO forces in Bosnia. As a...
This study examined the adequacy of US Army tactical doctrine for the successful employment of armor in offensive urban operations. Historical case studies on Aachen, Beirut, Grozny, and Baghdad were used to draw lessons learned. These lessons...
The end of the Cold War brought a period of prosperity with expectations for peace, broken by a new kind of small and protracted conflicts. Western powers, freed from the former threat, were eager to commit military units in peace operations. The...
This monograph argues that tactical disruption is an operational concept which will lead to superior friendly combat power at the decisive point. This relative combat power is forged by the commander from the capabilities of his unit, and his...
Throughout its history the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has exhibited brilliant tactical performance. The War of Independence, the Sinai Campaign, the Six Day War, and even the 1973 War placed Israel on a martial pedestal with few peers. On closer...
Today's forces operate in the ever shifting and complex environment of intra-state and ethnic conflict. Marked by excessive violence and rising anarchy due to the disintegration of governing mechanisms, these conflicts pose new challenges to...
In the wake of hostilities, military professionals should not foreswear changes and adjustments designed to make their forces more proficient on future battlefields. Military forces that have just suffered a costly defeat often manifest a greater...
This monograph seeks to answer the question of how the nature of a war affects the following peacekeeping operation. The paper uses the war between Egypt and Israel in October 1973 and the United Nations Emergency Force II as a case study. The...
This monograph looks at operational art practiced by an outnumbered force. Specifically, the research question is: How have outnumbered armies designed and executed successful campaigns? Simply stated, this study looks at how outnumbered forces...
The United States of America today exerts unprecedented influence over international events as the world 's only remaining superpower. Since the end of the Cold War, the frequency of American foreign intervention and operational tempo of American...
In both the 1956 and 1967 wars, Abu Ageila was the main gateway to the Sinai for the Israel Defense Forces. Yet there were marked differences between Egyptian and Israeli war plans, preparations, operations, and results in the two battles for the...
The next desert war the United States fights could be against an enemy more comparable to us in training, motivation, and technology than the recent conflict in the Persian Gulf. The Middle East is a dangerous part of the world where we have...
The United States Army has spent substantial resources and effort developing a cohesive plan for adapting to the changing world environment of the twenty-first century, commonly called ‘transformation.’ The Army has experimented and fielded new...
Over the past ten years, addressing what Strategic Communications is has been a challenge for the military community. It is at times referred to as a process, referred to in the context of the strategic level of war, and referred to in the context...
The United States' premier expeditionary force in readiness is arguably the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps has been winning battles for over 225 years, and, perhaps understandably so, has developed a resistance to organizational...
The purpose of this monograph is to provide operational commanders and staff with a glimpse of the potential of non-lethal power of culture. This monograph suggests that it maybe possible to weaponize culture, specifically through the use of...
The Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) celebrated their twentieth anniversary in the Sinai Desert in 2002. During the past twenty years there has hardly been a shot fired in anger between Egypt and Israel, the antagonists the MFO is charged...
A special edition of the Combined Arms Center research and publication index (January-December 2005) which contains information on the availability of research products and how to acquire them. Most of the research products listed in this index are...