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...
This study investigates the challenges of planning stability operations following major combat operations. Post-conflict stability operations are difficult to plan and execute if military commanders and campaign planners do not take a comprehensive...
The Command and General Staff College endeavors to instill critical thinking as a skill practiced by its graduates. To this end the college has introduced the concept of critical thinking as a class within the core curriculum. Students must take a...
Does following the rule of law assist security forces in defeating an armed insurgency? If so, what factors assist or prevent security forces from conducting operations in accordance with rule of law principles? Counterinsurgency literature and...
In August of 2006, the world witnessed a guerilla air war. Hezbollah, a non-state actor, attacked Israel from the air. The Israeli Defense Force was unable to counter this assault and its second largest city, Haifa, came under attack from...
This monograph shows how understanding three conceptual tradeoffs of complex versus complicated, complexity at large-scale versus fine-scale, and exploration of potential problems versus exploitation of known solutions can help the military...
Current and past military commitments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, and Vietnam have been influenced by military advice to civilian leaders over the past 60+ years. This monograph examines whether today's military processes and culture adequately...
On 25 May 2001, the U.S. Army Training and Leader Development Panel (ATLDP) released a report on the results of extensive research concerning the future direction of training and leader development. As part of the findings, conclusions and...
This monograph discusses the implications of learning organization theory on leadership, primarily at the operational level. Learning organization theory is a popular methodology for enhancing the operations of complex organizations. Of particular...
The evolution of the Strategic Concept, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) blueprint for its approach to the global security environment, has undergone substantial change during the last ten years. These changes reflect the vastly...
This monograph explores the American media's influence on ethical military policy and attempts to understand the complex relationship between the United States' military, the American media, and U.S. policy makers in the context of a changing...
The purpose of this study was to determine if there is any validity to using the current Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) to gauge Soldier readiness for combat. The study was conducted in four stages. The APFT tasks; pushup, sit-up, and run were...
On January 11, 2007, the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) launched a direct-ascent anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon and destroyed one of their satellites. Uncovering Chinese motivations for this action has been problematic because the Chinese government...
U.S. military, Department of State, and Iraqi officials face many challenges moving a unified Iraq forward. This paper attempts to answer a critical question: Can local Iraqi grassroots councils facilitate a strategic endstate like achieving...
As originally conceived in World War I, combat reporting from tactical aircraft has the potential to provide critical information concerning friendly operations and enemy activity to enhance situational awareness, supporting force protection and...
There is broad consensus that attention to health sector needs plays an important role in addressing the causes of state fragility, whether to avoid conflict, during conflict, or post-conflict. Based on the premise that health-related interventions...
Senior USCG leaders consistently recognize significant gaps in officer performance. As a result, leader sponsored studies have delved into the root causes of these gaps resulting in recommendations to resolve the concerns. This paper will define...
Understanding the professional military ethic (PME) requires first understanding the conceptual foundations upon which it stands. This foundation includes objective morality, the sociology of professions, professional ethics in general, and the...
The purpose of this study was to examine technological strategic resource dependence, its potential for conflict in the twenty-first century, and subsequent influences on United States (U.S.) national security policy. In particular, the study...
Over the past fifteen years, many have argued that the military’s overwhelming battlefield successes stem from the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reformation Act of 1986. While few can debate the efficacy of joint US military operations in a...