The contemporary operating environment and recent increases in asymmetric tactics to counter the conventional military superiority of the U.S. presents significant operational challenges. Recovery forces are vulnerable conducting personnel recovery...
From the conclusion of the Third Afghan War (1919) to India’s Independence (1947), Great Britain governed the wild, mountainous territory of the North-West Frontier that borders Afghanistan. This control used a variety of mature political and...
This study examines the relationship between the efforts of the United States to achieve the fullest possible accounting of its prisoners of war and missing in action (POW/MIA), which resulted from the conflict in Vietnam, and subsequent diplomatic...
Recent military interventions in Haiti, Somalia, Iraq, and elsewhere confirm the axiom that it is possible to win every battle and yet still manage to lose a war. Although the United States has developed a method of warfare that can produce...
The study focuses on analyzing the ongoing acts of violence and radicalism by individuals associated with Islam, in the light of teachings and principles of this great religion of peace, which denounces terrorism. Tracing the roots of terror in...
This study examines the U.S. Army's use of tank destroyers in World War II, particularly the origins and evolution of tank destroyer doctrine, changes in training at the tank destroyer school at Camp Hood, and selection of weapons systems taken to...
Dr. Richard Gatling invented the world’s first practical machine gun in 1862. Between that weapon and subsequent improved designs, the world’s armies had roughly 50 years to adopt the machine gun and perfect its employment before it helped...
This thesis examines the strategy of the United States Army's Punitive Expedition into Mexico following the raid on Columbus, New Mexico, by Francisco "Pancho" Villa and his followers on 9 March 1916. In analyzing this topic, the thesis focuses on...
The increasing likelihood and potentially devastating effects of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) use against the United States has forced a reexamination of America’s national security posture here at home. Fortunately, much has been done...
This study seeks to determine the potential causes for unit collapse in combat through a comparison and analysis of two American divisions. The first, the 35th Infantry Division fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in September 1918, in World War...
This study investigates the viability of replacing manned aircraft with unmanned combat aerial vehicles in the armed reconnaissance mission. Increased costs associated with operating a viable Air Force combined with a growing aversion to human,...
This study explores the Future Tactical Truck System (FTTS) as it applies to the sustainment distribution system on the future battlefield. Objective Force logistics on the battlefield is required by the Objective Force Concept White Paper to be...
This study examines the initiative to build a twenty-first century destroyer that has a crew of only ninety-five sailors. DD21 will lead the Navy in the next century. The crew of 300 in today’s destroyers operates systems, sensors, and weapons...
Asymmetric threats counter an adversary’s strengths by focusing on its weaknesses. In the post-Cold War world asymmetric threats to U.S. national security are far more likely than they were just a decade ago. This paper considers asymmetric...
This thesis is a historical analysis of Major General Philip H. Sheridan and his division during the Battle of Chickamauga. Sheridan led an experienced division onto the battlefield on 19 September 1863 after completing a march of over one hundred...
The weaponization of space is a long debated topic. So far, space-based assets have not been targeted, although the technology exists to permit this kind of attack. The central research question is: Should the U.S. develop and employ space-based...
This thesis is a historical analysis of Major General James Negley and his division during the Battle of Chickamauga. An examination of Negley, his actions, his major subordinate commanders, and the regiments of the division was conducted to...
This study investigates the best method for developing character and aligning personal and organizational values in the United States Coast Guard. All five of the military services embarked on comprehensive efforts to develop character and teach...
This study investigates whether the methods of instruction in the Captains Career Course have evolved to account for technological advancements to train the cognitive domain. The Army is investing considerable resources in the development of...
This thesis is a historical analysis and an assessment of Brigadier General Jefferson C. Davis’ life with special emphasis on his division’s performance during the Civil War. The thesis will discuss Davis’ quick rise through the military...