Digital Commons Network^™

Space Warfare: Strategy, Principles And Policy, 2nd Ed., Todd W. Pennington, Emmy Kanarowski

Joint Force Quarterly

The second edition of Space Warfare by John J. Klein offers a timely and comprehensive update to a foundational text in spacepower strategy. Reviewed by Pennington and Kanarowski, this expanded volume deepens Klein’s signature analogies between maritime and space domains while addressing the significant geopolitical, doctrinal, and legal changes that have reshaped military space operations since the book’s original release in 2006. Notable additions include new chapters on space-based offensive and defensive platforms, “Guardian Angels” and “Celestial Demons,” and a thought-provoking call for a future Space National Guard. While some proposals are forward-looking, Klein’s work remains grounded in strategic theory, …

Human, Machine, War: How The Mind-Tech Nexus Will Win Future Wars, Frank Hoffman

Joint Force Quarterly

In his review of Human, Machine, War, Frank Hoffman explores a timely and thought-provoking anthology that examines how the fusion of human cognition and advanced technologies will define success in future warfare. Edited by Nicholas Wright, Michael Miklaucic, and Todd Veazie, the book argues that winning tomorrow’s conflicts hinges not just on technological superiority, but on mastering the interplay between human factors and emerging capabilities like AI, neuroscience, and cognitive enhancement. Featuring insights from leading defense thinkers, including retired Lieutenant General Jack Shanahan and defense neuroscientist James Giordano, the volume delves into the ethical, operational, and strategic dimensions of …

The Long Pivot: The Development Of The Joint Warfighting Concept, Wilson C. Blythe Jr.

Joint Force Quarterly

In the wake of America’s long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military faced an urgent need to pivot from counterinsurgency back to conventional warfighting, especially against peer competitors like China and Russia. This article traces the decade-long struggle to realign Department of Defense priorities, culminating in the development of the Joint Warfighting Concept (JWC). Early efforts, such as the Third Offset Strategy, highlighted technological innovation but lacked a unifying vision for how to fight future wars. The Services led their own modernization efforts, while analytical tools like Support for Strategic Analysis (SSA) fell short in shaping a cohesive …

A Conditions-Based Look At A Cyber Force, Shiraz Khan

Joint Force Quarterly

As threats in cyberspace continue to grow, U.S. policymakers are debating whether it's time to create a dedicated Cyber Force. In this Joint Force Quarterly article, Shiraz Khan uses a conditions-based framework, drawing from historical precedents like the formation of the Air Force and Space Force to assess whether the time is right for an independent military cyber service. Applying Dyck and Starke’s model for organizational breakaways, Khan explores the political, operational, and strategic conditions that led past capabilities to evolve into standalone services. Today, cyberspace shows similar signals: rising strategic importance, competing visions across Services, high-profile advocates, and institutional …

Revive: Getting Medical Supplies And Expertise Right In Distributed Maritime Operations, Seth Reini, Jonathan J. Haase

Joint Force Quarterly

As the U.S. Navy prepares for possible large-scale conflict in the Indo-Pacific, ensuring wounded warfighters get the care they need and fast, has become more urgent than ever. In this Joint Force Quarterly article, “Revive” is introduced as a vital addition to the Navy’s contested logistics model. Beyond resupply, rearm, refuel, and repair, “revive” focuses on getting medical supplies to ships and moving injured personnel safely out of harm’s way, even across vast, dangerous seas. The article draws powerful lessons from both recent and historic conflicts, showing that survival and morale depend on agile, ready-to-move medical systems. It makes the …

T-Birrd: Transforming The Future Of Military And Humanitarian Logistics, Jacob R. Bright

Joint Force Quarterly

This article explores the transformative potential of Terrestrial-Based Inserted Rocket Resource Delivery (T-BIRRD) as a cutting-edge logistics solution for both U.S. military operations and humanitarian aid efforts. Leveraging commercial space launch capabilities, T-BIRRD offers unprecedented speed and reach for resource delivery in contested or remote environments. The discussion addresses key legal and policy considerations, including compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), the Law of War (LoW), and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). It also examines the strategic risks of launch misinterpretation, cyber vulnerabilities, and integration challenges within global airspace governance frameworks. The article calls for a comprehensive …

Building Strategic Lethality: Special Operations Models For Joint Force Learning And Leader Development, Spencer B. Meredith Iii

Joint Force Quarterly

This article examines how U.S. Joint Special Operations Forces (SOF), particularly through SAG-U and CJSOTF-10, have rapidly adapted to support Ukraine amid Russia’s full-scale invasion, offering a model for future joint force innovation. SAG-U emerged as a key logistics and coordination hub, integrating NATO and interagency partners to manage complex, high-stakes supply chains. Meanwhile, CJSOTF-10 and its subordinate SOTF-10.1 shifted from traditional training and advising roles to rapid tactical adaptation, virtual assistance, and technological integration to meet evolving battlefield demands. The creation of the Remote Advise and Assist Cell (RAAC) illustrates how remote support and real-time data can bridge operational …

From High Seas To Highlands: Framing U.S. Defense Strategy With Southeast Asia’S Geography, Caitlin P. Irby

Joint Force Quarterly

This article analyzes the strategic importance of Southeast Asia to U.S. foreign policy amid rising competition with China, emphasizing the region's complex geography, diverse political systems, and centrality to global economic growth. It identifies the South China Sea and Strait of Malacca as key flash points where conflict with China could arise and outlines the U.S. military’s need to deter conflict while preparing to win one if necessary. To do so, the United States must build resilient, dispersed basing networks; enhance its ability to maneuver across challenging terrain and maritime environments; and develop robust situational awareness through improved sensors and …

Rightsizing The Pla Air Force: Revisiting An Analytic Framework, Lauren Edson, Phillip C. Saunders

Joint Force Quarterly

This article evaluates the modernization of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) from 2007 to 2025 using the Saunders-Quam framework, which identifies four core trade-offs: changes in roles and missions, domestic versus foreign procurement, high-tech versus low-tech systems, and combat versus support aircraft. While the framework remains a useful analytical tool, it underestimated the Chinese Communist Party’s willingness to fund expensive modernization efforts and the rapid advancements in China’s defense industrial base. The article identifies key factors missing from the original framework such as doctrinal shifts, increased emphasis on counterintervention, maritime expansion, and the rise of unmanned systems. It …

Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 118, 3rd Quarter 2025, National Defense University Press

Joint Force Quarterly

This issue of Joint Force Quarterly addresses key strategic, operational, and doctrinal questions shaping the future of the joint force. Articles examine mobilization as a strategic imperative, PLA Air Force modernization, Southeast Asia’s geographic role in U.S. defense strategy, and leader development for strategic lethality. Contributions also explore AI’s role in detecting deepfakes, the civil-military relationship, and innovations in military logistics and cyber force design. A retrospective on the Joint Warfighting Concept and critical reviews of recent defense literature provide context and continuity. Collectively, these pieces offer insight into how the joint force must evolve to meet emerging challenges.

Academic Year 2025–26 Annual Estimate Of The Strategic Security Environment, Us Army War College

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Maintaining strategic advantage demands professional discourse from across the force. The Academic Year 2025–26 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment provides a framework for those aspiring to tackle the Department of Defense’s most pressing challenges. This year’s authors highlight trending challenges and identify potential tension points across 15 sections organized into four enduring themes. This survey of regional, domestic, and institutional challenges represents the collective expertise of the US Army War College. The narrative is supplemented by a tailored list of 100 command-sponsored questions from 43 different Army and Joint organizations from across the Department of Defense. Combined, the …

Stepping Up, Keeping On Track, And Pulling Your Own Weight: Collaborative Arts-Based Service-Learning Metaphors, Marcy Meyer

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

In this study, the author explores metaphors related to students’ experiences conducting collaborative arts-based ethnographic research in a U.S. nonprofit organization. A metaphor analysis of 25 students’ essays revealed they were most likely to frame their experiences with arts-based service learning as a journey or a sports contest. The author examines the extent to which students’ metaphors legitimize or delegitimize arts-based service learning, as well as the degree of novelty that characterizes these metaphors. She explores the implications of her findings for teaching and promoting arts-based service learning in the academy.

2025 O'Callahan Society Newsletter, O'Callahan Society, College Of The Holy Cross

O'Callahan Society Newsletters

This annual newsletter of the O'Callahan Society includes articles about the 2024 O'Callahan Society Fall Dinner. Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Schmiegel, United States Marine Corps (Retired) and Holy Cross Class of 1989 was the guest speaker. VADM Nancy S. Lacore, HC ‘90 was 2025 Annual Meeting Speaker. Unit News. Alumni News. Society News.

Book Review: How To Fight A War, Chase Metcalf

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Mike Martin

Reviewed by Colonel Chase Metcalf (US Army), assistant professor, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College

Current member of the British Parliament, former British Army officer with Afghanistan experience, and senior visiting research fellow at Kings College London’s War Studies Department Dr. Mike Martin delivers what he terms a “reference guide for the Commander in Chief” in How to Fight a War (3). The result is far more and will serve as an accessible primer for aspiring national security professionals and senior leaders seeking to understand the basic principles of employing violence to …

Book Review: Dr. Seuss And The Art Of War: Secret Military Lessons, John Erickson

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Editor: Montgomery McFate

Reviewed by John Erickson, senior engineer, Axiom Technologies

Dr. Seuss and the Art of War: Secret Military Lessons is broken into five parts. Part one introduces Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss). Part two discusses Geisel’s knowledge of strategy, while part three discusses specialty topics. Parts four and five examine luck in war and post-traumatic stress, respectively. The reviewer notes, “because Dr. Seuss used the genre of story as a pedagogical device, he likely made military strategy digestible to a wider audience.”

©2025 John Erickson

A New City For A New Era: Xiong'an As Showcase Of China's Evolving Urban Ideology, Andrew Stokols

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

Cities have long been expressions of political ideology in China and elsewhere. During China’s rapid urbanization over the past few decades, “new areas” became popular strategies to promote urban growth, following the success of Shenzhen, widely regarded as China’s first special economic zone. Today under Xi, Xiong’an New Area has become the latest “new area of national significance.” But unlike previous new areas in China, Xiong’an has become wedded to a distinct vision of the urban in Xi Jinping’s China, one in which the excesses of reform-era urbanization are controlled through new forms of affordable housing and finance, new ecological …

Book Review: The War For Ukraine: Strategy And Adaptation Under Fire, Jonathan P. Klug

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Mick Ryan

Reviewed by Dr. Jonathan P. Klug (colonel, US Army, retired), course integrator, Theater Army Staff Course, Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College

Mick Ryan’s book The War for Ukraine: Strategy and Adaptation Under Fire examines Russia’s and Ukraine’s strategies and, and Ukraine’s NATO supporters, “exploring how the Russians and Ukrainians adapted during the war—on the battlefield and institutionally.” The book has two parts. Part one explores strategy. Part two discusses adaptation in the Russia-Ukraine War and includes points about adaptation for future wars. The reviewer sees it as a must-read saying, “The War for Ukraine …

Cognitive Defense: 2024 Homeland Defense Symposium

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

©2025 Mark R. Landahl – Chapter 1

©2025 George M. Schwartz – Chapter 3

The US Army War College hosted the inaugural annual Homeland Defense Symposium from February 6 to 8, 2024, at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The conference, entitled “Reestablishing the Sanctuary,” featured plenary presentations on defending critical infrastructure, contested deployment, and cognitive defense by experts from military, academic, and government organizations.

As highlighted in the conference theme, attendees recognized the homeland does not provide the sanctuary it once did, and our society is already under attack. Using disinformation and social media means, our adversaries are engaged in cognitive warfare …

Artificial Intelligence In Surveillance And Privacy, Elizabeth D. Brasher

NEXUS: The Liberty Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies

This paper attempts to provide insight into the new and developing world of artificial intelligence and its integration into surveillance technologies. These technologies being implemented by the government, retail companies, healthcare organizations, and more, all raise ethical questions and implications addressed in this article; other topics, such as the integration of Christian ethics and responsibilities, are also explored.

Parameters Summer 2025, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Welcome to the Summer 2025 issue of Parameters. This issue consists of an In Focus special commentary, three forums (Indo-Pacific Challenges, Russia-Ukraine Issues, and Historical Studies).

A More Perfect Peace: Can The Russia-Ukraine War End Justly?, Nathaniel B. Davis, Marlon A. Thomas

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that thinking creatively about war termination, both philosophically and politically, utilizing jus post bellum principles and counterintuitive political trade-offs, reveals an opportunity to achieve a sustainable peace that approximates justice. The article surveys how war aims among belligerents have changed, indicating that further change is possible, particularly at the point of war termination. Next, the article examines jus post bellum principles and their application to the Russia-Ukraine War. Finally, the article contends that Ukraine relinquishing Crimea and the Donbas in exchange for NATO membership might be the key to achieving a durable peace that addresses long-term security.

Book Reviews, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

China’S Role In A Future Korean War, Jake Rinaldi

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

This article argues that China’s intervention in a Korean conflict will hinge more on North Korea’s ability to hold territory than on bilateral ties. Rather than treat Chinese intervention as a yes-or-no proposition, this study models three scenarios—full intervention, sustained support, and limited support—based on North Korean resilience. Using Chinese-language sources and scenario-based analysis, it assesses how each model would shape key functional areas such as ISR, cyber, materiel, and force posture. The findings offer US defense planners a framework for anticipating variable People’s Liberation Army involvement in a future Korea contingency.

The Next National Defense Strategy: Mission-Based Force Planning, Frank G. Hoffman

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

The Pentagon needs to embrace a new methodology called mission-based planning to size and shape the defense enterprise properly. This article critiques several proposals for reestablishing the long-standing two major theater war construct in the face of ongoing shifts in the strategic environment, including the nation’s $36 trillion debt and prospects of annual interest payments beyond $1 trillion. It presents a mission priority alternative focused on strategic prioritization based on the authors’ four decades of experience in strategy/force planning at the service, the department, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense levels. Strategic-level service planners and students of Joint …

The Instrumentalization Of The Unprivileged Combatants By Western Countries Aimed To Oppress National Liberation Wars, Fares Mahmoud Def-Allah Abdelhamid

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is purported to be the humanization of wars. Nonetheless, the atrocities committed in wars and the war criminals’ impunity suggest the failure of IHL. Notwithstanding, some voices call for reforming and developing IHL. In contrast, this thesis argues that IHL should be rejected entirely since the distinction between privileged and unprivileged combatants indicates that IHL is biased against anti-colonizers. It is biased in three senses. Firstly, IHL, particularly the distinction between privileged and unprivileged combatants, is dominated by Western rationality, which can be noticed in the domination of the civilization concept with its …

The U.S. And Japan: Containing A Rising China?, Kaitlyn Elizabeth Early

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research involved investigating the impact that the coherence between international relations (IR) theories and national strategies and policy practice through effective implementation (independent variables) have on China’s perceived vulnerabilities (CPV; dependent variable) using the Cold War, the United States, and Japan case studies. The research focused on how the coherence between these variables could shape CPV and strategic calculations, particularly concerning Taiwan and the South China Sea. Additionally, the research involved analyzing how the modern strategies of conventional deterrence (i.e., the strategy of denial and integrated deterrence) influence CPV. This study was guided by the hypothesis that the degree …

Exploiting Vulnerability: Human Trafficking As A Tool Of Genocide, Madison Bryant

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis examines the relationship between human trafficking and genocide, arguing that when trafficking is used with the intent to destroy a targeted group, it should be understood and prosecuted as an act of genocide. While international law traditionally treats genocide and human trafficking as distinct crimes, historical and contemporary evidence reveals significant overlap in their mechanisms, motivations, and outcomes. Through a thematic analysis of three case studies, this research demonstrates how trafficking has been systematically employed to further genocidal objectives, including displacement, exploitation, cultural erasure, and the destruction of communities. The case studies are the genocide of Indigenous peoples …

Economic Warfare Against Iran’S Nuclear Program, Zoey E. Weiss

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This study evaluates the effectiveness of economic sanctions imposed on Iran’s nuclear ambitions, with a particular emphasis on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the Maximum Pressure Campaign (MPC). Using the Economic Coercion Trilemma framework, this research analyzes the impact of these sanctions regimes on Iran’s nuclear program through the lenses of efficacy, political feasibility, and unintended consequences. Ultimately this study explores the question: Could sustained sanctions have constrained Iran’s access to critical resources, effectively halting its pursuit of nuclear weapons? The findings suggest that while both the JCPOA and MPC had varying degrees of success, neither fully …

Management Of Embedded Unexploded Ordnance In Low-Resource Settings: A Scoping Review, Eric S. Weinstein, David Nitsch, Chris Leboa, S. Yves G. Sanou, Yves Aziz Nacanabo, Serhii Tertyshnyii, Amila Ratnayake, Akul Gupta, David T. Walker, Paul Amoroso, Barclay Stewart, Hannah Wild

College of Health Professions Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVES: When unexploded ordnance (UXO) is embedded in the body, the effect of explosive weapons used in conflict is amplified. Though relatively rare, such events present potentially devastating consequences for the patient and medical providers as routine diagnostic and therapeutic procedures hold potential to initiate detonation of the embedded UXO (eUXO). The objective is to identify and synthesize available literature relating to the management of eUXO in low resource settings.

METHODS: A scoping review was conducted using PRISMA-ScR methodology to evaluate literature in all languages from all date ranges until January 31, 2024, discussing the management of casualties with eUXO, …

How The U.S. Can Protect Taiwan In The 21st Century, Zachary Surmacz

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

What U.S. policy would deescalate cross-strait tensions, while maintaining Taiwan’s security? This article is supported by the information and perspectives received from 12, one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with a variety of thought leaders in Taiwan. The goal of this proposal is to provide policymakers in the United States with a path for protecting Taiwan, while responsibly managing the U.S.-China relationship. The paper begins with a short background of the complex policy problem facing Taiwan and a review of the current official U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity." The article then provides an evaluation of the U.S. policy by comparing its stated goals …