Digital Commons Network^™

Parameters Spring 2021, Usawc Press

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Veteran Disability Compensation And The Army Profession: Good Intentions Gone Awry, Leonard Wong, Stephen J. Gerras Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Previous studies analyzing disability compensation have decried its $76 billion annual budget or warned of its perverse ability to incentivize veterans not to work. This study focuses on the impact of this moral hazard on the US Army profession. If soldiers continue to capitalize on an extremely permissive disability system, the trust between society and the military may be threatened, and future Army readiness may be jeopardized should disability compensation be added to the marginal cost of a soldier. More importantly, many of today’s soldiers are rationalizing disability compensation as something owed to them—not for a debilitating injury, but for …

Book Reviews, Usawc Parameters

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Civilians, Urban Warfare, And Us Doctrine, Andrew Bell

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Never Again? Germany's Lessons From The War In Afghanistan, Philipp Münch

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

From The Editor In Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria Ii

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Parameters Winter 2020, Usawc Parameters

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Contribution Warfare: Sweden's Lessons From The War In Afghanistan, Jan Ångström

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

A Hard Look At Hard Power: Assessing The Defense Capabilities Of Key Us Allies And Security Partners—Second Edition, Gary J. Schmitt Mr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

With the United States facing two major revisionist powers, Russia and China, as well as additional security threats from North Korea, Iran, and jihadist terrorism, a critical advantage for the United States is its global network of alliances and strategic partners. As the 2018 National Defense Strategy states, “Alliances and partnerships are crucial to our strategy, providing a durable asymmetric strategic advantage that no competitor or rival can match.”

The advantage of having military allies and partners is enhanced by the core capacity of the American military having remained largely the same over the past decade, though the global security …

Security Threats, American Pressure, And The Role Of Key Personnel: How Nato’S Defence Planning Process Is Alleviating The Burden-Sharing Dilemma, John R. Deni

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

In 2017, for the first time since the end of the Cold War, none of the capability targets identified in NATO’s quadrennial NATO Defence Planning Process (NDPP) were left on the negotiating table. Previously, capability targets were identified by the alliance’s secretariat, but they remained unfilled as allies failed to assume responsibility for them.

This monograph examines the 2014–18 iteration of the NDPP, which represented a stunning turnaround in transatlantic burden sharing. The analysis reveals a combination of factors—the changed threat environment, political pressure from Washington, and the role of “policy entrepreneurs” working within NATO—best explain the alliance’s success in …

A Changing International Order? Implications For The Security Environment, Christopher Ankersen, William G. Braun Iii, Ferry De Kerckhove, Carol V. Evans, Kathryn M. Fisher, Samit Ganguly, Anna Geis, Sara K. Mcguire, Kim Richard Nossal, Ben Rowswell, Stéfanie Von Hlatky

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

KCIS2019 examined the implications of the changing international order for international security. It studied the hypercompetitive, multipolar environment in which we find ourselves, marked by a persistent struggle for influence and position within a “grey zone” of competition. This edited collection features contributions from academic and military experts who have examined the future of the liberal international order and what is at stake. These evidence-based examinations discuss the challenges to the order, and why it has been so difficult to articulate a compelling narrative to support the continuation of American leadership.

Mission Command Of Multi-Domain Operations, Mark Balboni, John A. Bonin, Robert Mundell, Doug Orsi

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This research monograph explores the Army’s emerging concept of multi-domain operations and its implications on the mission command approach. The transition to multi-domain operations changes the traditional view of how Army commanders and staffs conduct operations in the physical environment to include simultaneously operations in the information environment within the competition continuum.

This monograph will utilize the introduction of the aircraft during World War I as a historical case study for the integration of new domains. The Army has integrated new domains in the past and this example provides the historical context for the challenges involving integration of new domains. …

A Policy Response To Islamic State Extremist Fighter Battlefield Migration, Robert J. Bunker Dr.

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

June 2014 to December 2017 represented the high tide of radical Islamist (Salafi-jihadist) territorial control under the authority of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. This monograph analyzes and provides policy response options for US national security and Army planners concerning the potential for postterritorial caliphate battlefield migration by the sizable contingent of battle-hardened Islamic State foreign fighters situated within various enclaves in Syria and Iraq. The monograph achieves these ends by

• discussing Islamic State territorial eras and demographics;
• offering an overview of the initial inflows of these fighters into the territorial caliphate, outflows to the United States, and …

Book Reviews, Usawc Parameters

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

On “Social Media Warriors: Leveraging A New Battlespace”, Jason W. Warren

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

The Us Army And The Pacific: Legacies And Challenges, David M. Finkelstein

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

The Indo-Pacific will loom large in the future of the US Army. The region is increasingly important to myriad US national interests and is a major playing field for great-power competition. As it deepens its Pacific orientation, the Army has a rich institutional and operational legacy to draw upon, as well as encouraging recent initiatives that auger well for its ability to support the Joint Force in this critical part of the world.

Disintegrating The Enemy: The Pla’S Info-Messaging, Jacqueline N. Deal

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

The DoD can exploit weaknesses in Chinese military attempts at political warfare, or “enemy disintegration,” most recently observed in PLA media on the subject of the pandemic. Targeted information efforts will signal the United States’ refusal to be intimidated, expose untruths in Chinese government messaging to its citizens, and reassure relevant third parties of US military resolve.

Technology And Strategic Surprise: Adapting To An Era Of Open Innovation, Audrey Kurth Cronin

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

Technological revolutions affecting state power are either open or closed. The precursor to the digital age is not the twentieth century, with state-controlled programs yielding nuclear weapons, but the late nineteenth century, when tinkerers invented the radio, airplane, and high explosives—all crucial to subsequent wars. To avoid strategic surprise, the US government must take a broader view of how today’s open innovation is changing society and adapt.

Training Better Arab Armies, Michael J. Eisenstadt, Kenneth M. Pollack

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

US security force assistance missions to Arab partner states have had limited success, due in part to a tendency to impose American doctrine, which embodies American cultural values and norms, on Arab armed forces. Accordingly, US security force assistance missions should train Arab partners to fight in a manner better suited to their own cultural preferences and operational requirements.

On “Military Anthropology”, Anna Simons

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Enduring Information Vigilance: Government After Covid-19, Nina Jankowicz, Henry Collis

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

The framework of Enduring Information Vigilance will help ally and partner governments deny advantages adversaries gain through their use of information operations in our new global perpetual information environment. This approach recognizes the persistent threat, unifies responses within and between governments, and resolves societal fissures toward a more global democratic information environment.

Parameters Autumn: 2020, Usawc Parameters

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

The Covid-19 Enemy Is Still Advancing, Ryan J. Scott, Odelle J. Means, Patricia M. Shields

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

The US military has a historical precedence for dealing with a pandemic while simultaneously conducting large-scale combat operations. Two twentieth-century examples assess the extent to which the military adapted operations following an influenza outbreak, and make clear military and civilian leaders must balance strategic objectives when facing threat multipliers such as COVID-19.

A Bizarre Pair: Counterinsurgency Lessons For Cyber Conflict, Jason Healey

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

The lessons of counterinsurgency have deeper implications for cyber conflict than previous research has identified. Two decades of experience in Iraq and Afghanistan provide insights into the cyber strategy of defending forward including treating major cybersecurity and technology companies as host-nation partners and focusing on winning the hearts and minds of global netizens.

Rise And Fall? The Rise And Fall Of Isis In Libya, Azeem Ibrahim

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

This monograph places events in Libya since 2011 into their historical and social context and argues a form of radical Islamism, linked to long-standing national defiance of outside control, remains a factor even after the defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This entrenched radicalism means extremist Islamist groups may still make a renewed bid for power until the current civil war is resolved. At the time of this writing, the military campaign by the Libyan National Army has stalled outside Tripoli. Now is the time for the United States and the wider international community to step …

An Army Transformed: Usindopacom Hypercompetition And Us Army Theater Design, Nathan P. Freier Mr., John Schaus, William G. Braun Iii

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

The United States faces a hypercompetitive geopolitical landscape in the Indo-Pacific region, arguably the most consequential theater for US national interests over the coming decades. Although the United States has created exquisite military capabilities to counter insurgencies and fight terrorists, rivals like China have developed a whole-of-government toolkit focused on expanding their span of control and freedom of action, separating the United States from its allies, and deterring US leaders from greater engagement in East Asia.
China is actively transforming its military forces, with an eye toward defeating the United States in the event of armed hostilities. The People’s Republic …

Key Strategic Issues List (Ksil) 2021-2022, Steve Cunningham

Articles & Editorials

New for Academic Years 2021-2022, the USAWC has published an updated Key Strategic Issues List (KSIL). The KSIL informs students, faculty, and external research associates of strategic topics requiring research and analysis. The USAWC in coordination with Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA), major commands throughout the Army, and the joint and interagency community has updated the Army's priorities for strategic analysis to address issues in the emerging strategic environment and to align with elements of the current Army Vision and Army Strategy. The USAWC will continue to address select topics as Integrated Research Projects and through other research efforts. …

Key Strategic Issues List (Ksil) 2021–2022, Steve Cunningham

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

New for Academic Years 2021-2022, the USAWC has published an updated Key Strategic Issues List (KSIL). The KSIL informs students, faculty, and external research associates of strategic topics requiring research and analysis. The USAWC in coordination with Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA), major commands throughout the Army, and the joint and interagency community has updated the Army's priorities for strategic analysis to address issues in the emerging strategic environment and to align with elements of the current Army Vision and Army Strategy. The USAWC will continue to address select topics as Integrated Research Projects and through other research efforts. …

Striking The Balance: Us Army Force Posture In Europe, 2028—A Study Sponsored By The Office Of The Secretary Of The Army, J. P. Clark Col, C. Pfaff

Books, Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Within the context of Europe, the US Army must develop a force posture that best navigates the tensions between deterring or defeating armed conflict at an acceptable cost, successfully competing below armed conflict, and maintaining global responsiveness and institutional flexibility through the global operating model and dynamic force employment. While Russia’s economy, and consequently military capability will likely shrink over the next 10 years, which can make them more dangerous as the Kremlin continues to try to punch above its weight. The ideal force posture needs to accomplish a range of on-going and contingency missions and also be adaptive enough …

The Compound Security Dilemma: Threats At The Nexus Of War And Peace, Isaiah Wilson Iii, Scott A. Smitson

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.