Digital Commons Network^™

The Future Of Stealth Military Doctrine, Theodoros G. Kostis

Joint Force Quarterly

This article explores the future of stealth military doctrine and argues that conventional stealth, centered on reducing radar cross-section and other detectable signatures, faces growing limitations against advanced integrated air defense systems. The author proposes shifting from a model based primarily on high speed and low observability toward one that emphasizes surprise through obfuscation. Central to this approach is the stand-in variable speed multiple-domain (SiVSMD) offensive concept, which combines artificial intelligence, autonomous unmanned systems, swarm tactics, miniaturization, electronic warfare, cyber capabilities, deception, and mosaic warfare. Small, distributed platforms would operate across land, sea, undersea, and air domains, varying their speed …

Weapons In Space: Technology, Politics, And The Rise And Fall Of The Strategic Defense Initiative, Todd W. Pennington

Joint Force Quarterly

This book review assesses Aaron Bateman’s Weapons in Space: Technology, Politics, and the Rise and Fall of the Strategic Defense Initiative, which uses recently declassified U.S., Soviet, and British records to reinterpret the origins, development, and legacy of the Strategic Defense Initiative. Bateman emphasizes the close relationship between political decisionmaking and space technology, particularly the technological overlap between ballistic missile defense and offensive antisatellite capabilities. The review highlights how this entanglement complicated arms control, Cold War diplomacy, U.S. relations with European allies, and efforts to build political support for SDI. It also examines the program’s dependence on costly and …

The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, And The 21st Century’S Greatest Dilemma, Peter Khooshabeh, Robert Underwood

Joint Force Quarterly

This book review assesses Mustafa Suleyman and Michael Bhaskar’s The Coming Wave: Technology, Power, and the 21st Century’s Greatest Dilemma, which surveys the rapid development of artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and other general-purpose technologies and the challenge of containing their unintended consequences. Suleyman argues that falling costs, accelerating innovation, increasing autonomy, and broad applicability are expanding the power of individuals and groups while making emerging technologies difficult to control. The reviewers highlight the book’s treatment of artificial intelligence, generative AI, synthetic biology, advanced energy, and quantum technologies, as well as its proposed containment mechanisms, including regulation, technical safety, …

China’S Use Of Armed Coercion: To Win Without Fighting, Ian Forsyth

Joint Force Quarterly

This book review assesses China’s Use of Armed Coercion: To Win Without Fighting, edited by James A. Siebens, which analyzes how China employs military and paramilitary forces to signal, deter, and coerce while remaining below the threshold of armed conflict. Drawing particular attention to the book’s analysis of more than 200 Chinese coercive military operations conducted between 2000 and 2021, the reviewer highlights patterns in Beijing’s use of armed coercion, including its tendency to portray its actions as defensive, apply pressure in territorial disputes, and use military forces as instruments of political signaling. Case studies involving the East and …

Polybian Warfare: The First Punic War As A Case Study In Strategic Competition And Joint Warfighting, Casey B. Baker

Joint Force Quarterly

This article uses the First Punic War between Rome and Carthage as a case study in strategic competition and joint warfighting. The 23-year conflict demonstrates how enduring political, economic, and geographic interests can produce prolonged competition marked by shifting fortunes, costly stalemates, and repeated reversals. The author highlights the importance of alliances, partnerships, and mercenary forces, showing how changes in military strength, domestic politics, and economic pressures can reshape relationships over time. Rome’s effort to challenge Carthaginian maritime dominance also illustrates the difficulty of building advantage in a new warfighting domain, requiring rapid acquisition, technological innovation, sustained investment, and operational …

It’S The Chain That Broke It: The Strategic Supply Chains Underpinning National Security, Gregory M. Tomlin

Joint Force Quarterly

Strategic supply chain vulnerabilities threaten the Department of Defense’s (DOD) ability to maintain readiness and protect national security. Global supply chains, often dependent on multiple subcontractor tiers, are highly prone to disruptions from geopolitical events, foreign interference, cybersecurity risks, and shortages of critical materials, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic and in delays like those affecting F-35 production. To address these challenges, the DOD must adopt "strategic supply chains" as a core concept in its doctrine, emphasizing continuous risk assessment and safeguards like multisourcing, supply chain nerve centers, and contingency planning. Updating key policies and doctrines, such as Joint Publications …

Bullets, Bandages, And Fairy Dust: Improving Dmo Health Services Support With Wargaming, Debra D. Buckland-Coffey, Robert P. Gerbracht, Kengo Nishida, William R. Gureck

Joint Force Quarterly

This article argues that health services support remains insufficiently integrated into planning, wargaming, and exercises for distributed maritime operations and expeditionary advanced base operations. The authors describe the common practice of “fairy dusting,” in which planners accept unvalidated assumptions about medical support, casualty movement, logistics, and sustainment in order to keep exercises moving. In a contested Indo-Pacific environment, however, high casualty rates, extended evacuation timelines, dispersed forces, vulnerable supply chains, and limited medical capacity could place severe strain on existing health services systems. Drawing on doctrine, after-action reports, and interviews with Navy, Marine Corps, medical, and logistics leaders, the article …

Updating The Tacs/Aags For Large-Scale Combat Operations, Matthew Neuenswander

Joint Force Quarterly

This article reviews the evolution of the Theater Air Control System/Army Air-Ground System (TACS/AAGS) and assesses whether its current structure is adequate for large-scale combat operations. Since the Vietnam War, TACS/AAGS has provided the command-and-control framework for integrating Army and Air Force operations involving joint fires, close air support, air interdiction, airspace control, intelligence, and other air-ground missions. The author argues that decades of counterinsurgency operations, changing Army force structures, emerging long-range fires organizations, dispersed command posts, and Air Force reductions in Tactical Air Control Party personnel have created new challenges for joint air-ground integration. Additional complications include unresolved questions …

Determining Political Objectives, Milan Vego

Joint Force Quarterly

This article explains how political objectives shape grand strategy and national or coalition security strategy and argues that they must be realistic, achievable, and clearly articulated before military options are developed. Political leaders bear primary responsibility for determining these objectives but should incorporate the professional advice of senior military leaders. The author outlines a process that begins with a strategic estimate, identification and prioritization of national interests, and assessment of the enemy, available resources, and political assumptions. Political objectives may be offensive or defensive and limited or unlimited in scope, with their value and ambition affecting the level of effort, …

Is The Pla Overestimating The Potential Of Artificial Intelligence?, Koichiro Takagi

Joint Force Quarterly

This article analyzes how the People’s Liberation Army views the military potential and limitations of artificial intelligence as part of China’s broader drive toward “intelligentization.” Drawing on approximately 370 military theory articles published in PLA Daily in 2023, the author identifies four principal areas in which the PLA expects AI to transform warfare: situational awareness, military decisionmaking, unmanned weapons, and cognitive domain operations. PLA writings also discuss applications in training, logistics, and weapons development. At the same time, the PLA acknowledges significant risks, including unreliable or biased data, system malfunction, loss of human control, unintended escalation, legal and ethical concerns, …

Celtic Security In The Atlantic: How Does Ireland Secure Europe’S Western Flank?, Patrick J. Smith

Joint Force Quarterly

This article argues that Ireland has become a critical vulnerability on Europe’s western flank as Russian military activity exposes gaps in Irish air, maritime, and undersea infrastructure security. Ireland’s limited naval and air capabilities, lack of military radar, and geographic position near major transatlantic sea lanes and undersea cables create risks not only for Ireland but also for NATO and the broader transatlantic security architecture. The author considers two options for strengthening Irish defense: NATO membership or Major Non-NATO Ally status with the United States. Major Non-NATO Ally status could improve Ireland’s access to U.S. equipment, technology, training, and bilateral …

The Urgency Of Warfighting Renewal: Five Principles For Today’S Professional Military Education, Christopher M. Marcell, Gaylon L. Mcalpine, Reagan E. Schaupp, Joseph L. Varuolo

Joint Force Quarterly

This article argues that Professional Military Education must renew its focus on the art and science of warfighting in response to senior Department of Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff guidance. Although PME programs have added content on China, Russia, and other contemporary challenges, the authors contend that topical updates alone do not address deeper concerns about whether military education is adequately preparing leaders for future conflict. They present five principles for reform: make warfighting the central purpose of PME; define and prioritize warfighting-related study more clearly; recognize PME degrees as professional degrees; treat joint and Service leadership as PME’s …

Being Believed: Persuasion And The Narrative In Military Operations, Brent A. Lawniczak

Joint Force Quarterly

This article explores the role of persuasive narratives in military operations and argues that being truthful is not enough; joint force narratives must also be believable and persuasive to intended audiences. Narratives provide context, coherence, and meaning to military actions and can shape perceptions, influence behavior, and support objectives across the competition continuum. The article identifies the core elements of a narrative, including setting, characters, plot, and moral, and explains key factors that contribute to persuasiveness, such as emotional appeal, simplicity, consistency, identification, trust, resonance, coherence, and alignment between words and actions. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding audience …

The Art Of Campaigning: Joint Planners Working At The Intersections Of Everything, Mary Bell, Edgar M. Hollandsworth, Thomas J. Snukis, Jeffrey Turner, Luke P. Bellocchi, Nicholas Anthony, Steve Tribble, Chris Botterbusch, Justin D. Harper

Joint Force Quarterly

This article explains the evolving concept of military campaigning and the complex role of joint planners in developing and executing Combatant Command Campaign Plans. Modern campaigning encompasses not only combat operations but also persistent activities intended to shape the strategic environment, create favorable conditions, and advance U.S. national objectives. The authors describe how joint planners translate strategic guidance and a combatant commander’s vision into operational approaches by integrating doctrine, operational design, intelligence, assessment, and activities across the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of war. The article also highlights the importance of strategic wargaming, collaboration across combatant commands and external partners, …

Adopting A Data-Centric Mindset For Operational Planning, Jeremiah Hurley, Morgan Greene

Joint Force Quarterly

The Department of Defense is investing in advanced technologies to maintain a competitive military advantage, but realizing their full value requires a data-first approach to operational planning. Jeremiah Hurley and Morgan Greene argue that DOD must improve how it collects, organizes, integrates, and uses data so commanders and staffs can understand the operational environment and develop and execute courses of action faster than adversaries. The article critiques current planning processes that rely on static products such as PowerPoint slides, spreadsheets, and email, and recommends incorporating standardized data collection templates, plans, matrices, automated data pipelines, and dynamic visualizations into joint and …

Preparing For Adversary Employment Of Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons: Tactical Effects, Operational Impacts, Strategic Implications, James H. Gifford

Joint Force Quarterly

For more than 30 years after the Cold War, the United States largely operated without facing the threat of nuclear weapons on the battlefield. Recent nuclear threats from adversaries such as Russia, however, have renewed the need to prepare for the possible use of nonstrategic nuclear weapons. This article explains the distinction between strategic and nonstrategic nuclear weapons and assesses the consequences of limited nuclear use at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels of war. A nuclear strike could produce severe casualties and equipment losses at the tactical level, create medical, logistical, and civilian challenges at the operational level, and …

Risk: A Weak Element In U.S. Strategy Formulation, Frank Hoffman

Joint Force Quarterly

Strategic risk is an inherent element of national security decisionmaking, yet it is often insufficiently incorporated into U.S. strategy formulation. Frank Hoffman argues that risk analysis should be a routine and continuous component of strategic planning rather than an exercise conducted primarily during implementation. Drawing on joint doctrine and case studies involving the Iraq War, Operation Neptune Spear, and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the article illustrates how assumptions, institutional biases, and inconsistent approaches to risk can shape strategic outcomes. Hoffman calls for a broader, shared understanding of strategic risk across the national security community and recommends developing an interagency …

Executive Summary, William T. Eliason

Joint Force Quarterly

This executive summary introduces Joint Force Quarterly 116 against the backdrop of the fall of Bashar al-Asad’s regime in Syria and considers the implications for U.S. strategy, regional security, and future military posture in the Middle East. The issue addresses strategic risk in U.S. national security decisionmaking, adversary use of nonstrategic nuclear weapons, and the adoption of a data-oriented approach to operational planning. Additional articles consider joint campaign planning, military influence operations, professional military education, the potential for Ireland to join NATO, and the implications of artificial intelligence for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. Feature articles address political objectives in …

Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 116, 1st Quarter 2025, National Defense University Press

Joint Force Quarterly

Joint Force Quarterly 116 explores key challenges and innovations in military strategy, operations, and global security. The Forum section examines how the U.S. approaches risk in its strategy, the impact of nonstrategic nuclear weapons, and the importance of using data-driven methods in planning military operations.

In JPME Today, articles focus on how joint military campaigns succeed, the role of storytelling and persuasion in operations, and the urgent need to modernize professional military education.

The Commentary section highlights Ireland's strategic role in securing Europe’s western flank and evaluates whether China’s military overestimates the potential of artificial intelligence.

The Features section dives …

A Family Of Markov Chains, Schur Functions, And Exterior Powers, Philip Feinsilver, John P. Mcsorley

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

On An Asset Model Of Merton Type: Long-Term Observations In Financial Time-Series, Shuya Kanagawa, Narn-Rueih Shieh

Journal of Stochastic Analysis

No abstract provided.

Innocent Until Predicted Guilty: How Premature Predictive Policing Can Lead To A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Of Juvenile Delinquency, Nadia Rossbach

Florida Law Review

Predictive policing is an innovative, evolving approach to crime prevention that law enforcement has recently embraced. These programs are designed to detect crime patterns by employing machine-learned algorithms to identify high-crime areas as well as likely offenders. In doing so, law enforcement hopes to implement a proactive approach in which officers will be able to prevent crime rather than merely respond to it. However, these programs can be plagued with inaccuracies and racial and socio-economic bias. With juveniles, in particular, the programs impress far too great of consequences while failing to accurately predict adolescents’ future criminality. The impressionable and developing …

The Secret Sauce: Examining Law Schools That Overperform On The Bar Exam, Christopher J. Ryan Jr., Derek T. Muller

Florida Law Review

Since 2010, law schools have faced declining enrollment and entering classes with lower predictors of success despite recent signs of improvement. At least partly as a result, rates at which law school graduates pass the bar exam have declined and remain at historic lows. Yet, during this time, many schools have improved their graduates’ chances of success on the bar exam, and some schools have dramatically outperformed their predicted bar exam passage rates. This Article examines which schools do so and why. Research for this Article began by accounting for law schools’ incoming class credentials to predict an expected bar …

The New Pornography Wars, Julie Dahlstrom

Florida Law Review

The world’s largest online pornography conglomerate, MindGeek, has come under fire for the publishing of “rape videos,” child pornography, and nonconsensual pornography on its website, Pornhub. In response, as in the “pornography wars” of the 1970s and 1980s, lawyers and activists have turned to civil remedies and filed creative anti-trafficking lawsuits against MindGeek and third parties, like payment processing company, Visa. These lawsuits seek not only to achieve legal accountability for online sex trafficking but also to reframe a broader array of online harms as sex trafficking. This Article explores what these new trafficking lawsuits mean for the future regulation …

Fair Notice, The Rule Of Law, And Reforming Qualified Immunity, Nathan S. Chapman

Florida Law Review

After a series of highly publicized incidents of police violence, a growing number of courts, scholars, and politicians have demanded the abolition of qualified immunity. The doctrine requires courts to dismiss damages actions against officials for violating the plaintiff’s constitutional rights unless a reasonable officer would have known that the right was “clearly established.” Scholars argue that the doctrine forecloses compensation and vindication for victims and stands in the way of deterring constitutional violations in the future. One argument against qualified immunity has relied on empirical evidence to challenge what scholars take to be the main justification for qualified immunity: …

Reassigning Batson: A Modern Approach, Max Angel

Florida Law Review

In Batson v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court of the United States held that using peremptory challenges to strike jurors solely on their race violates the Equal Protection Clause. Following that decision, the Supreme Court extended Batson to gender-based peremptory challenges, holding that state-sponsored group stereotypes rooted in historical prejudice that bars a potential juror from serving on a jury violates that juror’s equal protection right. As it currently stands, there is no federal statute prohibiting peremptory strikes on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. And although some courts at the state and federal level have held such …

Models Of Bail Reform, Brandon L. Garrett

Florida Law Review

Bail reform is an urgent topic in the United States and internationally, but what constitutes reform and how to accomplish reform goals is contested. Jails are a modern epicenter of incarceration, with a stunning growth in American jail populations over the past four decades despite declines in both arrests and crime. As many as sixty percent of the half million people currently in jails have not been convicted but are instead detained pretrial. Prior waves of bail reform produced a system largely reliant on secured bonds, which require up-front cash payments to avoid jail time before trial. More recent reform …

The Legal Primacy Reform, Asaf Raz

Florida Law Review

Corporate law scholarship revolves around two polar conceptions, known as “shareholder primacy” and “corporate social responsibility.” This Article takes the literature in a new direction, arguing that the current dichotomy misses a crucial aspect of corporate law: its norm of legal primacy. Any pursuit of profit, by the corporation, is legally permitted only within the bounds of full compliance with non-corporate positive law. When the corporation acts unlawfully, corporate law provides a powerful, and until now undertheorized, set of remedies against its fiduciaries and shareholders. As this Article demonstrates, the most effective way to promote socially desirable corporate behavior is …

Breaking Barriers: Investigating Gender Dynamics In Introductory Physics Lab Classes, Bilas Paul, Shantanu Chakraborty, Ganga Sharma

Georgia Journal of Science

The persistent underrepresentation of women and other gender minorities in physical science fields has been an ongoing concern. This study investigates gender dynamics in introductory physics laboratory courses, focusing on whether students of different gender identities exhibit equal inclination and confidence in conducting lab experiments, and whether they face barriers that impact their participation. Conducted across three institutions and involving non-physics STEM students enrolled in algebra-based and calculus-based physics courses, the study found mixed results, with two institutions showing no significant gender-based differences in participation levels during lab activities, while one institution demonstrated significant differences. Chi-square tests revealed no significant …

Increasing Awareness Of Burnout And Developing An Action Plan To Reduce Stress For Graduate Health Profession Students Through An Interactive Workshop, Oaklee Rogers, Zachary Baker

Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice

Purpose: Healthcare students can experience stress and burnout before becoming practicing clinicians. Increasing education about your level of stress and understanding what burnout is are important factors in preventing burnout. Method: A 90 minute interactive workshop was developed and implemented for graduate health profession students to meet three objectives: 1) increase foundational knowledge about burnout and its impact on different health professionals, 2) assess student’s level of burnout and apply strategies to mitigate their stress, and 3) create and share a plan on how they would incorporate stress reduction strategies and/or reduce their level of burnout. Results: In total, 349 …