Leadership Studies Commons^™

Critical Strategic Deterrence Questions For Today, Keith B. Payne

Space and Defense

r. Payne visited the U.S. Air Force Academy to offer keynote remarks at a national student congress, the 66th Academy Assembly, held during March 3-5,2026 and dedicated to the topic of the Global Chessboard: Strategic Deterrence in a New Era of Great Power Competition. Dr. Payne is co-founder of the National Institute for Public Policy, former Department Head at the Graduate School of Defense and Strategic Studies, Missouri State University, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, and former Senior Advisor to the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He has authored or co-authored over 230 published articles and 50 …

Death Of Battlefield Hide-And-Seek, Lily Cheatham

Space and Defense

For the past twenty years, the stealth regime defined military thinking, prioritizing technologies and tactics designed to evade enemy defense systems. Ensuring radar invisibility and maintaining information dominance have been the keys to survival and strategic advantage. On June 21-22, 2025, the United States conducted "Operation Midnight Hammer" against Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The principal strike package included seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, whose crews flew approximately 18 hours to reach the target area and roughly 36 hours and 13,000 miles round trip. The B-2s dropped 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators on Fordow and Natanz, marking …

The Baltic Bear Trap Wargame, Connor Crookham

Space and Defense

Modern military education increasingly relies on experiential tools that allow students to explore the complexity of contemporary conflict in ways that lectures and readings alone cannot achieve. Nowhere is this more evident than in the emerging emphasis on multi-domain operations, integrated deterrence, and the blurred boundaries between competition and armed conflict. The Baltic Bear Trap wargame was developed as a student design project to meet this instructional need, offering a structured environment in which players must think, plan, and act as operational-level decision makers confronting a deteriorating security situation in the Nordic–Baltic region. Built for use at the Swedish Defense …

A Cislunar Economic Forecast Under Public-Private Partnership, Naisha Chirag Naik

Space and Defense

Cislunar space, spanning Earth’s orbit to the Moon, has emerged as a new frontier due to its strategic, scientific, and economic potential, with growing involvement from global powers, governments, and private entities diversifying the market. Unlike the first lunar space race, which saw a spike in activity amongst two countries followed by “silence,” the current cislunar era is hallmarked by a growing mix of public agencies, private companies, and international actors seeking to gain a foothold in what could be the foundation for a long-term space economy. While cislunar space was historically only an interest for superpowers, recent years have …

Autonomous Navigation In Cislunar Satellites, Heith Johnson

Space and Defense

Cislunar space—the region between Earth’s geosynchronous orbit (about 36,000 kilometers from Earth) and the Moon (roughly 384,000 kilometers away)—is becoming a critical frontier for future space exploration and commercialization.1 This zone includes the Moon’s orbit, transfer orbits, and the Earth-Moon Lagrange points. Additionally, as more nations and corporations launch lunar missions and establish long-term infrastructure, cislunar space is increasingly becoming a strategic focus for exploration, logistics, and transportation.

Planetary Defense As The Ethico-Legal Gateway For International Space Security, Evie Kendal

Space and Defense

Following the news in late 2024 that there was a city-killer asteroid on a possible collision course with Earth, many members of the public were shocked to learn there was no reliable global plan for managing such asteroidal and cometary impact hazards. While calculations of Asteroid 2024 YR4’s trajectory were further refined to exclude the previously reported 2-3% chance of collision in 2032, this event highlighted a major security threat: the lack of a globally coordinated, appropriately resourced, and politically supported planetary defense strategy (Gibney, 2025). In so doing, it also provided an opportunity for security experts to consider the …

Space-Based Missile Defense With Early Interceptor Launch Strategies, William Priedhorsky, James Wells

Space and Defense

There is renewed interest in space-based boost-phase intercept (SBPI) for missile defense against ICBMs of near-peer adversaries. We discuss SBPI in the context of other missile defense approaches, and address one of its challenges, which is the expense of fielding a large enough constellation of interceptors in space to counter even a small number of ICBMs. We develop an early-launch approach that could substantively reduce the required density of interceptors. Because every second matters in boost-phase defense, early launch of interceptors can significantly increase the reach of each interceptor. Early launch would require interceptors that have highly throttleable motors. Our …

Golden Dome: Seeking Space Security, Namrata Goswami

Space and Defense

The “Golden Dome” initiative [formerly Iron Dome] was announced by President Donald Trump on January 27, 2025, signifying a transformative shift in global space security policy. It fundamentally questions long-standing assumptions about deterrence, national vulnerability to missile attacks, and the role of space in strategic defense. More importantly, it emerges at a moment of acute strategic transition: the erosion of Cold War arms control frameworks, the rapid advancement of hypersonic and orbital delivery systems, and the growing integration of space into warfighting doctrines. Launched via a presidential memorandum in January 2025, Golden Dome calls for a layered missile defense system …

Space & Defense Vol. 17 No. 1 Editor's Note, Damon Coletta

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space & Defense Vol. 17 No. 1 Table Of Contents, Space & Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space & Defense Vol. 17 No. 1 Front Matter, Space & Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

Space & Defense Volume 17 Issue 1 Summer 2026 (Whole Issue), Space & Defense

Space and Defense

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Childhood Experiential History On U.S. Vice President Jd Vance’S Personality, Amelia Brower, Aubrey Immelman

Psychology Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of a developmental causal analysis of the adult personality of U.S. vice president JD Vance, from the conceptual perspective of personologist Theodore Millon.

Psychodiagnostically relevant data relating to Vance’s personality were collected from biographical sources and media reports and synthesized into a personality profile using the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic Criteria (MIDC), which yields 34 normal and maladaptive personality classifications congruent with DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and DSM-5-TR.

The findings of the personality assessment were previously reported in a separate paper. Vance’s primary personality patterns were found to be Dominant/controlling and Ambitious/confident, supplemented by …

Connected But Disconnected: A Covid-19 Youth Participatory Action Research Study, Vianney Atugonza, Jodi Dworkin, Stacey S. Horn, Joanna A. Tzenis, Samantha Lebouef

Journal of Youth Development

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced most schools across the U.S. to close and transition to remote learning. Families were forced to transform their homes into classrooms while facing challenges to their health, finances, and social connections. To better understand how young people experienced these changes, a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project was employed to engage young people in naming, exploring, and sharing their experiences during this time. Nine high school youth leaders were trained as researchers to conduct interviews with their peers. These youth scholars were also trained on how to code, sort, and disseminate data and results. …

Exploring 21st-Century Skills In A Summer Camp: A Qualitative Methodological Triangulation Approach, Alexander Bowman, Jing Song

Journal of Youth Development

Despite the recognized importance of 21st-century skills and the substantial body of research on these skills, little is known about how to identify growth in these skills. The lack of reliable methods to measure 21st-century skill growth presents a challenge for the design of relevant learning environments and for evaluating if such learning environments are effective. Using a qualitative methodological triangulation approach, this study explored camp counselors’ learning processes. Using a systematic data integration method, field observations were synthesized with participant reflections about how their skills develop. Data were collected from 13 high-school-aged junior camp counselors at a summer camp …

Becoming Who I Am: How Youth Leadership Experiences Shape Lifelong Leadership Journeys, Dustin Evatt, Deborah Acker, Parker R. Watson, Jennifer T. Peters

Journal of Youth Development

Youth leadership experiences have the power to shape individuals’ values, identities, and leadership behaviors well into adulthood, yet limited empirical research has examined how these formative experiences contribute to leadership development over time. This study examines the long-term impact of youth leadership experiences using the six-stage Leadership Identity Development (LID) model as a guiding and interpretive framework by exploring the journeys of alumni from the Shelton Challenge, a six-day immersive high school leadership program at NC State University rooted in values-based and positive youth development (PYD) principles. Using narrative inquiry, we conducted interviews and focus groups with 30 alumni ages …

4-H Program Staff Perceptions Of Including Youth With Disabilities, Brittney Muschetto, Amy Leman

Journal of Youth Development

This study’s focus is to examine 4-H youth development county program staff’s perceptions of the inclusion of youth with disabilities in the Illinois 4-H program. The majority of program staff identified positive perceptions about including youth with disabilities in 4-H. However, they also noted that there was a need for more staff training to adequately include youth with disabilities in 4-H programming. As more youth are being diagnosed with disabilities, 4-H must continue to improve its knowledge and skills to make 4-H inclusive to all youth.

A Hip-Hop-Based Workshop Cultivates Urban Underserved Youths’ Critical Consciousness Around Food Systems, Jacob Rowell, Hannah Scherer, Kim Niewolny, Anthony Kwame Harrison, Kendrick Spencer

Journal of Youth Development

Hip hop is social commentary and critique that highlights the complexity of issues within society, including systemic inequity in the food system, which disproportionately affects urban and African American populations. After-school and non-formal programs are innovative educational opportunities to engage youth in learning about and addressing local problems through culturally-relevant program design and enactment of critical pedagogy. To meaningfully connect middle-school-aged urban youth, their lived experiences, and inequities in the food system, we designed a hip-hop-based workshop and delivered it in an established afterschool program. In this qualitative case study, we explored participants’ critical consciousness related to the food system …

A Billion People In The Shadows: Understanding Disability, Kelly Dziak

Journal of Youth Development

The disability community is the largest minority group and encompasses people of all ages and backgrounds. Despite its size, members of this community frequently encounter social, educational, and economic barriers that limit opportunities for full participation. Youth development programs have the potential to support skill-building and foster a sense of belonging. However, professionals often face challenges to effectively support individuals with disabilities including limited training and accessibility barriers. A Billion People in the Shadows: The Ultimate 1-Hour Guide to Understanding Disability by Doug McCullough provides practical guidance for improving understanding and support for this population. Drawing on personal experiences with …

Table Of Contents, Journal Of Youth Development

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.