Recent Articles

Strategic Leadership Primer for Senior Leaders, 4th ed. Dr Thomas P Galvin, Dr Dale E. Watson Publication by the US Army War College, Department of Command, Leadership, and Management, School of Strategic Landpower, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute "Leadership is not easy, and there is no magic recipe for successful leadership. That is why there are so many business books about leaders and leadership traits. In the military, we focus on leader development at the very beginning of service, in basic training, and at pre-commissioning . . . every Soldier is a leader. While the principles of tactical leadership are not always easy to do and are certainly aspirational, they are fundamental in nature; provide clear vision and intent, develop mutual understanding and trust, build cohesive teams that work together to achieve decisive results in line with our professional ethic, and provide orders and guidance that develop initiative and focus on what to do and for what purpose, rather than emphasizing the how."

Strategic Insights: Five Myths Associated With Employing Private Military Companies Dr Edward Mienie, Dr C. A. Pfaff Article by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press

Grand Strategy is Attrition: The Logic of Integrating Various Forms of Power in Conflict Dr Lukas Milevski Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In this monograph, Dr. Lukas Milevski explores the fact that grand strategy is accepted by academics as a concept, without any firm agreement on what that concept is or the logic that supports it. Indeed, it is vital to understand this logic, regardless of whether one pins it to the label “grand strategy” or to any other label that may be available."

Air Power and Warfare: A Century of Theory and History Dr Tami Davis Biddle Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "In this detailed but concise monograph, air power expert Tami Davis Biddle walks us through our century-long experience of air power as an instrument of warfare. Using the twin pillars of theory and history, she explains the expectations that were held for aircraft in war and then examines how those expectations played out in the actual realm of practice. This monograph, which focuses primarily on the most controversial aspect of air power, coercive bombing, takes a chronological approach that starts with World War I and comes all the way to the present day."

Deterring Russia in the Gray Zone Michael C. McCarthy, Matthew A. Moyer, Brett H. Venable Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "One of the most complex challenges facing the United States and its allies today is how to deal with an increasingly bold and aggressive Russia. As evidenced by its invasion of Ukraine, annexation of Crimea, and unremitting influence operations against the West, Russia has engaged in an antagonistic foreign policy campaign that has both challenged and befuddled the United States and its allies. How should the United States respond? What measures can it take without igniting a major conflict? These are some of the difficult questions that the authors, active duty military officers, and national security fellows from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University address in this timely and prescient monograph..."

The Army Role in Achieving Deterrence in Cyberspace Mr Jeffrey L Caton Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Strategic deterrence has been a significant issue for the Department of Defense (DoD) for over 70 years, but many limit this concept to the use of nuclear weapons. The 2015 DoD Cyber Strategy explicitly calls for a comprehensive strategy to provide credible deterrence in cyberspace against threats from key state and nonstate actors. To be effective, such activities must be coordinated with ongoing deterrence efforts in the physical realm, especially those of near-peers impacting critical global regions such as China in the Asia-Pacific region and Russia in Europe. It is important for the Army to identify and plan for any unique roles that they may provide to these endeavors."

Conventional Deterrence and Landpower in Northeastern Europe Michael A. Hunzeker, Alexander Lanoszka Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The 2018 National Defense Strategy directs the Department of Defense (DoD) to prepare for a long-term strategic competition with other great powers. It minces no words in pointing to Russia’s repeated attempts at economically, diplomatically, and militarily coercing its neighbors. Toward this end, the DoD emphasizes the need to strengthen the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) by getting partners to increase their share of the defense burden and modernize their forces, making them more capable and responsive if and when crises occur."

Two Case Studies of Successful Strategic Communication Campaigns Dr Thomas P. Galvin Report by the US Army War College, School of Strategic Landpower, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute "Strategic communication has historically been cited as a weakness in U.S. military operations, both at the operational and strategic levels. Numerous studies have highlighted problems with U.S. abilities to promote a coherent message and influence the environment to be favorable to its strategic interests. Failures are easy to identify. The effects of poor communication can manifest themselves quickly; however, what about successes? Rarely are they discussed, perhaps because it is difficult to know when a campaign achieved enough of the desired effects such that leaders can claim success."

A History of the Army's Future: 1990-2018 v 2.0 Dr Conrad C Crane, Dr Michael E Lynch, Shane P. Reilly Historical Research Review by US Army War College, Army Heritage and Education Center "The establishment of Army Futures Command (AFC) in August 2018 was the most significant change to the Institutional Army in a generation, and it signaled the value the Army placed on studying the future. While the establishment of a new four star headquarters might be seen as a bold move, it was in reality the culmination of 30 years of future development in the Army. Those three decades saw the development of numerous structures designed to examine the potential for future concepts and technology, with uneven success. The processes were good, but technological overreach, and over 20 years of war in the Middle East, doomed most efforts to put useful concepts into practice..."