News

The Combat Path: Sustaining Mental Readiness in Ukrainian Soldiers
May 29, 2024 — In Ukraine, soldiers’ psychological resilience is of paramount concern. Therefore, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have developed a new intervention, Combat Path Debriefing, designed to address combat stress and promote unit readiness for soldiers returning to combat. This article outlines the components of Combat Path Debriefing and discusses how it is rooted in principles of combat and operational stress control and the unique characteristics of Ukrainian military life. This perspective offers US and allied leaders real-world experience that can inform future efforts to support soldiers’ mental health and combat performance... MORE

What American Policymakers Misunderstand about the Belt and Road Initiative
May 29, 2024 — American accounts of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) contend that it is a coherent grand strategy that reflects Beijing’s geopolitical ambitions. These accounts ignore the BRI’s fragmented nature, whereby Chinese provinces have been pivotal actors in its development and implementation. Furthermore, these accounts disregard the agency of participant countries and their capacity to shape the BRI. This article illustrates this fragmentation and agency by studying the Yunnan province and its domestic and international neighbors. It contends that these dynamics indicate that the BRI lacks coherence and that Beijing’s capacity to extract geopolitical benefits will remain limited. ... MORE

In Memoriam
May 29, 2024 — US Army Pacific (USARPAC) is grateful for the enduring relationship it has with the folks at the US Army War College and the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI). We were all shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the sudden death of Dr. Carol Evans, the director of SSI. I considered Carol both a terrific colleague and a close friend... MORE

From the Editor in Chief
May 29, 2024 — Welcome to the Summer 2024 issue of Parameters. We open this issue with a special “In Memoriam” by General Charles A. Flynn, Commander US Army Pacific, honoring the life and legacies of our director and consummate colleague, Carol V. Evans. We dedicate this issue to her. General Flynn’s memoriam is followed by an In Focus commentary entitled “What American Policymakers Misunderstand about the Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI), by Zenel Garcia and Phillip Guerreiro; they argue the grand-strategic and geopolitical framing American policymakers typically use to interpret the BRI ignores the origin of the program and its fragmented nature... MORE

Book Review: The Wandering Army: The Campaigns that Transformed the British Way of War
May 20, 2024 — European Military History | Author: Huw J. Davies | Reviewed by Dr. James D. Scudieri, senior research historian, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College | Senior research historian Dr. James D. Scudieri lends his expertise to review King’s College London academic Huw J. Davies’s most recent book, a “powerful monograph” on the 1750–1850... MORE

Cover for The Wandering Army: The Campaigns That Transformed the British Way of war

Book Review: Thanks for Your Service: The Causes and Consequences of Public Confidence in the US Military
May 20, 2024 — Civil-Military Relations | Author: Christian Nikolaus Braun | Reviewed by Lieutenant Colonel James “Andy” Nichols, US Army War College class of 2023 | Lieutenant Colonel James “Andy” Nichols provides a thoughtful review of Duke University professor Peter D. Feaver’s book on the reasons for—and proposed ways to maintain—the “high public confidence”... MORE

Cover for Thanks for Your Service: The Causes and Consequences of Public Confidence in the US Military

Book Review: Limited Force and the Fight for the Just War Tradition
May 20, 2024 — Military Theory | Author: Christian Nikolaus Braun | Reviewed by Reverend Dr. Wylie W. Johnson, chaplain, US Army War College class of 2010 | Retired US Army chaplain Dr. Wylie W. Johnson reviews Christian Nikolaus Braun’s dissertation-turned-book on a “casuistic” approach to just war informed by the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Johnson... MORE

Cover for Limited Force and the Fight for the Just War Tradition

Book Review: Armies in Retreat: Chaos, Cohesion, and Consequences
May 20, 2024 — Military History | Editors: Timothy G. Heck and Walker D. Mills | Reviewed by Dr. J.P. Clark, associate professor of strategy, Basic Strategic Art Program, US Army War College | Dr. J.P. Clark provides a thoughtful analysis of this anthology on retreat, an "under-studied topic in the US military." The book covers case studies spanning from the... MORE

Cover for Armies in Retreat: Chaos, Cohesion and Consequences

Decisive Decade: PRC Global Strategy and the PLA as a Pacing Challenge – 2023 PLA Conference – Updated and Expanded
May 20, 2024 — The US Army War College’s 2023 Conference on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was held February 22 to 24, 2023, at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The conference, entitled “Decisive Decade: PRC Global Strategy and the PLA as Pacing Challenge,” featured expert presentations and papers on PRC global and regional strategy and the PLA’s enabling role... MORE

Cover for Decisive Decade: PRC Global Strategy and the PLA as a Pacing Challenge – 2023 PLA Conference – Updated and Expanded

Book Review: Military Culture Shift: The Impact of War, Money, and Generational Perspective on Morale, Retention, and Leadership
April 19, 2024 — Military Culture | Author: Corie Weathers | Reviewed by Rodger M. Kissane, graduate student, College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University | Rodger M. Kissane provides a thoughtful review of this important book on “bridging and even transcending generational differences” in the US military. Kissane highlights author Corie... MORE

Cover for Military Culture Shift: The Impact of War, Money, and Generational Perspective on Morale, Retention, and Leadership