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The Enduring Lessons of Vietnam: Implications for US Strategy and Policy
June 18, 2025 — This article argues that the Vietnam War is a useful case study for assessing an enduring flaw in America’s approach to war. The United States suffered defeat in Vietnam because it privileged military strength and the pursuit of victory on the battlefield over other elements of national power. As in Vietnam, the wars America will likely face in the future will blend conventional and unconventional methods and use a carefully calibrated mixture of military and non-military means. The United States must situate its demonstrated strengths in conventional war fighting within a holistic framework or face similar strategic outcomes... MORE

What the Russia-Ukraine Conflict Tells Us about Educational Resilience
June 18, 2025 — While education can operate as a source of vulnerability or resiliency across multiple domains before, during, and after armed conflicts, it is often examined narrowly in the context of a single domain, limiting the use and effectiveness of civil-affairs operations. This article outlines a novel conceptual framework of the primary mechanisms across seven unique domains by which education can serve as a key area of resiliency or vulnerability in armed conflicts. Through a case study of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it illustrates how vulnerabilities can manifest in the seven domains and what can be done to build resiliency. Finally, a discussion of the costs, benefits, and potential role of military civil affairs in a post-conflict scenario will assist US policymakers and military professionals in identifying the opportunities, costs, and benefits of these operations... MORE

A More Perfect Peace: Can the Russia-Ukraine War End Justly?
June 18, 2025 — This article argues that thinking creatively about war termination, both philosophically and politically, utilizing jus post bellum principles and counterintuitive political trade-offs, reveals an opportunity to achieve a sustainable peace that approximates justice. The article surveys how war aims among belligerents have changed, indicating that further change is possible, particularly at the point of war termination. Next, the article examines jus post bellum principles and their application to the Russia-Ukraine War. Finally, the article contends that Ukraine relinquishing Crimea and the Donbas in exchange for NATO membership might be the key to achieving a durable peace that addresses long-term security... MORE

Strategic Narratives to Counter Global Threats
June 18, 2025 — This article argues that the current National Security Strategy lacks the necessary coherence and fidelity to mobilize collective action against the emerging Russia-China axis. It merges multiple theoretical concepts to assert that the “rules-based order” theme is insufficient for mobilizing public support. This article uses textual analysis of the strategy compared with publicly available polling to determine levels of popular resonance and finds that the “rules-based order emphasis” does not resonate. This study’s conclusions will assist practitioners as they develop an updated National Security Strategy with the advent of the new presidential administration... MORE

China’s Role in a Future Korean War
June 18, 2025 — This article argues that China’s intervention in a Korean conflict will hinge more on North Korea’s ability to hold territory than on bilateral ties. Rather than treat Chinese intervention as a yes-or-no proposition, this study models three scenarios—full intervention, sustained support, and limited support—based on North Korean resilience. Using Chinese-language sources and scenario-based analysis, it assesses how each model would shape key functional areas such as ISR, cyber, materiel, and force posture. The findings offer US defense planners a framework for anticipating variable People’s Liberation Army involvement in a future Korea contingency... MORE

The Next National Defense Strategy: Mission-Based Force Planning
June 18, 2025 — The Pentagon needs to embrace a new methodology called mission-based planning to size and shape the defense enterprise properly. This article summarizes and critiques several proposals for reestablishing the long-standing two major theater war construct in the face of ongoing shifts in the strategic environment, including the nation’s $36 trillion debt and prospects of annual interest payments beyond $1 trillion. Drawing upon four decades of experience in strategy/force planning at the service, the department, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense levels, the author presents a mission priority alternative that provides more strategic prioritization and is more in line with the new administration. Strategic-level service planners and students of Joint professional military education / top-level schools will benefit from the article and better understand the strategic context and key parameters of the internal debate at the Pentagon about the upcoming National Defense Strategy. ... MORE

From the Editor in Chief
June 18, 2025 — Welcome to the Summer 2025 issue of Parameters. The issue consists of one In Focus special commentary and three forums (Indo-Pacific Challenges, Russia-Ukraine Issues, and Historical Studies). In our In Focus forum special commentary, “The Next National Defense Strategy: Mission-Based Force Planning,” Frank Hoffman argues that the Pentagon should embrace a new methodology called mission-based planning to size and shape the defense enterprise properly. He summarizes and critiques several proposals for reestablishing the long-standing two major theater war construct in the face of ongoing shifts in the strategic environment and offers a mission-priority alternative... MORE

Thompson’s Rifle Battalion: The Original Unit of the Army of the United Colonies (Now the United States Regular Army)
April 22, 2025 — Why is 1775 depicted on the official flag of the US Army? Why did Congress form the Pennsylvania Rifle Battalion as the first non-militia unit in the army of the United Colonies? Who was the battalion’s commander, William Thompson? What happened to Thompson and his rifle battalion during the rest of the American Revolution?... MORE

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Book Review: The World Will Never See the Like: The Gettysburg Reunion of 1913
April 8, 2025 — The World Will Never See the Like: The Gettysburg Reunion of 1913, by John L. Hopkins, traces the story of the Gettysburg reunion from its inception in 1908 to its fruition in 1918, covering the community perspective, the veterans’ search for reconnection, spectators’ thoughts on the spectacle, and more. In the words of reviewer Wylie W. Johnson, “The takeaway for senior leaders from this compelling book is the overriding necessity for reconciliation.”... MORE

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Book Review: Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War in Theory and Practice
April 8, 2025 — Today’s force still has plenty to learn about counterinsurgency from Operation Desert Storm. John Nagl’s Knife Fights: A Memoir of Modern War in Theory and Practice “a book about counterinsurgency and its journey from the far periphery of US military doctrine to its center, for better and, some would argue, for worse.” The reviewer notes, Nagl’s work “provides a tangible example of the impact junior leaders can have on the service.”... MORE

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