Europe & Russia

The Republic of Moldova Military Institute's Lecture Series: Leadership and Ethics Dr Craig Bullis, LTC Vince Lindenmeyer Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "As part of the Republic of Moldova’s defense transformation efforts, the Moldovan Military Institute (MMI) is in its second year of a three year action plan to completely revise its professional military education (PME) curriculum. In September 2011, the MMI will begin its new curriculum for its incoming cadets where they will complete the four-year program finishing with a bachelor’s degree in public administration. To prepare the faculty members in developing the curriculum, the MMI is hosting a series of subject matter expert lectures through Mar 2011 when their curriculum is due to the Moldova Ministry of Education."

Crisis and Contingency Response Planning in the Serbian Armed Forces COL Michael S Chesney, Prof Bernard F Griffard, Lt Col Gregory D Hillebrand Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "By the very nature of their missions, the world’s militaries spend much of their time developing plans that address identified risks, only to find themselves reacting to security threats from an unanticipated sector, or to manmade and natural disasters. The ability to “turn on a dime” is based in a creditable crisis action planning (CAP) process designed to support the military commander’s efforts to develop, analyze, select and implement a course of action (COA) within a constrained timeframe. Although most militaries have a CAP capability, the United States has institutionalized the process, and demonstrated its capabilities to address issues from the strategic to the local."

Candidly, One Friend to Another Dr Antulio J Echevarria II Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The Transatlantic Partnership between the United States and the United Kingdom has remained viable for the better part of a century. During that time it weathered assorted and sometimes severe storms—from trials over nuclear armament in the late 1940s, to the Suez crisis of the 1950s, to the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s, and to today’s extensive and costly counterinsurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Indeed, one could well say that the long-standing partnership between the U.S. and UK has been what Prime Minister David Cameron recently, and aptly, described as “the candid friend, the best friend” relationship. Advice offered by one partner to the other has always been refreshingly frank, even if it has been at times difficult to hear, and to heed."

The Russian Military Today and Tomorrow: Essays in Memory of Mary Fitzgerald Dr Stephen J Blank, Dr Richard Weitz Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute

2010 Key Strategic Issues List (KSIL) Antulio J. Echevarria II Document by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The Key Strategic Issues List (KSIL) is published annually to make students and other researchers aware of strategic topics that are, or should be, of particular concern to the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army. The list is a compilation of input from the faculty at the U.S. Army War College as well as input from subject matter experts across the field of strategic studies. The topics reflect current as well as longer-term strategic issues, and are revised as the changing security environment warrants. This hard copy document is supplemented by a more expansive online research topic database which is updated in real time. Researchers are encouraged to contact any of the faculty members of the Strategic Studies Institute listed herein for further information regarding possible topics."

Wanted: A Strategy for the Black Sea Dr Stephen J Blank Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "There exists an extensive literature on the strategic importance of the Black Sea zone. Yet it is difficult to discern whether U.S. policymakers are pursuing a coherent strategy for this crucial region. Although Kyrgyzstan is in Central Asia, an adjoining region, events there are symptomatic of this strategic challenge. Not only did our embassy in Kyrgyzstan repeat the mistake the United States made in Iran by being excessively attached to the reigning government and insufficiently attuned to other opposing sociopolitical groups, its actions during the April 2009 upheaval were inadequate, even though it had forewarning of that event."

Endgame for the West in Afghanistan? Explaining the Decline in Support for the War in Afghanistan in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, France and Germany Mr Charles A Miller Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Domestic support for the war is often mentioned as one of the key battlegrounds of the Afghan conflict. A variety of explanations have been put forward in the media and in the political realm to explain why this war, which once commanded overwhelming popular support in almost all participating countries, is now opposed by a majority, even in the United States itself. Casualties, lack of equitable multilateral burden sharing, confused and shifting rationales on the part of the political leadership for the war and a “contagion” effect from the unpopularity of the Iraq war have all been cited at one time or another."

Integrating Civil-Military Relations into the Professional Military Education Curriculum within the Republic of Moldova's Military Institute LTC Vince Lindenmeyer, Dr Marybeth P Ulrich Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The Republic of Moldova’s Military Institute (MMI) has a bold vision to become the premier military training and academic institute for all levels of development for the Moldovan Armed Forces (MAF). The MMI currently conducts all professional development for MAF officers and non-commissioned officers. In February, 2010, United States Army War College (USAWC) conducted an assistance visit to help facilitate the development of MMI’s model for a professional development curriculum. A key aim of this visit was to provide the MMI with assistance on the development of a Professional Military Education (PME) curriculum as well as subject matter expertise in the area of civil-military relations."

Serbian Army Transformation and the Role of Human Capital Strategy Prof Bernard F Griffard Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "With the peaceful breakup of the Montenegro-Serbia confederation in 2006, Yugoslavia disappeared from the maps of Europe. Over the 15 year period that encompassed the breakup of the former Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia, each newly independent entity had to deal with its identity as a separate nation and the incumbent national requirements for security, economic stability, and political maturity. Complicating the security issue was forming multiple armies from one. Once a unified military force, the conscript-based Yugoslavian National Army (JNA) is now distributed across six independent Balkan states. This distribution was not based on military requirements, capabilities, or expertise, but on geography and ethnicity. "