Strategic Issues

Edited by Dr. George M. Schwartz; Conference proceedings from the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership; In February 2024, The US Army War College hosted the first of an annual series of Homeland Defense Symposiums at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The purpose of the symposium was to examine the challenges of Homeland Defense while advancing research and proposing solutions to strategic challenges facing the Army, Joint Force, and governmental agencies. Partnering with leading agencies to examine these issues, the symposium informed the strategic thought being focused on homeland defense issues, both inside and out of the military, with a multi-faceted focus of deterring aggression, defeating an adversary should deterrence fail, and mitigating the impact of the adversary’s actions against our people, our infrastructure, and our institutions. This compendium summarizes the symposium proceedings and makes a major contribution to the existing body of knowledge regarding the mission, concepts, and challenges of homeland defense. The US Army War College will use the results of the symposium to shape continued examination of and offer solutions to this vital topic.

By LTC Blair Wilcox, LTC Chris Miller, Dr. José de Arimatéia da Cruz, Dr. Michele Devlin, Patricia Hayes, MAJ Andy O’Neill, Dr. Charles Anderson, Jamie Lethiecq; Collins Center Update from the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership; Inside this Issue: From Data to Decision in Warfighting Course, From Players to Creators: Cultivating War Game Design Skills for Twenty-First Century Challenges, The Antarctic: The Importance of the White Continent, New US Army War College Fellowship: Baltic Defense College, War and Peace and Pieces at Connections 2024, Academic Year 2025 New War College Fellowships: Vanderbilt University, The Theater Army Staff Course Enters Fourth Year

By Dr. Michele Devlin, COL Damon Delarosa, Mr. Hugh Hardin, COL John Harrell, COL Virginia Knorr, COL Yoon Choi, Dr. John Munro, Mr. Brian Gellert, Mr. Steve Cunliffe; Report from the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership; This report analyzes the pressing issue of climate-amplified out-migration of local indigenous workers who support the US Army Garrison-Kwajalein Atoll (USAG-KA) in the Marshall Islands. Escalating environmental impacts, poor economic opportunities in the host nation, limited access to advanced health care, and poor educational opportunities are key drivers of increased Marshallese out-migration to the United States, shrinking the pool of current and future local workers for the USAG-KA. This report emphasizes the real and escalating environmental impacts on US military installations in terms of both infrastructure damage and the human communities that surround US bases and provide local labor for these facilities.

AY25 Campaign Planning Handbook Handbook by the School of Strategic Learning, US Army War College The purpose of this document is to assist United States Army War College students during the Military Strategy and Campaigning (MSC) course. It also serves to assist commanders, planners, and other staff officers in combatant commands (CCMD), joint task forces (JTF), and Service component commands. It supplements joint doctrine and contains elements of emerging doctrine as practiced globally by joint force commanders (JFCs). It portrays a way to apply draft doctrine awaiting signature, published doctrine, and emerging concepts, all at the higher levels of joint command, with a primary emphasis at the combatant command level.

by Mark Haseman, Jessie Faller-Parrett, Dr. Greg Cantwell, Ed “Cliffy” Zukowski, Patricia Hayes, Bert B. Tussing, Dr. Michele Devlin, and Gregory Hillebrand; Collins Center Update from the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership; Inside this issue: Combined/Joint Force Land Component Commander Course Hits the 20-Year Mark, The International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise Turns 20, Article on LTC Nguyen, Perspective from the Pinnacle: Ms. Rebecca Zimmerman, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs, Polar Bear Memorial Association President Visits US Army War College, The Center for Strategic Leadership Hosts Inaugural Strategic Spacepower Forum Focused on Competition and Conflict in Space, Video Series and Official Trailer of Inspired to Serve. Sworn to Uphold

Lieutenant General Robert C. Richardson Jr.: Central Pacific Theater Army Commander for Admiral Chester W. Nimitz 1943–45; James D. Scudieri; Historical Study Monograph by the US Army War College, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute; This monograph analyzes Lieutenant General Robert C. Richardson Jr.’s service as de facto theater Army commander to Admiral Chester W. Nimitz from August 1943 to June 1945. It focuses on the theater-strategic level when Richardson led US Army Forces in Central Pacific Area and US Army Forces, Pacific Ocean Areas. This study highlights the context of Richardson’s operating environment beginning with prewar plans, the realities of early wartime defeats, and the state of joint operating procedures. It assesses Richardson’s accomplishments in exercising Landpower in the Pacific, across the entire range of today’s Army war-fighting and Joint functions and discusses the implications of posturing for large-scale combat operations in competition, crisis, and conflict. These assessments are relevant to US Army Pacific today in its four current roles of Theater Joint Force Land Component Command, Combined Joint Task Force, Combined Joint Force Land Component Command, and Army Service Component Command.

by LTC Aaron “Blair” Wilcox and Colonel (RET) Rick O’Donnell; Issue paper from the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership; The paper discusses the US Army's efforts to implement a new talent management strategy based on newly available data from over four years of assessments. It emphasizes the need to leverage data from assessment programs like the Battalion Commander Assessment Program (BCAP) and Colonels Command Assessment Program (CCAP) to select the best leaders for specific roles. The authors argue that current selection processes rely too heavily on subjective assessments and personal knowledge, while neglecting valuable, objective data newly available from BCAP and CCAP.

by COL Doug Simmons, LtCol Kelly Raisch, LTC Krista Gueller, LTC Noel Chun, LTC Mike McCray Report by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership This comprehensive report analyzes the interplay between historical military innovations and future defense strategies, emphasizing the necessity of a dynamic Defense Innovation Ecosystem to maintain military superiority in the face of emerging global challenges. It explores critical factors such as strategic vision, cultural adaptability, and the integration of disruptive technologies, providing valuable insights for shaping effective military doctrines and enhancing the U.S. military’s readiness for future conflicts.

By Team Ergo Sum Machina: Mr. Tom Jackson, COL Robert Richardson , LTC Katherine Ogletree, LTC Charles Moss, and CDR Robert Liberato; Strategic Research Project by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership; This study explores how adversaries my weaponize artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC) for deception and manipulation in the psycho-cognitive domain through 2033, examining likely effects, implications, and necessary countermeasures. The research, conducted by the U.S. Army War College student team “Ergo Sum Machina”, concludes that adversaries will almost certainly exploit AIGC through psycho-cognitive and machine-level vectors, while mitigation efforts will likely be unevenly applied, leaving persistent vulnerabilities in epistemic agency, cyber infrastructure, and synthetic data.