Strategic Issues

The Future of the Joint Warfighting Headquarters: An Alternative Approach to the Joint Task Force Eric Bissonette, Thomas Bruscino, Kelvin Mote, Matthew Powell, Marc Sanborn, James Watts, Louis G. Yuengert Collaborative Study by the US Army War College, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute "The US military must create standing, numbered, and regionally aligned Joint warfighting headquarters— American Expeditionary Forces (AEFs)—around a command council and a staff organized into Joint centers and cells. Calls for standing Joint force headquarters are not new, but the demonstrated military effectiveness of the Joint Task Force (JTF) model coupled with increasing service-specific resource requirements and tightening fiscal constraints have resulted in little evolution in joint force headquarters construction since the end of World War II."

The Grand Strategy of Gertrude Bell: From the Arab Bureau to the Creation of Iraq. Dr Heather S. Gregg Monograph by US Army War College, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute "The remarkable life of early-twentieth-century British adventurer Gertrude Bell has been well documented through her biographies and numerous travel books. Bell’s role as a grand strategist for the British government in the Middle East during World War I and the postwar period, however, is surprisingly understudied. Investigating Gertrude Bell as both a military strategist and a grand strategist offers important insights into how Great Britain devised its military strategy in the Middle East during World War I—particularly, Britain’s efforts to work through saboteurs and secret societies to undermine the Ottoman Empire during the war and the country’s attempts to stabilize the region after the war through the creation of the modern state of Iraq..."

Contested Deployment Bert B. Tussing, John Eric Powell, Benjamin C. Leitzel With James L. Boling, Jonathan M. Boling, John J. Borek, Charles P. Brady, John Bretthorst, Stephen W. Ladd, Steven E. Landis, Edmund “Beau” Riely, Arthur C. Roscoe, Brian D. Wisniewski Integrated Research Project by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press, Center for Strategic Leadership "Early in academic year 2018, a group of US Army War College faculty and students came together in pursuit of an integrated research project devoted to an examination of contested deployment and the growing realization the US homeland can no longer be considered an inviolable zone in preparing for war. Expecting free movement of forces in mobilization, movement to ports of embarkation, and deployment against the nation’s adversaries is beneath reason. Two oceans and benevolent neighbors to the north and south can no longer be considered a significant buffer against internal and external enemies. Adversaries of the United States will seek to disrupt or disable the movement of its forces long before they can be placed in combat against foes overseas, and the nation must be prepared for this opposition."

Framing the Future of the US Military Profession Richard A. Lacquement Jr., Thomas P. Galvin Monograph by the US Army War College, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute "The military profession needs to be redefined by examination of its expertise and jurisdictions of practice, whereas previously the focus was on securing its professional identity. Twenty years ago, the original Future of the Army Profession research project responded to growing concerns among officers that the Army was no longer a profession in light of the post–Cold War drawdown and the onset of global operations including Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, the profession faces recurrent challenges raised by the changing character of war, the renewal of great-power competition, crises surrounding issues of sexual harassment and assault, the effects of a major global pandemic and associated social and political unrest, and the growing societal distrust toward professions in general..."

Communication Campaigning: Experiential Activity Book Dr Thomas P. Galvin Activity book from the US Army War College, Department of Command, Leadership, and Management, School of Strategic Landpower, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute "The purpose of this Activity Book is to provide a series of experiential exercises that allow readers to construct communication campaigns as described in the monograph Communication Campaigning: Primer for Senior Leaders. This workbook is to be considered a living document that will be continuously updated, and therefore there may be differences between the activities herein and their presentation in the companion monograph..."

Veteran Disability Compensation and the Army Profession: Good Intentions Gone Awry Dr Wong Leonard, Dr Gerras Stephen Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "For 40 years, from 1960 to 1999, about 8 percent of the veteran population received disability compensation. In 2000 the percentage edged up to 9 percent or 2.3 million veterans. By 2018 the percentage had tripled to 24 percent or 4.7 million veterans. Although many researchers attribute this upward trend to the influx of wounded from the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War, the authors show that favorable legislative action, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) policy changes, societal developments, and improved information flow enabled and encouraged many more veterans to file for disability. The rise in the number of veterans receiving disability compensation signaled a cultural transformation concerning disability compensation that would eventually spread throughout the US Army and the other services."

Responsible Command: Primer for Senior Leaders Dr Conrad C Crane, Dr Thomas P. Galvin, Paul Mikolashek Publication from the US Army War College, Department of Command, Leadership, and Management, School of Strategic Landpower, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute "When I was a Captain, I was called into the Brigade Commander’s office to talk about taking over a company. I remember a few things about that meeting, but one thing he said has stuck with me ever since. As he was talking, he paused a bit and said, “this command business…it’s a tough thing.” He did not have to elaborate further. With the assumption of command comes with it a daunting responsibility. This is true today as it was then and holds true at every level and only increases the higher up you go. It is exactly the notion of responsibility vested in the commander, that at least from his perspective, makes it a 'tough thing.' "

Strategic Leader Meta-Competencies Stephen Banks, David Eckley, Colonel Silas G. Martinez, Mark Stackle, Prof Louis G Yuengert Publication from the US Army War College, Department of Command, Leadership, and Management, School of Strategic Landpower, US Army War College Press, Strategic Studies Institute "As the capability gap between the United States military and its global competitors continues to shrink, the Army has countered with the launch of a transformative talent management effort to maintain its competitive edge over its rivals. Officer assessments comprise a critical component of the Army’s effort. While doctrinal requirements and existing measurement tools facilitate implementation of assessments for junior and mid-grade officers, assessment strategies for senior leaders are underdeveloped. This report informs talent management at the strategic level."

Campaign Planning Handbook AY21 Col. Keith Burkepile, COL Matthew D. Morton, COL Veronica Oswald-Hrutkay Publication from the US Army War College, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, School of Strategic Landpower "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."