Issue Papers

How Will the Structure of Military Organizations Evolve as Artificial Intelligence Becomes More Sophisticated? Professor Kristan Wheaton Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Deploying AI on the battlefield will force militaries to reimagine how they organize and operate. The Industrial Age principles of structure, authority, and control heavily influence modern military units. In the Industrial Age, factories needed managers to coordinate production and workers to perform individual tasks. But in the fast-paced, dynamic world of twenty-first-century warfare, commanders need soldiers who can think on their feet, team with machines, and adapt their tactics accordingly. A study by Deloitte found AI has the potential to reshape every business process within an enterprise. As a result of this transformation, AI will probably also have a transformative impact on the military."

Strength and Wisdom in Space COL Benjamin Ogden Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Since its establishment in 1901, the US Army War College (USAWC) has addressed some of the most complex and pressing national security problems facing the United States. From analyzing the lessons of the Spanish-American War to studying emerging concepts from the World Wars, preparing students for the Cold War, and transforming senior military officers into strategic thinkers, the civilian and soldier scholars at the US Army War College have been uniquely adept at examining the changing character of warfare. In light of this rich legacy of study, the college’s motto of “Strength and Wisdom” perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the institution and its faculty. Today, the character of war includes resurgent peer competition across various national interests; thus, the US Army War College must redirect its focus toward shaping a strategic environment that cuts across different domains."

The USAWC Strategy Model in Moldova: Developing the Master's Course (Level II PME) for Military and Civilian Professionals COL Florian Circiumaru, Colonel Mark V Montesclaros Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Beginning in 2009, a multinational team of NATO professional military education (PME) experts began providing assistance to the Republic of Moldova’s Armed Forces at the Moldovan Military Institute (later Academy [MMA]) in Chisinau. The team’s broad purpose was to help the Moldovan military adjust from a Soviet-style military educational system to one that more closely mirrored NATO and Western standards. While constitutionally a neutral country, Moldova is a Partnership for Peace (PfP) Consortium member and participant in the Defense Education Enhancement Program (DEEP). As part of the DEEP process, the NATO team, co-led by Colonel (Ret.) John F. Troxell of the USAWC’s Strategic Research Department, was initially charged with two major efforts."

Terminal Blackout: Critical Electric Infrastructure Vulnerabilities and Civil-Military Resiliency Ms Cindy E Ayers, Kenneth D Chrosniak Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Threats to the electric grid (cyber, solar, non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse [NNEMP] and high-altitude nuclear electromagnetic pulse [HEMP]), as well as the potential consequences of significant damage to grid components by terrorists and other natural disasters, have increased incrementally since 2001; but details releasable to the public at the unclassified level were rare prior to 2008..."

Cyber Ricochet: Risk Management and Cyberspace Operations Mr Benjamin C Leitzel Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Recent media reports of the ‘Duqu’, ‘Flame’, and ‘Stuxnet’ malware highlight cyberspace operations capabilities as well as emphasize the vulnerabilities of computer networks and systems. Many computer security vulnerabilities go undetected for years and once discovered vendors can take months to correct the defects. Even after vendors release ‘patches’ to correct the problem, most users fail to update their systems immediately and completely. The result is a cyberspace environment plagued with undefended systems where seams and gaps are exposed to even the most novice cyber threat actor."

AFRICOM's Role in Water Security Christopher M Best Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Few substances on Earth are as important to human survival as water. Access to clean fresh water facilitates the growth of industry, agriculture, and human population centers. Providing developing countries the resources and knowledge to access quality water sources can serve as a powerful tool for enhancing regional stability and fostering the credibility of the United States around the world. How issues within and between nations regarding how future demands for water are addressed will require the coordinated effort of various United States Government (USG) agencies moving towards common goals. This paper will focus on AFRICOM’s role in preserving U.S. interests in Africa by fostering water security. It will start with a discussion of major water challenges facing Africa in the near future, discuss the relationship between water security and U.S. national security interests, and conclude with AFRICOM’s role in water security."

Economics of National Security: "Unfunding" Terror LTC Mark W Holzer Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The discussion of how best to deprive terrorist organizations of funding is necessarily broad because of the numerous means people have devised to acquire and move funds for whatever purpose they intend. How seriously the United States takes this issue can be seen just in the number of statutory provisions that have been adopted and the diligence with which we update terror-associated lists that are aimed at depriving terrorists of funds. While it is clearly a matter of concern, the National Security Strategy’s treatment of this topic is very broad and is discussed only within fairly limited contexts. The muted language of the National Security Strategy (NSS) may simply be a realistic assessment of the difficulties we face in trying to dry up terrorist funding streams and the challenges of evaluating our efforts in spite of the fairly broad approach that has been undertaken in the past decade."

The Strategic Importance of Shale Gas Nathaniel Freeland Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Fuel powers the industrial production that strengthens the economy and provides the means to project national power. Reliable sources of energy are imperative to the security of the United States. Aside from coal, conventional natural gas deposits have been the most practical and easiest to recover. Approximately 24% of the United States energy is supplied by natural gas. Broken down by sector, it is a major fuel source for a wide range of industries to include paper, metals, chemicals and food processing. In addition to its industrial uses, natural gas is used to heat, cool, and cook in the residential and commercial sectors of the United States. Due to its cleaner-burning properties, economic availability, and equivalent power to quantity ratio, it has become a favored alternative. In terms of energy output natural gas provides one and one-third times as much energy as gasoline, which is very important in considering alternative fuel sources. However, natural gas supply has been overtaken by the demand of the U.S. economy. "

Chinese Five Year Plans: An Economic Catalyst? LTC Troy D Galloway Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "China’s embrace of globalization in a measured manner is a direct result of the communist nation’s reliance on five-year national development plans to guide its growth and economic reform. This gradualist approach has worked well in moving the economy towards reform while avoiding significant risk. This short essay will discuss the linkages that exist between the significant Chinese economic success of the last 30 years and the communist five-year plans that have outlined many of the nation’s economic reforms."