Studies

In Support of the Common Defense Journal, Volume 2 Professor Bert B. Tussing, Dr. Brian Nussbaum, Colonel Thomas Keegan, Colonel Karl Bopp, Ritchie Dion Study by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "One of the enduring missions of the Department of Defense, and the United States Army, has been to defend the United States homeland from foreign aggression and those threats that might endanger its sovereignty, its infrastructure, or its citizens. From the American Revolution to “Superstorm Sandy,” the United States Army has played a key role is safeguarding not just American interests around the world, but the American people at home..."

Information as Power, Volume 6 Jeffrey L. Groh, Benjamin C. Leitzel, Dennis M. Murphy, and Mark A. Van Dyke Study by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The U.S. Army War College (USAWC) is pleased to present this anthology of selected student work from Academic Year 2011 representing examples of well-written and in-depth analyses on the vital subject of Information as Power. This is the sixth volume of an effort that began in 2006. The anthology is an important component of an effort to coordinate and recommend the design, development and integration of content and courses related to the information element of power into the curriculum to prepare our students for senior leadership positions."

In Support of the Common Defense Journal - Volume 1 Bert B. Tussing, Kurt Crytzer, Steve Carney Study by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "An unspoken standard of the Armed Forces has always been, “When the nation is least ready, we must be most ready.” While that rings clear as far as warfare is concerned, it is not nearly so when it comes to the realm of domestic security. In spite of strategies that continue to espouse homeland security and homeland defense as “job one,” woefully few in the Department of Defense have studied the issues, the intricacies, and the nuances that necessarily surround the use of the military in the domestic environment. "

Mexico and the Triple Threat Sharon L Cardash, Frank J Cilluffo, Prof Bert B Tussing Study by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership, The George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute (HSPI) "Trying to decipher the news coming out of Mexico these days is enough to give an observer whiplash. The signals are conflicting to say the least. On the one hand, there are horrific accounts of the most brutal violence, including beheadings and disembowelments. On the other hand, there are encouraging reports that the country is making economic and other headway, so much so that levels of illegal immigration to the United States are declining. In point of fact, both depictions are true. But consolidating the latter gains, so they take further root and help improve the lot of an ever-wider circle of Mexico’s people, will require stability. And that is an element in short supply today, thanks to the hybrid of crime, terrorist tactics, and insurgency, particularly in the five Mexican states where violence is the most highly concentrated."

In the Dark; Military Planning for a Catastrophic Critical Infrastructure Event Mr Kevin J Cogan Study by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The earth is situated in a strategic location just 93 million miles from its sun. Since its creation it has survived the cataclysms of temperature extremes, meteor bombardments, and solar storm events. It has survived these events so well that life, including humans, has flourished and prospered in increasing numbers and progressively higher standards of living. For all but the last 150 years, the infrastructure constructed for better human living standards has been relatively unaffected by localized geological disasters or the broader effects of solar storms. But the harnessing of electrical power, begun in the mid-nineteenth century and its distribution via an interconnected grid to which 86% of the U.S. population is now connected, has created the potential for a near certain catastrophe of unprecedented proportion if it fails..."

Information as Power, Volume 4 Jeffrey L. Caton, Cori E. Dauber, Jeffrey L. Groh, David J. Smith Study by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The Information in Warfare Working Group (I2WG) of the U.S. Army War College (USAWC) is pleased to present this anthology of selected student work from Academic Year 2009 representing examples of well-written and in-depth analyses on the vital subject of Information as Power. This is the fourth volume of an effort that began in 2006. The I2WG charter calls for it to coordinate and recommend the design, development and integration of content and courses related to the information element of power into the curriculum to prepare students for senior leadership positions. This publication is an important component of that effort."

Bullets and Blogs: New Media and the Warfighter Diedre Collings, Rafal Rohozinski Study by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "War is nothing if not a constant process of adaptation. Today, anyone armed with a digital camera and access to the Internet can become an information warrior, potentially reaching global audiences. Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and blogs have become as important to the strategic outcome of military operations as bullets, troops and air power. Appreciating the game-changing properties of new media are as important for today’s warfighters as are the skills, training and tradecraft required to maneuver conventional forces. "

The New Chemistry of C2 Mr Kevin J Cogan, Mister William O Waddell Study by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "A necessary change in the military transition to the next generation of warfare is the maturing of “command and control” processes and semantics for leading and configuring the organization to meet emerging threats. In the book Understanding Command and Control, Drs. Alberts and Hayes state that the purpose of C2 “has remained unchanged since the earliest military forces engaged.” In a journal article, Dr. Alberts writes that agility, focus, and convergence might be the semantics that replace the linguistics of the term Command and Control. He suggests that Command and Control are terms that no longer fit the transformation in warfare paradigm for the 21st century. He calls for new approaches to thinking about C2 by removing the “restrictive legacy of language and connotation” and by so doing he proposes replacing C2 with the terms Focus & Convergence, where “agility is the critical capability that organizations need to meet the challenges of complexity and uncertainty.” This is particularly true when it is likely that future conflicts will necessitate coalitions which do not necessarily conform to a common semantic meaning of C2 terminology. "

China's Pursuit of Africa's Natural Resources Dr Kent H Butts Collins Center Study by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Africa is a vast continent with diverse geographic patterns and a relatively limited population. The resource base of Africa is enormous, with powerful rivers, world leading concentrations of strategic minerals, and important petroleum and uranium deposits. Nevertheless, it is comprised mainly of developing states, with limited capacity and infrastructure. Western development strategies have failed miserably in Africa, falling victim to Cold War politics, cultural differences and Africa’s colonial heritage. Long a friend of Africa in its self-declared role as leader of the developing world, China is in the midst of a resurgent African initiative based on a “politics free” development model aimed at securing access to Africa’s resource supplies. This chapter examines China’s African strategy, offers an assessment of its implications for United States (U.S.) national security, and suggests a proactive, interest based approach for dealing with this phenomenon."