Military Change & Transformation

Clausewitz's Center of Gravity: Changing Our Warfighting Doctrine--Again! Dr Antulio J Echevarria II Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The center of gravity has become one of today’s most popular military concepts despite the fact that its origins extend back to the early industrial-age. Clausewitz’s military center of gravity (CoG) and the CoG of the mechanical sciences share many of the same properties: neither is a strength or a source of strength, per se, but rather a focal point where physical (and psychological) forces come together. The U.S. military’s doctrinal publications—especially Joint Pub 3-0, Doctrine for Joint Operations, and Joint Pub 5-00.1, Joint Doctrine for Campaign Planning—should be revised to reflect a more accurate definition of the CoG."

The Future of Transcaspian Security Dr Stephen J Blank Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph explores the unprecedented opportunities that are now before the United States and recommends actions that the Government and armed forces, especially, but not only the U.S. Army, should undertake to consolidate and extend the newly emerging military partnership and cooperative security regime that are now developing. Because the opportunities being presented to the United States and NATO were never possible before to this degree, the proper way to exploit them will become a subject of debate."

Business and Security in a Wired World Dennis M Murphy Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The U.S. Army War College (USAWC) Center for Strategic Leadership (CSL) con ducted a “Business Security in a Wired World” seminar in Rye, New York on 24-25 April 2002. Participants in the event included business executives representing critical infrastructure segments, government officials, and executives of two industry associations. The College’s objective in the session was to obtain a better understanding of private sector concerns for information assurance and homeland security."

Stifled Innovation? Developing Tomorrow's Leaders Today Dr Leonard Wong Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Dr. Leonard Wong examines how, despite the need to develop and grow innovative leaders for the Army’s future forces, the current system in the Army seems to be working against that vision. He argues that current levels of directed training events, dictated training procedures, and disruptions originating from higher echelons are having a detrimental effect on the development of innovation in today’s company commanders."

Transforming Defense Dr Conrad C Crane Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This collection regroups papers and presentations from the conference into three categories: Historical Overviews of Transforming Defense, Transformation Plans and Barriers, and External Views of Transformation. Each section contains an introduction describing the essays that follow, as well as summarizing other relevant conference presentations and discussions bearing on the topic. If presenters did not produce a formal article for publication, their key arguments are still described in the introduction."

Rapid Decisive Operations: An Assumptions-Based Critique Dr Antulio J Echevarria II Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Technological innovation plays a paradoxical role in military transformation. With each problem it solves, technological innovation tends to introduce new challenges or complications. Operational concepts can partly reconcile these tensions by finding the optimal balance between technological strengths and weaknesses. In so doing, they perform two vital functions (integrating and stimulating) for military transformation."

AC/RC Integration: Today's Success and Transformation's Challenge Dr Dallas D Owens Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In the following monograph, Lieutenant Colonel Dallas Owens analyzes current integration programs and initiatives and evaluates them for their potential to resist transformation’s possible threat to AC/RC integration. His two-part analysis first addresses the continuity, logic, and effectiveness of the Army’s integration efforts and then turns to an examination of how historical experience with integration should direct future efforts."

W(h)ither Corps? Dr D Robert Worley Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Army transformation should not be a “one size fits all” process. Each of the Army’s surviving corps has a unique origin. Relevance to present and future conflict environments requires multiple destinations. Ultimately, separate transformations are required to move from distinct origins to diverse destinations."

The Information Revolution and National Security Mr Thomas E Copeland Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The current era has seen more rapid and extensive change than any time in human history. The profusion of information and the explosion of information technology is the driver, reshaping all aspects of social, political, cultural, and economic life. The effects of the information revolution are particularly profound in the realm of national security strategy. They are creating new opportunities for those who master them. The U.S. military, for instance, is exploring ways to seize information superiority during conflicts and thus gain decisive advantages over its opponents. But the information revolution also creates new security threats and vulnerabilities. No nation has made more effective use of the information revolution than the United States, but none is more dependent on information technology. To protect American security, then, military leaders and defense policymakers must understand the information revolution."