Military Change & Transformation

Key Strategic Issues List 2018-2020 Document by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "As our National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy acknowledge, Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and radical violent extremist organizations pose extant and potential challenges to U.S. national security. Those challenges exist within an extraordinarily complex global security environment characterized by dynamic changes in technology and its application, profound demographic shifts, economic redistribution and distortion, and geostrategic power realignments of historic proportions. These ever-intensifying conditions produce increasing uncertainty concerning the prospects for world peace, stability, and prosperity. Some strategists opine that the potential for great power interstate conflict is higher now than at any time since the end of the Cold War."

Strategic Insights: Revolutionary Change Is Coming to Strategic Leadership Dr Steven Metz Article by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press

Futures Seminar 2017 - The United States Army in 2035 and Beyond Samuel R. White, Jr. Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "In 2035-2050 the battlespace will be elongated and deepened - and hyper-connected. Engagements will occur at home station military bases through ports of debarkation to tactical assembly areas all the way to the adversary's motor pool. From space to the ocean floor; from military to non-military; from governmental to non-governmental; from state to non-state; from physical to virtual. The operational area will be wherever effects are generated - and the array of stimuli that will generate effects is staggering. The interconnected and global nature of everything will produce physical and virtual effects that have tremendous range, saturation and immediacy - along with daunting complexity and stealth."

2017-18 Key Strategic Issues List COL Todd E. Key Document by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Today's global security environment remains volatile, uncertain, and complex. Resurgent, revanchist, and unstable states, and radical terrorist organizations continue to challenge the international order, undermine peace and stability, and threaten U.S. interests. In the face of this, the United States Army remains America's combat force of decision. If the political leaders of the United States decide to deploy its Army, the Nation's opponents know they will be defeated. This certainty is the foundation of America's deterrent capability."

Closer Than You Think: The Implications of the Third Offset Strategy for the U.S. Army Mr Samuel R White Jr Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is moving forward with a broad set of innovation initiatives designed to effectively posture the U.S. military for the coming decades. One sub-set of initiatives, the Third Offset, is focused on leap-ahead technologies and capabilities that may offset competitor parity in critical domains."

Rethinking Sovereignty in the Context of Cyberspace: The Cyber Sovereignty Workshop Series Cynthia E. Ayers "Recent successful "hacks," allegedly carried out by professionals acting on behalf of, or in concert with nation-states have heightened concerns about cyber warfare and sovereignty in the context of cyberspace. To maintain the integrity of U.S. and allied sovereign borders, it is imperative that security measures and defenses are coordinated and choreographed at the policy, strategy, and operational levels in the cyber domain, as well as in the physical world..."

2016-17 Key Strategic Issues List Professor John F. Troxell Document by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and radical violent extremist organizations that currently challenge the U.S will likely continue to do so for some time. These security challenges exist within a wider global context of rapid technological change, significant demographic shifts, an uncertain economy, and geostrategic power dynamics of historic proportions. These conditions intensify the level of uncertainty and the pace of change, and raise the potential for significant interstate conflict to higher levels than at any time since the end of the Cold War."

Impunity: Countering Illicit Power in War and Transition Michelle Hughes, Michael Miklaucic Guides and Handbooks by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "Strategies that weaken illicit power structures and strengthen legitimate state authority are vital to national and international security. As Dr. Henry Kissinger observed, we may be “facing a period in which forces beyond the restraints of any order determine the future.” Because threats to security emanate from disorder in areas where governance and rule of law are weak, defeating terrorist, insurgent, and criminal organizations requires integrated efforts not only to attack enemy organizations, but also to strengthen institutions essential to sustainable security."

The Changing Character of War 1775-2016 Dr Conrad C Crane, Dr Michael E Lynch, Dr James D. Scudieri Historical Research Review by US Army War College, Army Heritage and Education Center "The potential changes in the operating environment (OE) and the character of war in the next 15-20 years are unknowable and history cannot provide a predictive model or “cookbook” to anticipate future events. The last 250 years, however, have provided many examples of shifts in the character of war caused by emerging technology, political shifts, economic changes and diplomatic crises. This context may prove very useful for senior leaders. There will doubtless be technological advances in the future, and some may be “game changers.” Intellectual development is just as important as technological development..."