Military Change & Transformation

Multilateral Constraints on the Use of Force: A Reassessment Dr Seyom Brown Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This inquiry has been conducted in the midst of increasing questioning by policymakers and scholars concerning the importance and role of alliances and other multilateral arrangements and legal norms affecting the use of force by the United States. Provoked in part by the transatlantic altercations surrounding Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, the questioning is driven by systemic developments—changes in the structure of world politics and changes in the shape of war—of which the Iraq-focused disputes were a symptom."

Recognizing and Understanding Revolutionary Change in Warfare: The Sovereignty of Context Dr Colin S Gray Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph provides an audit, a not-unfriendly critical review, of the concept of revolutionary military change. It offers a review of what those who theorize about, and those who are committed by policy to execute, such a revolution ought to know about their subject. As the subtitle of the analysis announces, the leading edge of the argument is the potency, indeed the sovereign importance, of warfare’s contexts."

U.S. Defense Strategy After Saddam Dr Michael E O'Hanlon Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this defense strategy and budget monograph, Michael O’Hanlon argues that America’s large defense budget cannot be pared realistically in the years ahead. But given the extreme demands of the Iraq mission, particularly on the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, he suggests how reductions in various weapons modernization programs and other economies might free up enough funds to add at least 40,000 more ground troops to today’s military. O’Hanlon also addresses the important question of how the United States might encourage and help other countries to share more of the global military burden. Finally, he sketches other cost cutting measures such as privatization. These cost saving ideas all require serious consideration because of the enormous strain being placed on the size and cost of the U.S. ground forces."

Budget Policy, Deficits, and Defense: A Fiscal Framework for Defense Planning Dr Dennis S Ippolito Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The transformation of the U.S. military is entering a critical stage. The Department of Defense is initiating the most far-reaching changes in its worldwide bases and deployments since the 1950s. Parallel efforts to consolidate domestic bases and defense facilities are likely as well, now that the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission has begun its work. And the Quadrennial Defense Review currently underway could have a profound impact on the size and shape of future forces."

Transformation and Strategic Surprise Dr Colin S Gray Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In this monograph, Dr. Colin Gray takes a broad view of strategic surprise, and relates it to the current military transformation. He argues that the kind of strategic surprise to which the United States is most at risk and which is most damaging to our national security is the deep and pervasive connection between war and politics. Although America is usually superior at making war, it is far less superior in making peace out of war. Dr. Gray concludes that the current military transformation shows no plausible promise of helping to correct the long-standing U.S. weakness in the proper use of forces as an instrument of policy."

Is it all about Winning? Dr Dallas D Owens Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute " Only a few years ago the Army emphasized to itself, the rest of the U.S. defense establishment, and politicians that the Army's primary mission was to fight wars. The 2001 edition of The Army (FM-1) confirmed that, 'the Army's nonnegotiable contract with the American people is to fight and win our Nation's wars.' The Army's core competencies were, except for support to civil authorities, a list of war prevention, preparation, and fighting capabilities."

Building Capability from the Technical Revolution that Has Happened Dr John Deutch, Dr John White Colloquium Report by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and the Eisenhower National Security Series "The fundamental idea of transformation is that changes in the geopolitical environment and in technology require the United States to change dramatically its defense enterprise to meet the range of new national security threats. This transformation requirement affects both the Department of Defense (DoD) and all other agencies involved in national security."

Fighting Insurgents--No Shortcuts to Success Dr James S Corum Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "For the last 3 decades, the Army, the Defense Department, and the CIA have emphasized the high tech aspects of intelligence, sophisticated electronic collection equipment, and multibillion dollar space surveillance programs. Even at the tactical level, Army intelligence personnel are trained primarily to employ a variety of high tech collection means including UAVs, sensors and ground radars. This approach to intelligence collection was appropriate when the intelligence priorities were geared to counting Soviet missile systems or defending the Fulda Gap against a massive Soviet tank attack."

This is Not Your Father's, or Mother's Army! Dr Douglas V Johnson II Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "It would probably strike the average observer as odd or even irrational for the Army to reorganize just as it engages in war, but that seems to be normal for the American Army. In at least three wars, that is exactly what has happened and it is happening again. Had you been an infantry company commander on April 1, 1917, you would have commanded a company of about 58 soldiers armed with 1903 Springfield rifles. By July of that year the company would be 250 strong and equipped with Springfield or possibly British Enfield rifles, heavy and light machineguns, mortars, hand and rifle grenades, and a host of other devices of war new or previously unknown to the U.S. Army."