Military Change & Transformation

Confidence Building in Cyberspace: A Comparison of Territorial and Weapons-Based Regimes Dr Mary Manjikian Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "This monograph examines two historic examples of the development of confidence-building measures (CBMs) so as to make recommendations regarding the development of CBMs for cyberspace. The first study looks at CBMs aimed at preventing the escalation of conflict in contested territories such as the Indo-Pakistan border. The second study looks at the development of a chemical weapons ban following World War I and the establishment of reporting and monitoring procedures to stem the proliferation of chemical weapons. Both cases offer lessons for cyber-based CBMs: One can borrow from territorial CBMs to establish a secure environment, or one can borrow from weapons-based CBMs to shape the development of new cyber technologies and prevent their proliferation."

Strategic Insights: The Landpower Robot Revolution Is Coming Steven Metz Article by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Military technical revolutions have a distinct pattern. When new technology becomes available, it initially is used to augment existing operational methods and tactics. In Europe, for instance, the first firearms were used to give formations of pikemen more punch. On the battlefields of World War I, tanks were moveable pill boxes supporting slogging infantry attacks. Airplanes were used like old-fashioned cavalry, scouting for the infantry and artillery. Later, they supplemented infantry and artillery by strafing and bombing. Even the first atomic weapons were simply a very effective way to do the work of traditional 500 pound bombs and incendiaries..."

Futures Seminar: The United States Army in 2025 and Beyond Mr Samuel R White Jr Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Academic Year 2014 (AY14) marks the inaugural year for the Futures Seminar – an elective course offered to resident students during the Term II elective period (Feb-Mar 2014) at the U.S. Army War College (USAWC). Created through a shared vision between the USAWC and the Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC), the Futures Seminar is loosely modeled on the Army After Next Project (AANP), conducted at the USAWC in the late 1990s. Through the AANP, the USAWC hoped to leverage research and writing on strategic trends, the security environment, technology and other factors which would impact the Army in 10 to 25 years."

Changing Minds In The Army: Why It Is So Difficult and What To Do About It Dr Stephen J Gerras, Dr Leonard Wong Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "While changing one’s mind is not something we normally associate with strategic leadership, Stephen Gerras and Leonard Wong point out that it is not only a valuable skill at the strategic level, but also a necessary capability in the current security environment of complexity and change. Unfortunately, as the authors describe, changing one’s mind does not come easy for Army senior leaders. Individual and organizational factors emerge that make the ability to change one’s mind difficult and elusive. Nevertheless, this monograph introduces a concept that all Army senior leaders should evaluate both in themselves and the Army profession."

SOLLIMS Sampler - Lessons on Stability Operations from U.S. Army War College Students Mister David A Mosinski PKSOI SOLLIMS Sampler by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "In Academic Year 2013, U.S. Army War College students in PKSOI elective courses were given the opportunity to enter a Lesson Learned (gained from operational experience) into the SOLLIMS database. Over 80 Lessons Learned were captured, covering topics such as Governance, Security Sector Reform, Economic Stabilization, and Comprehensive Approach. The vast majority have Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational (JIIM) applications."

Lead Me, Follow Me, Or Get Out of My Way: Rethinking and Refining the Civil-Military Relationship Dr Mark R Shulman Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph explains why robust civil-military relations matter and discusses how they are evolving. Without meaningful and reliable civilian control of the military, governments lose some measure of control over the destiny of their nations. In extreme circumstances, a lack of civilian control can even lead to a coup d’état. Part I discusses A More Perfect Military: How the Constitution Can Make Our Military Stronger by Diane Mazur, a book that examines the jurisprudence that has reshaped civil-military relations. Mazur maintains that since the Vietnam era, the U.S. Supreme Court has in effect distanced the Armed Forces from general society in order to create a separate—and more socially conservative—sphere..."

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."

The New Aztecs: Ritual and Restraint in Contemporary Western Military Operations Dr Zhivan Alach Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The idea that the military environment is constantly evolving, becoming more and more dangerous and technologically sophisticated, is a common one. In the past century, we have seen the emergence of total war, nuclear weapons, and bloody unconventional and asymmetric campaigns. We have used many of the offshoots of this evolutionary idea to guide our own setting of defense policy, seeing in the evolution a constant escalation, albeit one perhaps marred by occasional yet small oscillations. "

Relationship Between Military Engineers and Environmental Issues Ms Marcela Ramirez Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "According to the National Science Foundation, Environmental Engineering relates to understanding the impacts of human activities on the public health, natural environmental quality, natural resources and with developing the scientific basis for identifying, analyzing, solving, mitigating, or managing environmental problems caused by human activities. There is an innate requirement to fully leverage information technology, training and education to provide integrated engineering and environmental management, execution, and technical services in support of the populace."