Books

A History of the U.S. Army Officer Corps, 1900-1990 Dr Arthur T Coumbe Books by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "With the assistance of the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, the Army’s Office of Economic and Manpower Analysis published a series of monographs that were intended to provide a theoretical and conceptual framework for the development of an Army Officer Corps Strategy. These monographs consider the creation and maintenance of a highly skilled Officer Corps in the context of the nation’s continuing commitment to an all-volunteer military, its far flung international interests, and ongoing changes in its domestic labor market. The authors of the various monographs believe that the confluence of these factors demands a comprehensive Officer Corps strategy that recognizes the interdependency of accessing, developing, retaining, and employing talent. In their view, building a talent-focused strategy around this four-activity human capital model would best enable the Army to match individual officer competencies to specific competency requirement."

Strategic Retrenchment and Renewal in the American Experience Dr Peter Feaver Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press In recent years, debates over American grand strategy have often focused on the question of whether the United States should retrench geopolitically or seek to renew its international leadership. This collection of essays puts this pressing question in its proper historical and theoretical context. The authors examine past episodes in which American presidents were confronted with similar choices, and they probe theoretical and policy debates over retrenchment, renewal, and their consequences. The result is a volume that enriches our understanding of how American leaders have, can, and should respond to the challenges and opportunities that characterize international relations. The Strategic Studies Institute is pleased to offer this collection as a contribution to the ongoing debate on American grand strategy.

Visual Propaganda and Extremism in the Online Environment Dr Cori E Dauber, Dr Carol K Winkler Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press Most of the papers included in this volume, except for the editor’s introduction, come from the conference on Visual Propaganda and Online Radicalization hosted in 2012 by Georgia State University in conjunction with the U.S. Army War College. They all speak to the power of visual images, particularly in the online environment, and the sophistication with which a variety of extremist and terrorist groups have adapted to the online environment, particularly through the use of powerful visual images. The strategic point made in these essays, and which serves as a unifying theme throughout the collection, is that weaker forces use these materials to great effect, and to even greater effect when we either underestimate the power of visual images or fail to develop effective counters. The unique value offered by these essays is to lay out clearly the ways in which images work for extremist groups, and to begin the process of developing effective strategies for responding. As the editors make clear, there is an extensive literature available establishing that when compared to text (or words heard over an audio track), images are remembered better, over a longer period of time, and with greater emotional power, having commanded more attention initially. This is true for moving and still images.

Moving Beyond Pretense: Nuclear Power and Nonproliferation Mr. Henry D Sokolski Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press This volume taps the insights and analyses of 13 top security and nuclear experts to get the answers. What emerges is a comprehensive counternarrative to the prevailing wisdom and a series of innovative reforms to tighten existing nuclear nonproliferation controls. For any official, analyst, or party concerned about the spread of nuclear technology, this book is essential reading.

Assessing the People's Liberation Army in the Hu Jintao Era Mr Roy Kamphausen, Dr David Lai, Mr Travis Tanner Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press This volume provides unique insights into the PLA’s achievements over the span of Hu Jintao’s tenure as Central Military Commission Chair from 2002 to 2012. This period saw a remarkable growth in capabilities and a critical expansion in the military’s missions. The PLA increased its adoption of information technologies and advanced sensors into its modernization efforts. It also improved its ability to carry out joint training and missions other than war. Reflecting developments in the Chinese Communist Party, the PLA also experienced important changes in its political focus and mission. Most significantly, Hu Jintao introduced the “historic missions,” which oriented the PLA toward a much greater international mission than it had previously undertaken. Supporting this new international mission, the PLA expanded its participation in international military exercises, as well as peacekeeping operations and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions abroad, including its first ever permanent naval deployment abroad in the counterpiracy missions in the Gulf of Aden. Understanding how the PLA matured and developed in the Hu era is critical to understanding the PLA today, and for identifying opportunities to further cooperation between our two militaries.

Senior Officer Talent Management: Fostering Institutional Adaptability LTC Michael J Colarusso, COL David S Lyle Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press Officer talent management is a critical research area, as maximizing the unique contributions of each officer is vital to the Army’s success in today’s austere fiscal and manpower environment. More specifically, the Secretary of the Army, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the Army Chief of Staff are all focused upon creating an adaptable institutional Army, one that can rapidly respond to operational demands. To that end, this monograph analyzes current senior officer management policies and recommends ways to make that cohort more adaptable. A central finding is that all-ranks officer talent management is critical to creating adaptable senior leaders. While this monograph focuses upon officer personnel policy, follow-on research will tackle compensation policy and organizational redesign, also within a talent management framework.

Africa's Booming Oil and Natural Gas Exploration and Production: National Security Implications for the United States and China Mr David E Brown Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press This monograph on Africa’s energy future describes how the frenetic search for hydrocarbons in Africa has become so intense and wide ranging that there is planned or ongoing oil and gas exploration in at least 51 of the continent’s 54 countries. Knowledge about Africa’s geology is improving rapidly, generating great optimism about Africa’s future growth and strategic position in the global economy. Because of a domestic boom in shale oil and gas in the United States, however, our nation’s energy imports from Africa have been falling rapidly in recent years, raising the key strategic issue of whether Africa matters as much to U.S. energy security as it once did.

Conflict Management and Peacebuilding: Pillars of a New American Grand Strategy Dr Robert H Dorff, Dr Volker C Franke Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press The symposium discussions ranged from the conceptual to the practical, with a focus on the challenges and desirability of interagency cooperation in international interventions. Invited panelists shared their experiences and expertise on the need for and future of an American grand strategy in an era characterized by increasingly complex security challenges and shrinking budgets. Panelists agreed that taking the status quo for granted was a major obstacle to developing a successful grand strategy and that government, the military, international and nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector are all called on to contribute their best talents and efforts to joint global peace and security efforts. The panelists engaged the audience in a discussion that included viewpoints from academia, the military, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and industry. Despite the broad range of viewpoints, a number of overarching themes and tentative agreements emerged. The reader will find them in the chapters of this edited volume.

Nuclear Weapons Security Crises: What Does History Teach? Mr Henry D Sokolski, Dr Bruno Tertrais Book by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press In addition to detailing the nuclear security crises that took place during the French Algerian coup of 1961, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Pakistan’s persistent political instability since the 1980s, this volume showcases an analysis of this history by a series of distinguished nuclear experts and practitioners. The hope is that history and its lessons will help in support of preparations for the next Nuclear Security Summit, planned for the Netherlands in 2014.