NATO Missile Defense and the European Phased Adaptive Approach: The Implications of Burden-Sharing and the Underappreciated Role of the U.S. Army Dr John R Deni, Mr Steven J Whitmore Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The 2010 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) decision to expand its ballistic missile defense program was somewhat surprising for several reasons, including lukewarm European public support for ballistic missile defense and tightening defense budgets on both sides of the Atlantic. Nevertheless, the Alliance has moved forward, with a significant expansion of its ballistic missile defense program, stating its intent to defend all European member state territory and populations, and declaring at the Chicago summit in 2012 that the Alliance had achieved an interim capability."

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."

A Transatlantic Bargain for the 21st Century: The United States, Europe, and the Transatlantic Alliance Dr Ellen Hallams Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Dr. Ellen Hallams’s monograph explores the nature of the bargain that has framed relations between the United States and its NATO allies, and considers what the terms of a revised bargain might be. Debate over a revised bargain raises many important questions: What are the sources of Washington’s frustration with the Alliance? What are the implications of Washington’s increasing focus on the Asia-Pacific for Europe and NATO? What is the nature of Alliance burden sharing in the context of modern military operations? In what ways can America’s European allies and partners generate greater burden sharing? Dr. Hallams proposes that a truly strategic partnership between the United States, NATO, and the European Union should be at the heart of a revised bargain, one that casts aside Cold War constructs and approaches transatlantic relations with a new maturity and pragmatism."

Closing the Candor Chasm: The Missing Element of Army Professionalism COL Paul Paolozzi Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Expressing openness and transparency is something we all say that we want but often choose to forego. Candor intimidates and creates discomfort; consequently, its presence is most often inversely proportional to rank and organizational size. There is no shortage of reasons why authentic communication is not used, but it is difficult to find precisely where candor stops being important or why it seems to be so undervalued. It is tough to measure, cannot be legislated, and is often organizationally absent, even when everyone seems to want it desperately. "

The Causes of Instability in Nigeria and Implications for the United States LTC Clarence J Bouchat (USAF, Ret) Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Understanding the political economy of Nigeria is needed to reveal the root causes of its many ethnic, religious, economic, and political problems and address them for the long term. The pressures now weighing on Nigeria could literally fracture the state along deep fault lines if rampant corruption and partisanship continues. The United States, in a mutually important partnership with Nigeria, should assist in specific but indirect ways to help Nigerians overcome their political economy problems, which could serve both the interests of the United States and Nigeria. Within such assistance, the role of the U.S. military is particularly delicate, but needed through focused aid to specific programs and sharing of expertise, all best managed through employing units that are regionally aligned to Nigeria or West Africa."

The Effectiveness of Drone Strikes in Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism Campaigns Dr James Igoe Walsh Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "The United States increasingly relies on unmanned aerial vehicles—better known as drones—to target insurgent and terrorist groups around the world. Proponents argue that drones are, in both political and military terms, an effective way to coerce such adversaries. Critics suggest that drone strikes not infrequently result in inadvertent civilian casualties, which terrorist and insurgent organizations use as rallying cries to garner support and legitimacy for their acts of violence. There is surprisingly little systematic evidence that either of these positions is correct. It is not clear if drone strikes have degraded their targets, or that they kill enough civilians to create sizable public backlashes against the United States. Drones are a politically and militarily attractive way to counter insurgents and terrorists, but, paradoxically, this may lead to their use in situations where they are less likely to be effective and where there is difficulty in predicting the consequences."

Development of the Baltic Armed Forces in Light of Multinational Deployments Dr James S Corum Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Coalition operations have been an important part of U.S. warfighting in the last decade of conflict. In the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan coalition partners, especially from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations, have played an important role. Given the ongoing instability in several regions of the world, there is a strong possibility that in the near future the U.S. Armed Forces will again have to operate with allied coalition partners to help support or rebuild a country devastated by internal conflict."

A Framework for Restructuring the Military Retirement System COL David S Lyle, Dr John Z Smith, Mr Roy A Wallace Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "For more than a century, the military has provided a defined benefit (DB) pension to service members who render 20 or more years of active-duty service. The U.S. civilian labor force has long since replaced DB pension programs with defined contribution pension programs where employers and employees contribute to a 401(k)-type account. The military, however, has continued to provide a DB pension plan worth in excess of a million dollars to veterans who retire as early as 38 years of age. With annual military retirement system outlays exceeding $50 billion, senior officials have begun calling for pension reform on the grounds that the current system is fiscally unsustainable. "

The Struggle for Yemen and the Challenge of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Dr W Andrew Terrill Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press "Dr. Terrill uses this monograph to explore how Yemen’s “Arab Spring” uprising paralyzed that country’s government and shattered its military into hostile factions for over a year beginning in early 2011. This prolonged crisis prevented Yemen’s government, under President Ali Abdullah Saleh, from doing much more than attempting to survive. Saleh used those military units that remained loyal to him for regime protection against anti-government demonstrators and troops who defected to those demonstrators. The uprising subsequently led to a security vacuum that helped allow AQAP and its insurgent force, Ansar al-Shariah, to expand their activities beyond terrorism due to the government’s preoccupation with the Arab Spring. Although AQAP and the Arab Spring demonstrators felt no kinship towards each other, AQAP was more than willing to take advantage of the disorder produced by the uprising. In this new security environment, the militants were able to seize and hold significant amounts of territory in southern Yemen. Despite this focus on capturing territory, Dr. Terrill also notes that AQAP has remained interested in striking at U.S. interests in Yemen and especially in implementing spectacular acts of terrorism against the U.S. homeland. "