Landpower Employment & Sustainment

Added October 09, 2012

The Future of American Landpower: Does Forward Presence Still Matter? The Case of the Army in Europe

Authored by Dr. John R. Deni.
View the Executive Summary

The January 2012 announcement that the United States would reduce the number of Brigade Combat Teams in Europe captured media, popular, and scholarly attention, prompting many to ask: Is the United States turning its back on Europe as it pivots to Asia? Do the Europeans have the wherewithal to defend themselves? Are forward-based U.S. land forces necessary at all? Given the necessity of capable, interoperable coalition partners for the future security threats Washington most expects to encounter, the role of America’s forward military presence in Europe remains as vital as it was at the dawn of the Cold War, but for different reasons. Dr. Deni’s monograph forms a critical datapoint in the ongoing dialogue regarding the future of American Landpower.

Added September 25, 2012

Lead Me, Follow Me, Or Get Out of My Way: Rethinking and Refining the Civil-Military Relationship

Authored by Dr. Mark R. Shulman.
Troubled relations between the armed forces and civil society sap the vitality of the republic and undermine the effectiveness of the military. This timely monograph launches a discussion about what kind of civil-military relationship we have and how to improve it.

Added August 01, 2012

2012-13 Key Strategic Issues List

Edited by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.
The purpose of the Key Strategic Issues List is to provide military and civilian researchers a ready reference for issues of special interest to the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense.

Added July 03, 2012

End Game Strategies: Winning the Peace

Authored by Lieutenant Colonel William L. Peace, Sr.
What lessons can be learned from the occupation of Germany after World War II and from Iraq after Operation IRAQI FREEDOM? This Carlisle Paper analyzes both the similarities and differences between the occupations of both countries and suggests how lessons learned from both can be applied to the future.

Added May 10, 2012

Disjointed Ways, Disunified Means: Learning from America's Struggle to Build an Afghan Nation

Authored by Colonel Lewis G. Irwin.
Remarkably ambitious in its audacity and scope, NATO’s irregular warfare and nation-building mission in Afghanistan has struggled to meet its nonmilitary objectives by most tangible measures. This book explores shortfalls in the U.S. Government’s strategic planning processes and the mechanisms for interagency coordination of effort that have contributed to this situation, as well as reforms needed to meet emerging 21st century national security challenges.

Added May 01, 2012

Lessons of the Iraqi De-Ba'athification Program for Iraq's Future and the Arab Revolutions

Authored by Dr. W. Andrew Terrill.
This monograph considers both the future of Iraq and the differences and similarities between events in Iraq and the Arab Spring states. Serious and expanding mistakes by new governments are possible in the aftermath of the Arab Spring revolutions, and any lessons that can be gleaned from earlier conflicts will be of considerable value to those nations. Moreover, U.S. Army officers and senior noncommissioned officers (NCOs) may often have unique opportunities and unique credibility to offer advice on the lessons of Iraq to their counterparts in some of the Arab Spring nations.

Added April 25, 2012

Enabling Unity of Effort in Homeland Response Operations

Authored by Lieutenant General (Ret.) H Steven Blum, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Kerry McIntyre.
The authors assert that attaining unity of effort is the fundamental prerequisite for effective homeland response operations. They conclude that the best way to improve unity of effort is to create a dynamic system for producing, validating, and updating a unifying national homeland response doctrine.

Added April 17, 2012

Conflict Management and "Whole of Government": Useful Tools for U.S. National Security Strategy?

Edited by Dr. Volker C. Franke, Dr. Robert H. Dorff.
Intended to facilitate dialogue between academic experts, military leaders, policymakers, and civilian practitioners, this edited volume provides a state of the art analysis of current whole of government (WoG) approaches and their effectiveness for coordinating stabilization and peacebuilding efforts. It explores the question: Can “smart power”—using the right tool for each operational context—successfully shift the burden of stability operations to civilian actors and enable the timely scaling-down of military deployments?

Added September 22, 2011

Puncturing the Counterinsurgency Myth: Britain and Irregular Warfare in the Past, Present, and Future

Authored by Dr. Andrew Mumford.
Far from being the counterinsurgency exemplars that history has benevolently cast them, this monograph posits 10 myths of British counterinsurgency that debunk key elements of British performance in irregular warfare from Malaya to Iraq.

Added July 15, 2011

The Changing Face of Afghanistan, 2001-08

Authored by Colonel Deborah Hanagan.
This paper reviews the broad dimensions of the George W. Bush administration policy and strategy regarding Afghanistan and the fact that it was multilateral, encompassing extensive political, economic, and military efforts, and multinational during the entire period of the administration. It provides broad documentation of the concrete progress made in the country between 2001 and 2008 and addresses the ongoing challenges.

Added June 08, 2011

Defining Command, Leadership, and Management Success Factors within Stability Operations

Authored by Major Dave Fielder.
Stabilization operations have been present across the globe for centuries in many forms. But how have the command, leadership, and management of these operations manifested themselves, and what are the success attributes within this field of study?

Added May 19, 2011

Rebuilding Armed Forces: Learning from Iraq and Lebanon

Authored by Dr. Florence Gaub.
Learning from the armed forces of Iraq and Lebanon might not seem the first instinct when it comes to improving post-conflict reconstruction efforts. Yet, the two cases offer useful insight into these processes, what to avoid and what to emphasize.

Added May 06, 2011

The Military's Role in Counterterrorism: Examples and Implications for Liberal Democracies

Authored by Dr. Geraint Hughes.
The Military’s Role in Counterterrorism examines the roles which armed forces have been required to perform by democratic governments involved in combating terrorism, and the problems which can occur as a consequence. It also describes the conditions necessary for successful military engagements against terrorist groups.

Added April 25, 2011

Improvised Explosive Devices in Iraq, 2003-09: A Case of Operational Surprise and Institutional Response

Authored by Brigadier Andrew Smith.
Institutional defense establishments guide the development of national military capabilities. Recent experience suggests that the orthodox approaches that they have evolved to perform this function in nominal peacetime are insufficiently responsive for contemporary threats and challenges.

Added March 25, 2011

Security and Governance: Foundations for International Stability

Authored by Dru Lauzon, Andrew Vine.
This conference was designed to outline strategies for coping with the threat posed to international stability by fragile, failing, or failed states. Presentations outlined various strategies for identifying and ameliorating the security challenges that result from state failure in contemporary international environments.

Added March 21, 2011

An Evaluation of Counterinsurgency as a Strategy for Fighting the Long War

Authored by LTC Baucum Fulk.
Counterterrorism, support to insurgency, and antiterrorism are each both efficient and sustainable from a military and economic perspective, and each have inherent political concerns, hazards, or constraints. The author maintains that an overall strategy combining counterterrorism and antiterrorism is the best means of employing military forces to counter violent extremism.

Added March 01, 2011

Civilian Skills for African Military Officers to Resolve the Infrastructure, Economic Development, and Stability Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa

Authored by Diane E. Chido.
Military retirees in many African countries face uncertain futures. The author suggests that USAFRICOM should include robust engineering programs as a part of its training approach for the region, thereby providing valuable opportunities for retiring service members, improving civil-military relationships, and enhancing economic development and stability.

Added January 31, 2011

2010 SSI Annual Strategy Conference Report "Defining War for the 21st Century"

Authored by Dr. Steven Metz, COL Phillip R. Cuccia.
SSI's XXI Strategic Conference convened many of the world's top experts to assess and debate the definition of war and the strategic implications of how it is defined.

Added December 15, 2010

Lessons Learned from U.S. Government Law Enforcement in International Operations

Authored by Ms. Dilshika Jayamaha, Scott Brady, Ben Fitzgerald, Jason Fritz.
The authors investigate how the full range of law enforcement capabilities available to the U.S. Government has been applied in pursuit of U.S. strategic objectives in Panama, Colombia, and Kosovo. This analysis identifies a number of lessons to be learned about the use of such capabilities (in a holistic sense) in current and future international operations.

Added October 04, 2010

Harnessing Post-Conflict "Transitions": A Conceptual Primer

Authored by Mr. Nicholas J. Armstrong, Ms. Jacqueline Chura-Beaver.
A widely accepted and understood definition of "transition" is necessary to enable U.S. military, interagency, and multinational planners to foster greater collaboration and unity of effort as operations move toward a “clear, hold, build, transition” strategy.

Added August 27, 2010

David Galula: His Life and Intellectual Context

Authored by Ms. Ann Marlowe.
David Galula’s ideas are reflected in U.S. Army Field Manual 3-24, Counterinsurgency, and in nearly every speech that American commanders in Afghanistan and Iraq give, but until now, almost no biographical information was available about him. Arguably the greatest writer on counterinsurgency, Galula led a fascinating, although all too brief, life that gave him a bird’s eye view of most of the great conflicts of the second half of the 20th century.

Added August 24, 2010

U.S. Military Forces and Police Assistance in Stability Operations: The Least-Worst Option to Fill the U.S. Capacity Gap

Authored by Colonel (Ret.) Dennis E Keller.
Stability operations in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to be challenged by the lack of effective local police forces to secure the civilian population from insurgent infiltration and criminal violence. Given U.S. government legal and organizational shortfalls to train and advise foreign police forces, coupled with an operational environment characterized by local police corruption and abusiveness, this monograph proposes a way ahead for effective community based policing despite these adverse circumstances.

Added August 13, 2010

Defense Energy Resilience: Lessons from Ecology

Authored by Dr. Scott Thomas, Mr. David Kerner.
National Security relies heavily on the ready availability of energy resources in the types, quantities, and locations the military demands. While U.S. energy needs are currently met, the shrinking gap between global supply and demand draws the world closer to a tipping point at which human behavior is less predictable, competition overwhelms social and geopolitical normalizing forces, and conflict becomes more likely and more pronounced. Given concerns about future resource availability, DoD would be well served by devising and implementing a sustainable, resilient energy strategy that addresses current projections and adapts to evolving conditions.

Added August 05, 2010

Organizing to Compete in the Political Terrain

Authored by Dr. Nadia Schadlow.
The degree to which military forces can and should shape the political landscape during war--that is, who rules contested terriroty--is at the root of several ongoing debates about how to restructure the U.S. Army. Decisions about the military's appropriate role in shaping political outcomes in war are fundamental to resolving these debates and will determine the degree of organizational and educational changes that the U.S. Army must make to meet current and future security threats.

Added June 17, 2010

Endgame for the West in Afghanistan? Explaining the Decline in Support for the War in Afghanistan in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, France and Germany

Authored by Charles A. Miller.
Analyses of the War in Afghanistan frequently mention the declining or shaky domestic support for the conflict in the United States and among several U.S. allies. This paper dates the beginning of this decline back to the resurgence of the Taliban in 2005-06 and suggests that the deteriorating course of the war on the ground in Afghanistan itself along with mounting casualties is the key reason behind this drop in domestic support for the war.

Added June 01, 2010

Rethinking Leadership and "Whole of Government" National Security Reform: Problems, Progress, and Prospects

Edited by Dr. Joseph R. Cerami, Dr. Jeffrey A. Engel.
On June 24, 2009, in Washington, DC, the Bush School of Government and Public Service and Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at Texas A&M University, and the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College conducted a conference on Leadership and Government Reform. Two panels discussed "Leader Development in Schools of Public Affairs" and "Leadership, National Security and 'Whole of Government' Reforms." The authors in this volume are from universities and policy institutes focused on international affairs, history, foreign policy, intelligence, and national and homeland security.

Added May 11, 2010

Crime, Violence, and the Crisis in Guatemala: A Case Study in the Erosion of the State

Authored by Dr. Hal Brands.
In this monograph, the author argues that rampant crime and violence have led to a full-blown crisis of the democratic state in Guatemala. He discusses the various criminal groups active in that country, and outlines a strategy for improving public order, strengthening government institutions, and combating the root causes that inform criminal activity.

Added April 23, 2010

Shades of CORDS in the Kush: The False Hope of "Unity of Effort" in American Counterinsurgency

Authored by Mr. Henry Nuzum.
Counterinsurgency (COIN) requires an integrated military, political, and economic program best developed by teams that field both civilians and soldiers. This Paper describes the benefits that unity of command at every level would bring to the American war in Afghanistan.

Added April 19, 2010

Short of General War: Perspectives on the Use of Military Power in the 21st Century

Edited by Dr. Harry R Yarger.
In this anthology, students in the U.S. Army War College Class of 2008 critically examine the emerging 21st century security environment and offer diverse and innovative thoughts on how military power should be applied in situations short of general war.

Added April 16, 2010

The Construction of Liberal Democracy: The Role of Civil-Military Institutions in State and Nation-Building in West Germany and South Africa

Authored by Dr. Jack J. Porter.
West Germany’s and South Africa’s experiences remind U.S. policymakers of the tremendous obstacles and challenges that confront states as they attempt to install liberal, democratic political institutions.

Added April 14, 2010

The State-Owned Enterprise as a Vehicle for Stability

Authored by Dr. Neil Efird.
State-owned enterprises affect stability in conflict-prone environments, and decisive control of them creates positive or negative conditions. However, it is a challenge to know how and when to use these enterprises, and a good set of metrics is necessary to measure their effectiveness.

Added April 08, 2010

Thinking about Nuclear Power in Post-Saddam Iraq

Authored by Dr. Norman Cigar.
Iraqis are debating the desirability of atomic power for their country. U.S. and international policymakers will have to consider Iraqi views as they shape policy to manage the process of an orderly, safe, and peaceful nuclear reintegration of Iraq in the civilian sector while guaranteeing safeguards against both accidents and any future diversion of a nuclear program for military purposes or terrorist exploitation.

Added April 01, 2010

The Goose and the Gander

Authored by Dr. Cori E. Dauber.
Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the April 2010 newsletter.

Added March 26, 2010

Synchronizing U.S. Government Efforts toward Collaborative Health Care Policymaking in Iraq

Authored by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas S. Bundt.
A primary catalyst in achieving our strategic ends in Iraq is through the formulation of a consolidated and cooperative strategic health care policy to enable the successful operation of the Iraqi health care system. An often-cited criticism of U.S. policy, however, is that after the end of major hostilities and transition into stabilization operations, we fall short in post-conflict planning and execution. This analysis highlights some of these operational deficiencies, and it provides recommendations for achieving a more coordinated, functional, and thereby synchronous strategic health care policy. These proposals will enable the U.S. Government (USG) to address health policy operations in stabilization and transitional phase contexts currently and in the future.

Added January 22, 2010

Security and Stability in Africa: A Development Approach

Authored by Lieutenant Colonel Clarence J. Bouchat (USAF, Ret.).
The security and stability of Africa has recently become an important national issue. However, to be effective this growing interest must be rooted in the desire to overcome centuries of ignorance and misunderstanding about the conditions and people of Africa.

Added November 27, 2009

Democratic Governance and the Rule of Law: Lessons from Colombia

Authored by Dr. Gabriel Marcella.
Colombia has experienced conflict for decades and, as the author observed, was a “paradigm for a failing state” in that it was replete with terrorism, kidnapping, murder, corruption, and general lawlessness. But today it is much safer through the imposition of the "Rule of Law."

Added November 25, 2009

Leadership and National Security Reform Conference

Authored by Dr. Joseph R. Cerami, Dr. Jeffrey A. Engel, Lindsey K. Pavelka.
The need for significant changes in leader development and government reform to improve the alignment, coordination, integration, and interoperability among largely autonomous U.S. Government agencies was addressed. The two conference panels were challenged to discuss leadership in a broader sense rather than focusing solely at the top, or on presidential leadership.

Added November 16, 2009

YouTube War: Fighting in a World of Cameras in Every Cell Phone and Photoshop on Every Computer

Authored by Dr. Cori E. Dauber.
Terrorist attacks are media events designed to draw the attention of the press since, without a larger audience, a terrorist attack will have accomplished very little. Shaping the attitudes and perceptions of the public can undermine the public will to fight. This is done by shaping media coverage.

Added November 03, 2009

A Case Study in Security Sector Reform: Learning from Security Sector Reform/Building in Afghanistan (October 2002-September 2003)

Authored by Captain Jason C. Howk.
Afghanistan was America’s first attempt at conducting formalized Security Sector Reform. This case study offers readers an opportunity to learn whom the United States saw as key actors in the process, what institutions were slated for reform, and how well the United States and its partners met the typical challenges of SSR.

Added October 06, 2009

Guide to Rebuilding Public Sector Services in Stability Operations: A Role for the Military

Authored by Derick W. Brinkerhoff, Ronald W. Johnson, Richard Hill. Edited by Professor Susan Merrill.
The authors provide a set of principles and operational guidelines for peacekeepers to help a country restore public infrastructure and services. The extent to which public sector reconstruction takes place is a function of the mission, the level of resources, expertise of the troops, and the host country context. This guide provides courses of action to both planners and practitioners in executing these operations and supplements existing and emerging documents.

Added September 25, 2009

A Comprehensive Approach to Improving U.S. Security Force Assistance Efforts

Authored by Lieutenant Colonel Theresa Baginski, Colonel Brian J. Clark, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Donovan, Ms. Karma Job, Lieutenant Colonel John S. Kolasheski, Colonel Richard A. Lacquement, Jr., Brigadier Simon "Don" Roach, Colonel Sean P. Swindell, Colonel Curt A. Van De Walle, Colonel Michael J. McMahon.
Security Force Assistance may be a new term but the activities are familiar and are related to how the Department of Defense trains, advises, and assists foreign partners' security establishments to accomplish common objectives. Recommendations to improve U.S. performance are provided.

Added September 24, 2009

Iraq: Strategic Reconciliation, Targeting, and Key Leader Engagement

Authored by Captain Jeanne F. Hull.
Military commanders and diplomats in Iraq and Afghanistan have been meeting with important local officials since the inception of those conflicts. These engagements have aided commanders and diplomats alike in furthering their objectives by establishing productive relationships with those who know and understand Iraq’s complex human terrain best—the Iraqis. However, these engagements frequently take place on ad-hoc bases and are rarely incorporated into other counterinsurgency operations and strategies. In some cases, unit commanders fail to see the utility of using these engagements at all--an oversight that contributes to deteriorating security situations and loss of popular support.

Added September 16, 2009

Baghdad ER--Revisited

Authored by Colonel Erin P Edgar.
The China Dragons of the 28th Combat Support Hospital deployed in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM from September 2006 until November 2007. Their service epitomizes the strides that have been made in military combat medicine.

Added September 16, 2009

Alien: How Operational Art Devoured Strategy

Authored by Brigadier Justin Kelly, Dr. Michael James Brennan.
This authors argue that the idea of an operational level of war charged with the planning and conduct of campaigns misconceives the relationship between wars, campaigns, and operations, and is both historically mistaken and wrong in theory. They conclude that its incorporation into U.S. doctrine has had the regrettable impact of separating the conduct of campaigns from the conduct of wars and consequently marginalized the role of politics in the direction of war. In essence, they argue that the idea of the campaign has come to overwhelm that of strategy.

Added September 16, 2009

Escalation and Intrawar Deterrence During Limited Wars in the Middle East

Authored by Dr. W. Andrew Terrill.
This monograph seeks to analyze military escalation and intrawar deterrence by examining two key wars where these concepts became especially relevant—the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq. A central conclusion of this monograph is that intrawar deterrence is an inherently fragile concept, and that the nonuse of weapons of mass destruction in both wars was the result of a number of positive factors that may not be repeated in future conflicts.

Added August 11, 2009

Toward a Risk Management Defense Strategy

Authored by Mr. Nathan P. Freier.
The author outlines eight principles for a risk management defense strategy. He argues that these principles provide “measures of merit” for evaluating the new administration’s defense choices.

Added June 25, 2009

2009 Key Strategic Issues List

Edited by Dr. Antulio J. Echevarria, II.
The purpose of the Key Strategic Issues List is to provide military and civilian researchers a ready reference for issues of special interest to the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense.

Added June 18, 2009

Guide to Rebuilding Governance in Stability Operations: A Role for the Military?

Authored by Derick W. Brinkerhoff, Ronald W. Johnson, Richard Hill. Edited by Professor Susan Merrill.
This guide focuses on the military’s role in rebuilding and establishing a functional, effective, and legitimate nation-state; one that can assure security and stability for its citizens, defend its borders, deliver services effectively for its populace, and is responsible and accountable to its citizens.

Added June 10, 2009

Arrowhead Ripper: Adaptive Leadership in Full Spectrum Operations

Authored by Colonel Fred Johnson.
The question of "whether formations and units organized, trained, and equipped to destroy enemies can be adapted well enough and fast enough to dissuade or co-opt them—or, more significantly, to build the capacity of local security forces to do the dissuading and destroying"--is central to the on-going debate over whether the Army has the proper structure and training to perform full spectrum operations.

Added April 22, 2009

New NATO Members: Security Consumers or Producers?

Authored by Colonel Joel R. Hillison.
The issue of burden-sharing in NATO is as relevant today as it was when the alliance was originally founded in 1949. This monograph examines how well new NATO members are contributing to the alliance. Lessons learned apply directly to current burden-sharing debates and provide insights into future burden-sharing opportunities and challenges.

Strategic Studies Institute