Gen. Helmuth von Moltke, the Chief of the Prussian General Staff during the Franco-Prussian War, defined Auftragstaktik as the actions a subordinate took in the absence of orders that supported the senior commander's intent. The use of mission...
In this February 2013 interview, MAJ Katie Morris, US Army, Aviation discusses her deployment to Afghanistan as the operations officer for a provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in 2008 through 2009 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)....
During the early years of the Cold War, the United States Army developed the new doctrine of Unconventional Warfare. This doctrine focused on U.S. soldiers working through and with indigenous guerrilla units to achieve tactical successes in support...
Major General Melvin Zais, a second generation Russian American, orchestrated the battle between the 29th Regiment of the People's Army of Vietnam and the 101st Airborne Division around Dong Ap Bia (Hamburger Hill), Vietnam. General Zais, focused...
The primary goal of this study is to determine the factors which led to organizational changes in U.S. Army Aviation helicopters. The study of the changes in force structure in Army Aviation is historically important. While Army Aviation should...
Foreign aid is considered a continuation of diplomacy by other means and a tool of foreign policy. However, in the current lean economic times, the competition for limited budgetary resources is fierce and the effectiveness of U.S. foreign aid at...
In 2009, Lt. Gen. Thomas G. Miller, Commander, First Army, directed the development and implementation of an improved method to train and certify deploying units. Lieutenant General Miller directed First Army's operations and training support units...
This monograph examines the Arab Spring in light of the past half century of efforts in transnational Arab identity formation and thus considers its links to Arab Nationalism and Pan-Islamism. Then, with a focus on Syria and the sectarian nature of...
Basing is a critical component of American warfare, and the expeditionary posture of the United States military poses challenges to operational planners and logisticians alike. Force projection is a key requirement for the US Army, and the use of...
With operations in Iraq complete and an ongoing transition in Afghanistan, what is the role of the heavy armor force in the Army of 2020? This thesis analyzes the capabilities of the current heavy force through the lens of the current strategic...
This monograph approached Lieutenant General James M. Gavin as a military theorist and explored his influence as the Army transitioned from World War II to the Cold War. Gavin's theory of future warfare required an army with capability in atomic...
The 2010 U.S. National Security Strategy emphasized that the U.S. would use security sector assistance to build the capacity of at-risk nations and reduce the appeal of violent extremism and assist in resolving the world's armed conflicts. The 2010...
The structure of the Defense Coordinating Officer and Element in 2005 impeded coordination and interagency cooperation during the federal response efforts after Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, the program reorganized in order to set the stage for...
Leonard Wood served as a Military Governor in Cuba from 1898 (Santiago) and 1899 to 1902, later as the Military Governor of the Moro Province in the Philippines from 1903 to 1906, and eventually as Governor General for the Philippines until his...
In October 1993, the Quick Reaction Force Headquarters in Mogadishu, Somalia observed, "convoys are more vulnerable to attack than ground maneuver forces and should be planned and executed as a combat operation." During the period from 1993 to...
Negotiation has become for many military leaders a daily task in their role of stabilizing, securing, transitioning, and reconstructing. Negotiation is a means of providing commanders with an alternative to solutions involving the use of force....
The purpose of this monograph is to examine the career of LTG Robert L. Bullard. Bullard served during a seminal period in United States history. Often overlooked as one of the nation's more progressive and ambitious leaders, largely because of the...
Coercion theory centers on an actor's ability to influence the decision making of an opponent. This monograph examines military operations in Libya 2011, Operations Unified Protector and Odyssey Dawn, through the lens of coercion theory. It seeks...
With the introduction of new capstone doctrine, the U.S. Army should invest more time in the formal education of future leaders. This study demonstrates the importance of operational art, the theory used to develop campaigns and major operations in...
This monograph explores the current debates surrounding "hollow forces" and the decrease in the defense budget following prolonged conflict. Leaders' strategic choices, which lead to decreasing resources, sometimes create the perception of hollow...