When giants of warfare—the likes of Jomini, Mahan, the elder von Moltke, Napoleon, and Clausewitz—agree so universally on the importance of history to the military officer, one must take notice.
Their message is clear. Through the study of...
When intervening forces create a safe and secure environment to implement a whole of government approach, they simultaneously create opportunities for hitherto unnoticed and powerless opponents to do the same--and sometimes more successfully. This...
When Lieutenant Colonel David Seigel was first alerted for deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he was serving as the executive officer (XO) of 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment with the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. He...
When looking at the past, we see many changes in the history of the world, some
peaceful, some not. It can be seen that there needs to be a study of all changes in our world. As
military leaders, we need to study all history so that we may be able...
When major combat operations come to a close, decisive action is paramount. Without deliberate action in subsequent stability operations, there is risk of marginalizing previous victories. Expeditionary economic theory offers a solution for...
When military units are deployed overseas in support of the Gulf War on Terrorism (GWOT) Soldiers are confronted with adapting to a new cultural environment, in order to conduct military operations. During the deployment process unit personnel are...
When President Woodrow Wilson ordered approximately 150,000 National Guardsmen to the southern border in 1916, the United States was on the verge of all-out war with Mexico. The rapid mobilization and deployment of the Guard forces broke the rapid...
When Soldiers deploy to a combat zone the combatant commander must take additional steps to ensure that conduct does not become an issue with the “host” nation. General Order 1 is the means to that end. For the individual Soldier this means...
When the 98th Division (Institutional Training) deployed to Iraq in 2004-2005, Major General James R. Helmly was the chief of Army Reserve and commanding general of United States Army Reserve Command. In this interview, focusing on the 98th's...
When the Army transformed to a brigade centric force, ground forces gained the tactical capabilities and flexibility promised. What the Army lost was the role and purpose of the division. Administrative, training, and expeditionary task executed by...
When the Republic of Indonesia declared itself independent from the Netherlands on 17 August 1945, the Dutch leaders did not accept this and tried to restore colonial authority. This led to a four-year conflict between the Netherlands and the...
Whether a success or a failure, a counterinsurgency is always influenced by a mixture of politics, the media, and public opinion. The United States was involved in a successful counterinsurgency during 1898-1902. I will attempt to reveal how the...
Whether adjusting to a new environment or to an evolving threat, America's Army of the 21st century must be adaptable and become more innovative. The operational environment is becoming more complicated and complex. Societal trends, such as...
Whether the current combat exclusion policy preventing women from serving in direct ground combat positions should remain in effect has been an issue for centuries. One only needs to understand the definition of direct combat to understand why. In...
While Afghan women are difficult for coalition forces to access in their counterinsurgency efforts, they play a central role in their families and are the primary care-givers for, and have significant influence over, their children. U.S. Army...
While Algeria was facing internal security issues with illegal Islamist armed groups in the 1990s, some Sahelian-Saharan states were reducing their institutional presence in their border region with Algeria. Mali was demilitarizing its northern...
While all warfare is an expression of politics, none is more pervasively so than irregular conflict. The irregular side, most probably employing a mixture of guerilla tactics and terrorism, will seek favorable political effect from several courses...
While both air and ground based fire support have proven themselves to be an invaluable and overwhelmingly lethal force in conventional combat, they have struggled to deal with the extreme complexity, density, and constraints of the Urban...
While in the past two decades, the region of West Africa has experienced various armed conflicts, a new security threat that has emerged is the growing threat of violence by radical Islamist groups. This phenomenon has assumed prominence in the...
While it might currently be challenging to imagine Russia as a NATO member, a change to the future strategic context could make it equally difficult to imagine Russia outside of NATO. The historical analysis of NATO enlargement during the past...