Recent conflicts, such as Operation Iraqi Freedom, have challenged operational commanders to develop skills to manage indigenous population issues. These skills were developed out of necessity after the conflict is over. Dealing with the...
The National Security Strategy of the United States of America of September 2002 (NSS) aims “to help make the world not just safer but better.” In order to achieve this ambitious challenge, The NSS defines the following goals on the path to...
With United States involvement in Afghanistan, knowledge of the country is imperative. This "handbook explains a number of basic issues that should be in the knowledge" toolbox of a Marine working with Afghanis or deployed to the country.
The lightning campaign that toppled the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq in the spring of 2003 seemed to herald the arrival of a new way of war, as Germany's blitzkrieg had done at the beginning of World War II. But the initial victory soon devolved...
This paper discusses the magnitude of war on Iraq’s economy and the stabilization efforts through continued peace keeping tactics. A look into the nation itself takes place, both prior to and during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Democracy is the...
Most Americans do not support further offensive operations in Iraq largely because of the cost. However, offensive operations should continue because freedom and security are not free and the price is necessary for global security. The effects of...
First Sergeant Richard Gano Jr. is a 23-year Army veteran and was deployed from 16 November 2003 through 23 October 2004 as the first sergeant for Bravo Troop, 1-14 Cavalry, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. Before deploying, he predicted that...
This study attempts to answer the following questions on the role of the Iranian armed forces in the fall of the Shah in 1979: (a) Did the armed forces do something that contributed to the causes which led the people of Iran to rise against the...
The 1975 Lebanese Civil War was one of the most disastrous and costly civil wars in modern history. The human toll of the "First Phase" of the war was immense, with estimates of 40,000 dead, 60,000 wounded and 600,000 Lebanese civilians displaced...
Waiting for Godot in Iraq. F.J. Bing West; As the war in Iraq enters a period of uncertainty, a highly regarded former Assistant Secretary of Defense addresses the four biggest challenges facing our military effort.
The United States is committed to on-going involvement with Iraq to rebuild the country. Marines, who deploy to Iraq or are involved with Iraqis, need a basic knowledge of the country, its culture, history and present-day state of affairs. This...
This workshop was held by the IFPA to assist CENTCOM in devising a strategy to counter the arguments of radical Islamists and to discuss the appeal of these ideologies to Muslim audiences. They convened to review possible cultural trends, faith and...
This interview with Chaplain (Major) Roy M. Myers, a chaplain clinician, covers his deployment as part of Task Force 134, specifically with the 21st Combat Support Hospital, to Iraq from April 2006 to April 2007. He discusses the religious support...
This account of the Khobar Towers bombing tells the story of the horrific attack and the magnificent response of airmen doing their duty under nearly impossible circumstances. None of them view their actions as heroic, yet the reader will marvel at...
Should the US Army allocate an Advanced Military Studies Program (AMSP) graduate to the Brigade Combat Team’s plans cell in light of a decade of doctrinal changes and modularity? This monograph analyzes a decade’s worth of change in the US...
The purpose of this monograph is to provide an in-depth study of how the U.S. miscalculation of Iraqi will to fight during the planning of Operation Iraqi Freedom contributed to post major conflict operational problems. The specific nature of these...
From March 2004 through February 2005 with 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment - part of 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division - Sergeant Major Ron Pruyt served as the operations sergeant major (and at times simultaneously as the battalion command...
MAJ Eric Magnell served as trial counsel for the 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) of the 1st Infantry Division (ID) at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Dagger during 2004 and 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). In this February 2010...
In this January 2013 interview, LTC (ret) Joseph R. Fischer, US Army Reserves, discusses his deployment to Iraq as a historian for US Special Operations Command in 2005 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). LTC Fischer talks about his...