This monograph explores economics, operations research, and systems theory to develop a sustainable approach to building governance and security capacity within the Afghanistan and Pakistan operational environment. This bottom-up approach to...
This essay explores village stability operations (VSO) in Afghanistan as an "innovative, low-cost, and small footprint" method of achieving U.S. security objectives. New strategic guidance from the Department of Defense (DoD) calls for such...
Scholars and military professionals agree on the importance of economic development during stability operations. They also recognize its complexity. Current policy mandates Army participation in economic development, but how does the U.S. Army...
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...
The most respected theorists of counterinsurgency agree about prescriptive principles for the organization of counterinsurgency campaigns. Insurgencies and counterinsurgency campaigns are each unique (sui generis), yet the theorists help provide...
As operations in Iraq and Afghanistan end, it is useful to analyze the current state of stability operations within the U.S. Army and determine its ability to conduct these types of operations in the future. Analyzing the state of stability...
Currently, an interagency gap exists between local civil authorities and tactical military forces preparing for and conducting all phases of domestic civil support operations. The gap exists for two primary reasons: (1) military forces operate in a...
Throughout history, technology has played a vital role in combat. While improvements in weaponry are typically at the front of the military leader's minds, technology like the internet would not appear to be as significant. However, the internet...
This monograph investigates culture and society in Afghanistan and recommends an operational approach leveraging a blend of formal and traditional institutions, working with the propensity of the Afghan system, and building capacity and legitimacy...
This essay discusses the need for U.S. government agencies to develop a ground-level understanding and execution in its expeditionary interagency professionals in order to synchronize broader institutional reforms. The author posits that the teams...
This study examines the change in fire support planning procedures from bottom-up to top-down. Prior to the mid-1980's, fire support planning at brigade and lower echelons was completed primarily in a bottom-up or decentralized mode. Now targets...
This monograph explores political science theory and contemporary practice to develop a structural framework for nation-building. The generalized framework is predicated on the observation that interagency operations can achieve a degree of...
Irregular wars generate significant internal political debate over appropriate strategy and resource allocation, a function of the relative complexity and ambiguity of irregular wars. This study examines whether operational commanders in the...
The United States today finds itself in a turbulent era of failing and underdeveloped states. When a population either threatens or undertakes an overthrow of their government, the government will often request United States assistance for...
The creation of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in 2003 was a monumental, yet incomplete organizational step towards integrating border protection operations. Customs and Border Protection is constantly improving integration and unity of...
Lessons learned from operations in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past ten years indicate that the Army is fighting in an environment that requires a change in how organizations gather, analyze, synthesize, and produce intelligence. "Top-down"...
Third Place Winner of the MacArthur Military Leadership Writing Competition for the 2010 CGSC Class. Much has been written on the topic of the Army as a learning organization. The focus has primarily been on the Army as a whole organization. The...
"The purpose of this 1990 publication is to provide heavy forces fire support officers and enlisted personnel at maneuver company, battalion, and brigade with a how-tomanual. It focuses on fire support officers (FSOs) in mechanized infantry,...
In an era of persistent threats to the homeland and constricted decision cycles, American policy makers must embrace information sharing if they are to protect the citizens and infrastructure of the United States. The key to advancing homeland...