China and the United States have been competitors on a global scale since Deng Xiaoping changed China's trading policies in 1976. The policies resulted in increased tensions between the two nations over time. This monograph uses Commercial...
In the past two decades, Radical Islam rooted in Europe became an obvious security threat. This monograph argues that Western Europeans are partially responsible for permitting or not preventing the presence of radical Islamists in the Balkans and...
The National Guard has been in a nearly constant state of change, in one form or another, since its inception. The events that have transpired since the attacks on the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001 demonstrated the need for the next major...
Certain nations are growing unprecedented wealth from oil and gas revenue and large trade surpluses, and are investing at unprecedented levels in other countries via Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs). SWFs continue to increase rapidly in quantity, size...
The US Army relies on tactical-level leaders, not for their physical warfighting skills, but for their ability to employ cognitive thought during stressful situations. Cognitive tasks include sensing patterns, deciphering complex environments,...
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) provides forces critical to the success of the Regular Army and to support national military strategy as an operational force. The USAR continues to confront issues associated with a volunteer force serving in...
The 7-step model of the MDMP is a tried and proven process. However, some critics argue it is not the right decision-making and planning tool for the future force. The 7-step model is a deliberate process requiring a significant amount of time when...
In September 1943 allied armies of the United States and Great Britain landed on the European mainland in its "soft underbelly" taking another step toward the defeat of Nazi Germany. Expecting to be in Rome by the end of that year, the Allies...
This monograph proposes that current Army doctrine provides an adequate tool to achieve the desired results proposed in the concepts of operational Design. Because Army doctrine prescribes approaches that solve problems, it is important to...
Since the attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States (US) has waged a Global War
on Terror (GWOT) based upon the flawed strategy of countering a tactic, terrorism, as opposed to a strategy built on understanding and identifying its enemy. By...
Does third party military intervention help or hurt an incumbent government during an insurgency? This study attempts to answer this question by testing prevailing military theories of counterinsurgency in the context of third party intervention...
The strategic and operational environment in which the United States military will operate in for the foreseeable future is characterized by its complexity. Historically the United States military has taken a linear approach to understanding the...
This monograph discusses the relevant components of the Islamic financial sector, otherwise known as Shari’ah Compliant Finance, in order to gain a better understanding of an industry quickly spreading around the globe and the greater...
As the United States Army stands in the midst of a transitional period, it must determine what type of Army it will be. In doing so, the Army must come to grips with new realities of the strategic context that demand a capability to use...
Focusing efforts toward building security force capability without increasing state capacity is an ineffective strategy to achieve government victory in civil war. The purpose of this monograph is to advance and test the hypothesis that...
This monograph is about theory and the use of theory to develop doctrine. In light of the dramatic capabilities envisioned for the “Objective Force,” the organized U.S. military mechanism of physical coercion, and the dynamic operational...
This study explains the recent evolution of U.S. Army doctrine. During the last two decades, the Army revised its capstone manual -- FM 100-5, Operations -- three times: in 1976, 1982, and 1986. A fourth revision is underway in 1991. This thesis...
Sorrells, William T., Downing, Glen R., Blakesley, Paul J., Pendall, David W., Walk, Jason K., Wallwork, Richard D.
Systemic Operational Design (SOD) is an application of systems theory to operational art. It is an attempt to rationalize complexity through systemic logic employing a holistic approach that translates strategic direction and policy into...
The marked changed in the types of wars fought over the last ten years in Afghanistan and Iraq have demonstrated the need for commanders at echelons below the campaign level to develop and continuously refine operational approaches to guide their...