The ownership of vast quantities of military power and the ability to project that power globally does not ensure the achievement of the 'ends' desired from a war. Since 1945, the United States and her Western allies increasingly fail to realize a...
This monograph explores the problem of mission creep. The trend toward ethnic and regional unrest has characterized the world security environment since the breakup of the former Soviet Union. The United States has struggled to find its place in...
Using military force against an enemy to punish, avenge a wrong, as retribution is a timeless cause of armed conflict. There are many examples throughout history of successful punitive operations. Analyzing historical punitive expeditions for the...
Following the fall of the Taliban government in Afghanistan in late 2001, members of the former regime and Al-Qaeda found refuge in Waziristan. Waziristan is a tribal area in Pakistan located along the border with Afghanistan whose majority ethnic...
The United States and many other countries are engaged in the Global War on Terror using all the elements of their national powers. Much of the diplomatic, economic and perhaps some of the military actions take place behind the scenes and often...
Engaged in a spectrum from full-scale combat to stability and support operations, the military is faced with an ever-changing environment in which to use its combat power. For instance, it is axiomatic that the massive application of firepower...
This thesis explores the strategy followed by the American military government in overcoming Moro resistance in the Philippines from 1903-1913. A chapter is devoted to the period of each of the three Military Governors of Moro Province, Generals...
This monograph explores the US Army's recently announced goal of quick decisive victory. This concept has emerged in the wake of US victories in Operations JUST CAUSE and DESERT STORM and reflects one of the National Military Strategy's principles...
This paper explores the military's role in the processes of amnesty, reconciliation and reintegration (AR2). Its premise is that while the US and UK have devoted considerable intellectual energy and treasure to dealing with the current...
In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the intelligence community saw a dark shadow cast across itself. Though the specific intelligence failures cannot yet be determined, there are some known pieces of information. The success of intelligence...
Recent years have seen the US, UK and other ISAF and Coalition nations enmeshed in protracted, complex and intense campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Resilient and highly adaptable opponents have operated asymmetrically, and amongst the people, to...
Today's forces operate in the ever shifting and complex environment of intra-state and ethnic conflict. Marked by excessive violence and rising anarchy due to the disintegration of governing mechanisms, these conflicts pose new challenges to...
Does Air Force doctrine Support the Army's combined arms approach to tactical warfare? When national political objectives require the commitment of American land forces to the battlefield to achieve those objectives, then all other means of war...
This is the Field Artillery, United States Army--the senior arm in the senior service-- its position unchallenged, aptly merited by its continuous history of superiority, support, and excellence throughout the American military tradition. Formed...
Counterinsurgency is defined as “combat operations against a rebellion by forces aligned with the controlling government of the territory in which the combat takes place” (Wikipedia, 2008). Since 1865, the United States Army has battled...
This is a transcript of an interview with Sergeant Major of the Army Leon L. Van Autreve (USA- ret.) conducted in 1994 for the Sergeants major of the Army History Project.
Cultural understanding and foreign language are and will remain essential skills for Army personnel. An understanding of cultural and language is just as critical as the enemy order of combat. Cultural understanding is required both to defeat enemy...
1SG Lowe joined the pre-Civil War US Army as a Dragoon. He was assigned to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. There he was part of Leavenworth’s early years and involved in the subsequent construction of Fort Riley, Kansas. Rising quickly to the rank of...