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China's Use of Power and Implications for the United States Military
From the Thesis Abstract: "Over the last two decades, with US military forces primarily focused on conflict in the Middle East, China's power projection proliferated from the Indo-Pacific region and spread Beijing's influence across all US geographic combatant command (COCOM) areas of responsibility (AORs). China's efforts put US national interests and security at risk and challenged the presence of US hard power resources in regions outside the sustainable operational reach of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). To fill the gap in the PLA's capabilities, China fostered relationships outside its immediate borders and challenged the Western-dominated status quo across the globe."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Schmidt II, Donald A.
2019-05-23
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Africa: China's Newest Stage for Great Power Competition
From the Thesis Abstract: "China's investment, development, and growing influence in Africa has significant consequences to the United States. China competes using unrestricted warfare. Thus, investment does not guarantee sustainable growth for African countries and potentially destabilizes economies. Furthermore, this practice leaves nations vulnerable to violent extremist recruitment and criminal networks. The purpose of this study is to provide insight into Xi Jinping's Chinese Dream, Africa's role in Xi's vision, and China's use of unrestricted warfare. The underlying thesis of this study argues China's strategy in Africa effectively employs elements of UW [unrestricted warfare] as a means to project strategic influence in Africa by extending operational reach for its military forces and thus, threatens US security. By understanding how China uses unrestricted warfare in Africa, US military planners gain insight into the China's deliberate employment of unrestricted warfare to accomplish President Xi Jinping's grand strategy. This more comprehensive understanding of the complexity of China's investment on the continent enhances US efforts to stabilize, counter VEO [violent extremist organization] emergence, and create self-reliant partners to increase regional security."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Bruning, Ingrid Faith
2019-05-23
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Operational Art of Sustaining Operation Avalanche
From the Thesis Abstract: "In early October 1943, General Dwight D. Eisenhower surveyed the destruction left behind in Naples, Italy, by the retreating German army. Despite the destruction, the Allies secured the port and successfully began the buildup of men, equipment, and material to continue combat operations in Italy. The Fifth Army achieved Operation Avalanche's objective to secure basing in Italy for further operations. The success of combat operations during Operation Avalanche depended on well-coordinated logistical planning and execution. US and British logistic planners supported an emerging strategy in the Mediterranean by anticipating requirements and linking strategic resources to tactical consumption. Using the lens of operational art provides clarity as to how logisticians supported large-scale combat operations in a contested environment. The elements of operational art and principles of sustainment are tools to help understand the development of Operation Avalanche as the Allies' strategy evolved in the Mediterranean."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Iwen, Craig M.
2019-05-23
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Ballad of Odysseus: A Return to Surprise and Cunning in Operational Art
From the Thesis Abstract: "This monograph presents the elements and characteristics of the principle of surprise on the modern battlefield. For ages, commanders and theorists regarded surprise as the cornerstone of operations. Given the changing operational environment with the potential for contested domains in the future, the principle of surprise will be pivotal once again in US military planning and operations. The essence of surprise is cunning. The context of surprise in US Army doctrine is no longer clear for the practitioner. Doctrine should provide a holistic concept of surprise that allows for the practitioner to use it as a guide in any situation of war. Surprise is a key element in achieving operational shock. The Soviet theory of Deep Battle highlights that operational shock requires the elements of surprise: preconceptions, deception, secrecy, and response time. The essence of operational art is cunning."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Craig, Cameron S.
2019-05-23
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The All-Volunteer Force: LSCO, Cost, and a New Implicit Tax on Reserve Forces
From the Thesis Abstract: "This monograph examines the creation of the All Volunteer Force (AVF) and the neoliberal economic ideas used by the 1970 Gates Commission which recommended it. It examines the neoliberal concept of cost and illustrates the difference of budgetary cost and actual economic costs employed in analyses of the draft and volunteer force models, with emphasis on the concepts of opportunity cost and implicit tax. The paper then explores the impact of budgetary cost increases on the AVF throughout the 1980s and 1990s, leading to decreasing force structure and the increased utilization of the Total Force-and particularly how reduced active-duty force structure led to increased utilization of the reserves in the prosecution of security operations. Finally, the paper shows that the increasing use of reserve forces has led to a new implicit tax born disproportionately on reserve soldiers for national defense requirements. These examples show how the salience of budgetary costs have undermined the neoliberal argument of actual economic costs, and through the reduction of the active force, imposed a new implicit tax disproportionally [sic] born by the reserve force and their employers. Thus, in any future great power conflict, the increasing costs of the AVF and the social inequality of the new implicit taxes on the reserves forces a greater possibility of a return to the draft."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Daily, Joshua J.
2019-05-23
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Employment of Operational Art: 'Daesh's' Offense into Iraq During the Summer of 2014
From the Thesis Abstract: "In the Summer of 2014, the world learned of a new horror as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) stormed its way into the sovereign state of Iraq. Fueled by a religious fervor and united through Salafist dogma, ISIL overwhelmed Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) through use of tempo and deliberate lines of operation to achieve strategic aims. Within a two-month period, ISIL advanced hundreds of kilometers, secured multiple population clusters, and established a governmental regime to replace the Iraqi government. With the withdrawal of US combat power from Iraq, and the lucrative investment of Iraqi forces, multiple questions remain unanswered. How could a group of jihadists, with limited training, armed with technical vehicles and various small arms weapons overwhelm the security forces of the Iraqi government? [...] This monograph examines the presence of lines of operation, tempo, center of gravity, lines of effort, phasing and transitions during ISIL's offensive and consolidation activities. The monograph discusses ISIL's adherence to Salafist ideologies and the unique requirements to maintain a global caliphate. United by their interpretations of pure Sunni Islam, members of ISIL can converge both lethal and non-lethal action against belligerents. The monograph concludes with the understanding of ISIL's deliberate arrangement of lethal and non-lethal activity to accomplish strategic objectives."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Jimenez, Moises
2019-05-23
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Daoism to Maoism and Everything in Between: Operational and Strategic Thinking in the People's Republic of China
From the Thesis Abstract: "After two centuries of humiliation and loss, the People's Republic of China is now a major political and economic actor. Western observers expected China to liberalize with economic growth, and for China's rise to be peaceful. China's economy is now second only to the United States, but China is increasingly authoritarian. While China's rise was largely peaceful for decades, China is increasingly belligerent and aggressively seeks territorial expansion. While Chinese leaders have worked diligently to understand the West, Western leaders have done far less to understand China. Among the many ideologies, philosophies and ideas across China's long history, Daoism holds a unique and powerful influence even today. For Western students of China, Daoism is a good place to begin their study. This monograph seeks to determine the extent of Daoist influence on contemporary operational and strategic thinking in the People's Republic of China."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
McCall, Eric S.
2019-05-23
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Dereliction of Operational Expertise: How Self-Efficacy Shapes Decisionmaking
From the Thesis Abstract: "In 1995, LtGen(R) Paul Van Riper pitted bankers against US Marine Corps generals in two contests - a stock exchange simulation and a wargame. The venture capitalists won both exercises, beating standing operational leaders that represented decades of deployment and experience. LtGen(R) Van Riper believed that the money managers success stemmed from resiliency and confidence in ambiguous situations. Learning from this failure, the US Army may be able to increase operational leader effectiveness by fostering self-efficacy - confidence - in relation to observed ability."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Tucker, Aaron J.
2019-05-23
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Artificial Intelligence and Operational Art: The Element of Grip
From the Thesis Abstract: "The United States lacks a deliberate theory of artificial intelligence (AI) warfare. This contributes to the lack of discussion of the implications of AI at the operational level of war. AI is typically defined using a technological lens devoid of implications for operational art. The proposed new element of operational art 'grip,' explains the fundamental relationship between AI and humans across two spectrums: autonomy and role-exchange. Grip sets the foundation for a theory of AI warfare that proposes a hypothesis for actions, in addition to revealing the necessity for altering mission command theory. The development of AirLand Battle and the resulting formal emergence of the operational level of war (and operational art) is a historically similar case of how key assumptions influence battlefield visualization. Removing the assumption of 'human in the loop' AI warfare reveals a new element of operational art is required to arrange forces in time, space, purpose, in addition the Army mission command theory needs to adjust to enable a commander to move between forms of grip."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Pritchard, Michael D.
2019-05-23
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Importance of Educational and Mental Health Support in Youth DDR Operations
From the Thesis Abstract: "Warfare takes a toll on everyone who experiences it. This toll is especially heavy for children who live through a conflict. Experiencing traumatic events in war increases the chances of child survivors suffering from a variety of psychological disorders. War also disrupts the social network around children which further slows childhood development. The Islamic State (IS) deliberately recruited, educated, and radicalized thousands of children during their reign of control in portions of Iraq and Syria. Reintegrating the children traumatized and radicalized by IS requires well thought out and resourced youth Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) operations. Not properly reintegrating children traumatized by IS or other conflicts prolongs the time necessary for consolidating gains and undermines national and regional stability. Youth DDR operations in Sierra Leone in 2002 and the Niger River Delta in 2004 and 2009 offer good and bad examples for planning and conducting youth DDR operations in postconflict Iraq and Syria and beyond. [...] Providing post-conflict mental health and educational support to children by the US military reduces drivers of conflict, supports consolidation of gains, and develops a more lasting peace."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Morelli, Steven
2019-05-23
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Operation Blue Bat, 1958: Framing Activities in Crisis Response
From the Thesis Abstract: "In 1958, the US military forecasted decisive battles in Europe against a near peer competitor as the most likely instance of future conflict. To fit this vision, US forces fielded advanced weapons, created new organizational structures, and adjusted forward basing locations. Instead of conducting large scale combat, however, President Eisenhower ordered the US military to conduct forcible entry and partnered stability operations in Lebanon to quell political chaos. Known as Operation Blue Bat, the American intervention in Lebanon in 1958 represents an example of military leaders needing to rapidly discern US policy, frame the operational environment, and adjust the operational approach to nest military objectives with political aims at an acceptable level of risk. As the United States enters another era of great power competition, military planners must be cognizant that emergent crises without distinguishable national policy will continue to occur. Operation Blue Bat elucidates the operational challenges of military options to address those events."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Jaquith, Brian A.
2019-05-23
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Future Roles of Army Aviation in Large Scale Combat Operations
From the Thesis Abstract: "The US Army is experiencing a cultural shift away from years of low intensity, counterinsurgency operations toward large scale combat operations with a near-peer or peer threat. The shift includes a major change from brigade-centric operations to divisions and corps serving as the primary warfighting headquarters. Headquarters must now not only provide resources, but simultaneously direct the conflict in multiple domains, including space and cyber-space. US Army Aviation can be a significant force multiplier, but only when used effectively. Army Aviation continues to gain ground through lessons learned from the readiness training centers on how best to reach deep in multi-domain operations. Army Aviation faces many obstacles to continue to be a force multiplier. [...] For Army Aviation to be ready to fight today, they must continue to improve the legacy fleet. However, the more Army Aviation spends on updating the legacy fleet, the less it is investing in the future airframes. Additionally, the current fleet has limited potential for further modifications. The key question is whether such modifications to the legacy fleet will be enough to combat the challenges faced in the complex and lethal battlefield of large scale combat operations against a near-peer or peer threat. This monograph addresses those questions surrounding the shift from counter-insurgency to large scale combat operations for Army Aviation."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Dougher, Kenneth R., II
2019-05-23
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Wicked Game: Planning for Nonlinear Warfare
From the Thesis Abstract: "As the United States realigns its military ways and means to deter and defeat the nation's near-peer adversaries in large-scale combat operations, the United States must not overlook its adversary's capability to employ nonlinear warfare to achieve political objectives. Both China and Russia are attempting to expand their regional and global influence while countering US global influence. This occurs primarily through the information and cyber domains. The employment of cyber and information technologies provides Russia and China with an asymmetric advantage over the West. Both nations acknowledge the value of the cyber and information domains, which is reflected in emerging Chinese and Russian nonlinear warfare doctrine. The Russian incursion into Ukraine and Chinese activities within the South China Sea provide recent examples of their nonlinear doctrine in action. To assist in meeting these challenges, the US military should consider adapting its operational art framework to assist planners in developing campaign plans that are distinctively suited for defeating nonlinear threats. A planning framework for countering nonlinear threats requires an operational art framework for comprehending these ill-structured problems. Designing campaigns to counter nonlinear warfare - specifically within the cyber and information domains - requires planners to use a 'grammar' unique to this type of conflict."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Sweitzer, Christopher S.
2019-05-23
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35th Infantry Division's Mobilization, Training, and Integration in World War II: A Lesson in Deploying National Guard Divisions for Large-Scale Combat Operations
From the Thesis Abstract: "The realities of World War II compelled the US Army to activate the National Guard en masse. Federalizing the National Guard proved critical prior to potentially utilizing expeditionary military forces. At the time, the National Guard acted as the largest component of the Army and contained not only troop strength, but also provided command and control capabilities organic in its division headquarters. National Guard units became vital to quickly mobilize forces for national defense and eventually the execution of the largest expeditionary war the United States has ever seen. The 35th Infantry Division became one of these divisions first mobilized in 1940. The process of mobilizing, training, and integrating National Guard divisions into the Regular Army has not occurred in-scale, since World War II. This monograph strives to identify successes and shortfalls of activating the 35th Infantry Division during World War II for overseas service."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Wilson, Shelby P.
2019-05-23
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Artificial Intelligence -- Conquering a Relative Disadvantage
"From the Thesis Abstract: The US military is in a position it has not experienced since the end of the Cold War, one of having to play catch up with its peer adversaries. While the United States focused on counterinsurgency operations, its adversaries watched, learned, and developed capabilities which put the military in a position of relative disadvantage. Russia, in particular, demonstrated a reconnaissance-strike capability during the Russo-Ukraine war which the US military could not match. As the United States endeavors to close these gaps, the question becomes in what new technologies should it invest? Artificial Intelligence is an emerging technology with limitless military applications. Where can the US military leverage this technology to re-establish overmatch against its peer competitors is the question this research paper seeks to answer. Human-AI [artificial intelligence] teaming in the form of autonomous drones linked to strategic and operational level fires enabled by AI assisted deconfliction measures is one area the US military will close a demonstrated capability gap and regain overmatch without sacrificing acceptable risk levels."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Stansbury, Douglas W.
2019-05-23
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Duke in the Peninsula: Arthur Wellesy and the Application of Operational Art During the Peninsular War 1809-1813
From the Thesis Abstract: "From April 1809 through June 1813 the Duke of Wellington, commander of the Anglo-Portuguese army, created a well-disciplined military organization, defended Portugal from two French invasions, and successfully ended French control of Spain. During the campaign, Wellington led a diverse coalition of forces from Great Britain, Portugal, and Spain with varying degree of skill, discipline, and morale against a powerful French army that had successfully subdued many other parts of Europe. Wellington's nineteenth-century campaign provides tremendous insight into the operational level of war, employing military forces by integrating ends, ways, means, and risk that linked tactical actions to strategic outcomes including protecting Portugal, ending Bonapartist control in Spain, and ending Napoleon's regime in France. [...] Wellington's campaign demonstrates the effective application of operational art to achieve desired results even against an aggressive and stronger enemy. His ability to correctly determine the proper course of action through visualizing and understanding the operational environment aided in his skillful handling of the army during those four years. Viewing this nineteenth century campaign through the modern elements of operational art provide valuable lessons for operational artists today."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Blackburn, Anthony R.
2019-05-23
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Phantom Corps' Counterattack: A Study of Doctrine, Language, & Operational Art
From the Thesis Abstract: "Doctrine influences how the US Army fights, by guiding actions of individuals and units during the uncertainty of combat, and various other martial affairs in preparedness for the nature of war. The US Army fought World War II applying the doctrine of two key publications 'Field Service Regulations', 'Field Manual 100-5, Operations' (1941 & 1944), 'and 100-15 Larger Units' (1942). The conceptual framework created by these doctrines entailed strategy and tactics. Later in the Cold War, the US Army's AirLand Battle doctrine's conceptual framework partitioned war into three levels: the strategic, operational, and tactical. Operational art emerges into the US Army lexicon as a tool for creating a shared understanding in applying the new conceptual framework of the operational level of war. Commanders and their staffs apply operational art to bridge the strategic purpose with tactical actions. Today, 'Field Manual 3-0, Operations' demonstrates that doctrine continues to evolve to reduce uncertainty and is increasingly relying on the operational art lessons from the past, specifically in large-scale combat. Applying today's conceptual framework to the US Army's largest battle's counterattacking corps provides a new analysis on doctrine, language, operational art, and the relief of Bastogne, Belgium."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Ward, Brandon M.
2019-05-23
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Partner Operations in North Burma: Assessing By, With, and Through
From the Thesis Abstract: "To be an effective operational approach, 'by, with, and through' (BWT) must address the entire spectrum of conflict to successfully employ and maximize the capacity and unique capabilities of surrogate forces. Partner operations are not the only means to shape the theater or address contingency operations. With the return of great power competition, current adversaries possess the ability to contest the US military in multiple domains through layers of strategic and operational stand-off. The use of surrogate forces provides unique capabilities and the means to provide access and depth while also preserving strategic flexibility, building legitimacy, and extending operational reach. However, to succeed, partner operations and the use of surrogate forces require the careful alignment of interests; unity of command balanced with the need to preserve partner agency; the careful employment of surrogate forces within their capabilities; the necessary resources and enabler support to sustain operations; and unity of effort toward a common objective. Most importantly, however, partnerships are maintained and continued through personal relationships, leadership, and mutual trust."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Haith, Michael C.
2019-05-23
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Hunting Steel Beasts: A Comparative Analysis of Anti-Tank Units in World War II
From the Thesis Abstract: "In order to fight and win in large-scale combat operations, the Army must think of and employ corps and divisions as fighting formations instead of simply headquarters organizations. Over the course of the Global War on Terror, the Army focused on employing the modular Brigade Combat Team as the tactical echelon of choice in warfighting. Over the past few decades, the Anti-Tank units in particular disappeared almost completely from the US Army's organization. The study is significant because there is potentially a lack of dedicated organic anti-tank capability in US Army divisions and corps. Given the threats that the US Army could do battle with in the future in large scale combat operations, there exists certain biases that suggest that American technological advantages can close operational and tactical gaps with our adversaries. Anti-Tank units are legacy formations that employed low-tech options to destroy armor. This capability seems to get overlooked in the modern high-tech Multi-Domain concept battle of the future."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Timmreck, Albert J.
2019-05-23
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Banners and Signs: The Use of Religious Symbolism in Combat Operations
From the Thesis Abstract: "This monograph examines how elements of information operations were used leading up to and during the Norman Conquest of England, in the history of the formation of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and expansion also brings elements of information operations into contemporary operations. In the current United States Army doctrine Field Manual 3-13, 'Information Operations', the lack of discussion of religious symbols used is a gap requiring further research and development. The implication from both campaigns is relevant to today's contemporary operating environments as the United States conducts combat missions against entities that use religion and religious symbols to incorporate legitimacy into actions."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Aitchison, Paul M.
2019-05-23
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Pursuing National Interests Through Coalitions with Adversaries
From the Thesis Abstract: "Over the last few years the threats facing the United States have adapted into two categories. Nation states like Russia and China aim to contest the United States' influence in their regions and further their own interests. Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs) are proving to be broad threats that are operating throughout the world and require multinational collaboration to defeat them. While these may seem like novel circumstances facing the United States, the combination of a VEO threatening multiple nations requiring them to work together is not new. In 1900 eight nations formed a temporary alliance in Northern China to secure their besieged populations living abroad. This monograph proposes that in eras of competition, coalitions formed with adversaries offer nations the ability to both further their own interests and counter their rivals. Motivated by common elements of fear, honor and interests both Japan and Russia joined a coalition to defeat their common foes: the Boxer Rebellion and the Qing Dynasty. While this coalition bound the groups together and strengthened their ability to achieve mutual goals, it also enabled parties to both pursue unique national interests and check rivals' ambitions. This is seen most in the operational art of the Japanese and Russian militaries. Their operational reach, lines of operations and effort, and end states were all enabled by the formation of the coalition."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Wagner, Daniel J.
2019-05-23
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Unification of Korea: Choices for a New Nation
From the Abstract: "This monograph looks at the potential impact a unified Korea might have upon the regional and global competition. Although numerous concerns surround the peninsula's future, one might ask two primary questions in regard to unification and the balance of power: 'What would unification look like?' and 'What strategic impact would a unified Korea have on regional and global international relations?' Complicating this issue is the rising power of China and competing United States interests in the region. The regional dynamics and history of the Korean Peninsula provide insight into how South Korea, North Korea, and other nations in the region have behaved to meet their national interests in similar situations. This monograph will offer answers by using international relation theories to propose that if unification occurs, it will result in an absorption unification model, with Korea hedging its alliances with the United States and China in order to meet its national interests."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Johnke, Barton L.
2019-05-23
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Putin's Political Philosophy: Implications for Future Russian Military Activity
From the Abstract: "President Putin practices the Conservative school of political philosophy. The philosophy acknowledges the existence of a governing body, individual ownership of property, and the rule of law. These are balanced against the central concern of this school, which is the stability of the core governing body. Adherents guard against political or popular dialogue that could upend the existing government order. Seeking an alternative reality to Russia's profoundly conservative political philosophy will elicit an uncooperative and violent spirit. Three vectors of research and analysis balanced against Russia's persistent security dilemmas and employed across multiple historical periods supply the means to assess Putin's political philosophy. Poor geography, a harsh and restrictive climate, and distance plus time--the security dilemmas--each contribute to the maintenance or lack thereof of national accord, national pride, and national prestige, each core concerns of Conservative political philosophical thought. Putin's security decisions will reflect the same historical determination to mitigate or remove the risks associated with the dilemmas. Japan and China contest Russia's access to the Pacific Ocean; Putin will nurture his relationship with Beijing. Littoral states contest Russia's decision space in the Caspian Sea; Putin will prioritize Tehran. Putin will nurture his relationship with Ankara to undermine NATO and reduce Black Sea southern area threats. Beijing, Tehran, and Ankara are alliances of convenience."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Graham, Francesca A.
2019-05-23
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Multi-Domain Operations: The Historical Case
From the Thesis Abstract: "This study demonstrates that air superiority, maritime superiority, and favorable political constraints are prerequisite military conditions, serving here as criteria for evaluation of the case studies, that enable convergence and allow the US Army to achieve strategic objectives in the land domain during armed conflict. This study analyzes and compares two historical cases, Operation Overlord (1944) and the Korean War (1950-1951). The cases highlight crucial differences in the achievement of convergence in a war with absolute political aims as in the Second World War, and the wars following 1945 dominated by limited political aims and correspondingly limited military means and strong political constraints. The comparison of the two cases highlights the temporal differences associated with achieving air and maritime superiority and the different political constraints associated with each case. The outcome of the study is analytical support for the thesis that air superiority, maritime superiority, and favorable political constraints are prerequisites to convergence in Multi-Domain Operations. This study confirms that historical cases provide powerful antecedents for modern, emerging, or future military concepts and domains."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Burgoon, Matthew W. P.
2019-05-23
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Decisions Based on Experience in the Absence of Doctrine: The Risk with Allied Partners
From the Thesis Abstract: "[D]uring multinational operations, the US Army and joint doctrine are silent in their discussion of how to assess and mitigate risk for operations involving allied partners. Therefore, a commander must identify, assess, and mitigate risk another way when including allies as part of a multinational operation. By examining Operations Overlord and Desert Storm through a methodology of structured focused comparison, this study examined how these two commanders understood coalition risk, and what steps they took to mitigate it. It examined the relationship between education and experiences that shaped their ability to influence the planning of their operations."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Desjardin, Randy S., Jr.
2019-05-23
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Moving Beyond Reflection and Discussion: The Case for Canada to Craft a National Security Strategy
From the Thesis Abstract: "This paper engages the reader in understanding the vital role a national security strategy plays in the policy-strategy relationship as a tool to centrally manage all instruments of national power in the pursuit of Canada's interests. Moreover, through an examination of the global security environment, the application of power and the conceptual approaches a state may take to national security strategy formulation, this paper demonstrates the relevance and value a national security strategy could bring to Canada's national security framework. Strategies are not born of 'immaculate conception.' A positive change is required in Canada's national security framework."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Murphy, Shane R.
2019-05-23
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South China Sea: A Strategic Flashpoint
From the Thesis Abstract: "The South China Sea (SCS) is a resource-rich strategic waterway that has steadily grown in global significance. China and its Southeast Asian neighbors have a long, complicated history of overlapping and competing claims of territorial sovereignty in the SCS. [...] This monograph analyzes two scenarios in the SCS that could potentially lead to conflict between the United States and China. First, the enduring disputes between China and its neighbors could escalate to the point where the United States gets drawn into the conflict as a third party. Secondly, a direct conflict between China and the United States could result from China's discontentment with the United States' execution of freedom of navigation operations in the SCS. An analysis of US and Chinese writings on escalation theory provides a useful framework for explaining how the ongoing disputes in the SCS could lead to an escalation into conflict."
U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. School of Advanced Military Studies
Rosales, Jacob J.
2019-05-23
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U.S. Counterterrorism Narrative: A Way Forward
From the Thesis Abstract: "While there seems to be widespread agreement that the U.S. counterterrorism narrative is failing, there is little empirical evidence for what the U.S. counter-narrative strategy since 9/11 has been, nor is there an analytical framework for measuring its success or failure. This thesis investigates the effectiveness of the U.S. counterterrorism narrative strategy in the post-9/11 period (2001 through 2016), and develops an effective U.S. counterterrorism narrative strategy. Content analysis of 75 U.S. presidential speeches and 50 U.S. Department of State Twitter postings, and a measurement of U.S. performative power between 2001 and 2016, demonstrates that only the narrative speech factor of promoting commonality has a negative correlation with terrorist attacks in the United States. More messages that promote commonality correlates to decreased terrorist attacks. To understand when to use this messaging, the social identity analytical method was applied to a U.S. presidential speech and an Islamic State leader's speech and demonstrates that the U.S. government lacks comprehension of social in-group identification nuances. To target messaging effectively, the framework should be applied on a consistent basis, promoting commonality in narratives within a larger comprehensive counterterrorism strategy."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Kristoff, Madeline T.
2019-03
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U.S. Security Clearances: Reducing the Security Clearance Backlog While Preserving Information Security
From the Thesis Abstract: "From 2014-2018, the U.S. federal government security clearance backlog increased from 190,000 investigations to 710,000 investigations, according to a 2018 Government Accountability Office report. The backlog of security clearance investigations has resulted in investigation timelines that range between 134 and 395 days. The organization that handles 90 percent of the caseload for background investigations, the National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB), has the capability to provide approximately 160,000-180,000 investigations annually. With current staffing structure, the NBIB can handle approximately 25 percent of the security clearance caseload. Changes in policy could be considered to address this critical issue; however, drastic change may be required to adequately address this issue. This thesis recommends a transformational organizational change to the National Background Investigations Bureau to address the backlog of security clearance investigations. A policy change that limits the annual amount of security clearance investigations to the throughput of the NBIB would reduce the backlog of security clearance investigations, increase the quality of investigations, and increase the integrity of national security information without adding to the costs of security clearances."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Berger, Benjamin F.
2019-03
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Framework for National Guard Employment in the Homeland
From the Thesis Abstract: "This thesis explores the doctrinal divide among homeland defense (HD), homeland security (HS), and defense support to civil authorities (DSCA) and questions whether these doctrinal spaces are adequately instructive to National Guard domestic action. The thesis explores the Department of Defense's (DoD) important contributions to HD and DSCA and the Guard's historical and contemporary roles in HD and HS. This work proposes that the DoD's reticence to describe its actions as HS creates a doctrinal void for the Guard. This thesis advances DSCA as theoretically and practically useful for the DoD but concurrently contravenes core principles of domestic response, which is practically inadequate for domestic Guard action. By exploring military action in large-scale, complex disasters and national special security events, this thesis provides insight into the legal, policy, and fiscal challenges and solutions for clearer domestic doctrine. The thesis explores whether the Guard can be better employed in disasters by adjudicating matters of defense over security and engaging in a federalism conversation aimed at discriminating between disasters that are 'national matters' and those that are 'state matters.'"
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Jara, Paul E.
2019-03
