Nigeria has the highest rate of deforestation in the world and the Government of Nigeria (GON) has failed to implement an effective response to this worsening crisis. Deforestation degrades land quality and agricultural output, resulting in forced migration and increased competition for scarce resources. This erodes government legitimacy and, ultimately, leads to conflict that results in more deforestation. The GON and international community must act to break this cycle and reverse deforestation to prevent widening conflict and irreversible environmental degradation. This paper begins with...

Today the tactical challenges of operating within an anti-access area-denial environment form the focus of the United States Navy. While the tactical tasks are daunting, they must no longer remain the Navy's first priority. If naval leadership continues to focus on the tactical level difficulties, rather than working towards the proper development of an operational level goal linked to a desired strategic end state, the results on the high-seas will be disastrous. This work uses an operational art analysis of the German Operation CERBERUS during World War II to demonstrate the paramount...

The current world order is such that unilateral military action on the part of the United States is highly unlikely. Consequently, when employed, American forces are required to function as part of an alliance or coalition. Such multinational operations present unique challenges, so it is vital the correct lessons be learned from each opportunity. Formal procedures have been established to capture "lessons learned" from recent combined operations. However, short shrift is often given to more historical experiences. Is it possible to learn something relevant to present-day or future operations...

Nigeria has the highest rate of deforestation in the world and the Government of Nigeria (GON) has failed to implement an effective response to this worsening crisis. Deforestation degrades land quality and agricultural output, resulting in forced migration and increased competition for scarce resources. This erodes government legitimacy and, ultimately, leads to conflict that results in more deforestation. The GON and international community must act to break this cycle and reverse deforestation to prevent widening conflict and irreversible environmental degradation. This paper begins with...

Vice Admiral Joseph P. Metcalf, III commanded the largest American joint military operation since the Vietnam War on the small Caribbean island of Grenada in 1983. This work focuses on Metcalf's operational leadership during Operation URGENT FURY. It begins by providing the readers an introduction to Metcalf's life, his education and career, and the circumstances that led to Metcalf being named as the operational commander of Combined Joint Task Force 120. Examples follow from the planning and execution stages of the Grenada invasion illustrating Metcalf's possession of the three theoretical...

In contrast with previous wars aimed at overcoming ideologies such as fascism in World War II or communism in the Cold War, the current "Global War on Terrorism" represents the first American war aimed at a means to an end vice the end itself. Without doubt, the increased ambiguousness of the adversary in this war presents new and more complex challenges in successfully assessing the Clausewitzian dictum of center of gravity. Previously, it was sufficient to pronounce a nation's military, or its leadership, or its national wealth as its center of gravity, and having identified such, a...

The counter-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia currently consist of three international operations and several unilaterally deployed naval assets. Coordination, primarily through infrequent meetings, is the means by which these forces attempt to achieve unity of effort. Such a method is not consistent with military doctrine and results in a disorganized and inefficient operation. This book illustrates how achieving unity of effort through unity of command will benefit the counter-piracy mission. It explains how consolidation of forces under the direction of a single operational commander...

This book outlines the war termination considerations for the JFC in a notional scenario following an attack by China that disables an American aircraft carrier and bombards Guam and Okinawa while Chinese amphibious forces simultaneously execute an assault to capture islands in the South China Sea currently occupied by Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. Following the Chinese strike an operational plan should initially use coercive diplomacy and avoid escalation in order to facilitate war termination through a negotiated peace. If this approach fails the JFC can then exploit factor time to...

Many papers and reports have been written on Al Qaeda and the western principles of war. Government agencies and universities throughout the world work hard to analyze the background of Al Qaeda to better understand the organization and where its next strike might occur. At the same time, theorists and academics debate whether the principles of war debated since the time of Clausewitz still apply to the modern battles that we face against Al Qaeda. Very little work has been done combining these two topics to determine if Al Qaeda has unique principles of war and if so, what can be done about...