The military commitments of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq are ending. The present economic and political challenges have left the defense department with a significantly reduced budget. The reduction in spending impacts the three pillars of strategic execution: personnel, doctrine, and materiel. With reduced resources for critical training and acquisitions, the "billpayer" must be an increase in the level of acceptable risk that our country is willing to carry. To mitigate these risks, the Army has chosen to conduct Combined Arms Maneuver (CAM) and Wide Area Security (WAS) core...

This analysis suggests the current Army strategic leadership competencies are necessary but insufficient. Today's Army leaders constitute the most "combat-experienced force" fielded in recent memory; however, much of this experience reflects a decade of experience in counterinsurgency that may only be partially relevant for other uncertain strategic challenges. In addition, a combination of pressing and complex factors of organizational uncertainty complicates today's efforts in developing leaders, and more importantly, limits leaders from achieving their strategic potential. This paper...

With the end of our commitment in Iraq and as we begin the drawdown of forces in Afghanistan, the Nation, the Department of Defense, and the Army are beginning a strategic transition from fighting and winning current wars to preparing for the challenges beyond them. Simultaneously, the US Government faces a fiscal and budgetary crisis that will shape the strategic landscape and inform our preparations for future conflicts. Addressing the uncertainty of the current security challenges facing the nation, our nation's senior leaders have specified in official policy and planning documents that...

The Army must prepare its units to employ Full Spectrum Operations (FSO) competencies as part of the Joint Force 2020 in order to generate the desired strategic effects that "prevent" adversaries from escalating conflicts, "shape" the international environment, and, where challenged, "win" decisively and dominantly across the range of conflicts. To ensure its success, the Army must make changes to the National Training Center's (NTC) Contemporary Operational Environment (COE). This paper traces the NTC's evolution, analyses the strategic security landscape from present to 2020, and makes...

On 22 January 2009, President Obama issued an executive order calling for the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (GTMO), detention facility to be closed within one year. The President had been sworn in just a few days before. He immediately launched an ambitious agenda, ranging from health care reform to passing a massive financial package to stimulate a struggling economy. Still, the decision to close GTMO was a top priority; so the executive order to close it was one of President Obama's first acts in office. It has been four years since President Obama signed that executive order directing the closure...

Civil War Arkansas endured many forms of irregular or guerilla warfare including activity that approached insurgency. It was a complex arena that resembles the present day and it illustrates much of contemporary counterinsurgency doctrine. Arkansas was a Southern state with a significant Unionist population and this divide fueled and shaped much of the conflict. Arkansas was unique in that the Confederate commander seeking to make up for conventional weakness, initiated guerilla warfare directed at Union forces. In response, Union commanders who were merely to protect lines of communication...

This research project examines the war with Mexico in 1846-48 and the insurgency that arose and was quickly quelled. American commander Winfield Scott implemented a strategy that prevented the insurgency from exploding into a disaster, thus preserving the fruits of victory. This book reviews what he did in order to seal the achievements of the conventional campaigns in Mexico by preventing a descent into the chaos of an insurgency. Based on this examination there are many parallels American planners could have considered that may have prevented the development of the insurgency in Iraq in...

As the war in Afghanistan draws to a close, the U.S. Army is increasingly focused upon "regionally aligning" its forces. To do so effectively, however, it must undertake several initiatives. First, the Army must acknowledge and liberate the unique productive capabilities (talents) of each individual. Second, it must shift from process-oriented, industrial age personnel management to productivity-focused, information age talent management. Third, the Army must foster en-during human relationships between its organizations and the governments, militaries, and populations to which they are...

The vast majority of those serving in the U.S. military acknowledge a faith identity, yet many are compelled and even coerced into concealing their faith identity due to overzealous concerns for maintaining good order and discipline. A stigma has been attached to the phrase "for God and country." This leads to a perplexing dilemma: military members are expected to rely on their faith identity as an enabler in the execution of their duties, and are often compelled to conceal expression of their faith. This, if allowed to persist, will degrade readiness across the force. Faith identity has...