This book examines the viability of recent NATO out-of-area operations, specifically in Kosovo and Afghanistan. It illustrates that the complex decision-making bureaucracy of NATO can be a detriment to the capabilities of the alliance and limits the strategic options available to the organization. By studying strategy development after the end of the Cold War and leading up to the commitment of NATO to the ISAF, it becomes clear that these structures and processes do not easily facilitate the formation of a coherent strategy that meets alliance objectives. During times of conflict, especially...

This book explores the current debates surrounding "hollow forces" and the decrease in the defense budget following prolonged conflict. Leaders' strategic choices, which lead to decreasing resources, sometimes create the perception of hollow forces. The author uses the case study methodology to examine potential causal relationships. The case studies examined are the Korean War, following the Vietnam War, after the Cold War, and the present conflict. The author discovered that the lack of training and numbers led to a perception of a hollow force in those cases. In addition, the author...

Traditional models representing how messages are communicated through traditional media are inappropriate for depicting how they are communicated (or, rather, exchanged) through the new media. The former depict monologic (one-to-many) communication flows, whereas dialogic (peer-to-peer and many-to-many) flows represent the dominant mode of communication in the new media universe. Writers in government and military circles tend not to portray new media strategic communication as wholly separate and distinct from strategic communication through traditional media. This book explains how new...

Field Marshal William 'Bill' Slim ended World War II in command of Fourteenth Army. Focusing on his time in Burma, this paper covers the period 1942-1945 and his time as a Corps and Army commander. In 1944 Slim, as commander Fourteenth Army, deployed XV Corps and successfully defeated the Japanese for the first time in Burma. This book sets out the historical aspects of the three main campaigns managed by Slim. First, it examines Slim's input and performance in the First and Second Arakan Campaigns. Second, his decisions at the defense of Kohima and Imphal and the subsequent break out of the...

This book examines operational control of bombers stationed in the United States but employed halfway around the world. When a contingency arises, operational control should be clear-cut from the beginning. Air Force doctrine concerning command and control is easily understood for assets that deploy into a theater. The mere issue of proximity to the commander makes control seem somewhat less confusing. However, when bombers generate under one combatant commander and execute their mission under the operational control of another combatant commander, the timing of when one commander...