April 1, 2014

Achieving Accountability in Cyberspace: Revolution or Evolution?

Cyberspace considerations are irreversibly proliferating, and five core ideas will help commanders fight a perpetual cyberwar: education and training, a clear chain of custody, explicit processes and procedures and guidance, advanced methods of controlling access to networks and information, and a formal cyberspace mishap investigation process throughout the Defense Department.

April 1, 2014

Combined Effects Power

The Combined Effects Power (CEP) construct does not eliminate the combined arms warfare (CAW) concept, but CEP seeks to overcome CAW’s anomalies by accommodating the behavior of both cyber domain and soft power participants from the natural domains to offset the dangers springing from the information revolution.

April 1, 2014

Information-Sharing with the Private Sector

The Obama administration’s Executive Order 13636 and Presidential Policy Directive 21 are a beginning, but establishing public-private information sharing requires matching cyber security legislation to fill in the gaps found in the 2003 National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, address a multitude of contentious issues, and achieve a unified cyberspace focus.

April 1, 2014

Green Peace: Can Biofuels Accelerate Energy Security?

Interagency/Navy efforts to develop and test biofuels to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources and protect the military from energy price shocks have been disappointing, and research into military application and feasibility suggests that biofuels will be neither cost competitive nor available in sufficient quantities to enhance energy security.

April 1, 2014

Shaping a 21st-Century Defense Strategy: Reconciling Military Roles

The military’s ability to shape the security environment can be substantially improved by adopting multiple simultaneous stimulants, most prominently the national security strategy shift from deterrence and containment to cooperation and engagement. These capabilities must be sufficiently resourced so Washington’s interests can be pursued short of armed conflict where possible.

April 1, 2014

Targeting the JIIM Way: A More Inclusive Approach

Joint doctrine, where it inadequately addresses incorporating Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational (JIIM) organizations into the military planning process, must be revised to give JIIM engagement its due. Moreover, greater cross-organizational exposure among partners should increase understanding and trust and get partners more fully synchronized in both planning and execution.

April 1, 2014

Airpower and Globalization Effects: Rethinking the Five Rings

The Five Rings theory may not provide quick wins against large countries with modern air defense systems, but an escalatory strategic interdiction strategy relying on capable air and navel forces to affect the most critical and vulnerable elements would apply to many crises with its nonlethal and reversible options.

April 1, 2014

Sun Tzu in Contemporary Chinese Strategy

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War cuts both ways. Its tenets work against enemies but can also strike against China. Using the general’s maxims, we can uncover inconsistencies in the grandly moral stance assumed by Chinese leaders. For instance, claims made for public consumption can be juxtaposed with demonstrable fact.

April 1, 2014

Geography Matters in Maintaining Global Mobility

Geography impacts global mobility, and USTRANSCOM works with the components, the Defense Logistics Agency, and commercial partners to overcome vast distances and to subdue the burdens of time and cost. Crises evolve rapidly and the United States must maintain its unique ability to project power anywhere, any time.

April 1, 2014

Reflections on Operation Unified Protector

Committed people accounted for the success of Operation Unified Protector in Libya. NATO and partner participants in the air-heavy campaign arrived in haste and had to find fast solutions to endless challenges and shifting capabilities requirements. Skillful leadership enabled unity to survive as the center of gravity.