May 14, 2019

A Model for Tactical Readiness Through Strategic Opportunity

Theater Security Cooperation Programs (TSCP) are often viewed as burdens and distractions. However, if managed correctly TSCPs can significantly increase unit readiness. This article provides a model based on the authors’ experience in Operation Garuda Shield 17, which placed tactical leaders at strategic points of friction to communicate up and down the chain of command. TSCPs should be viewed as readiness opportunities rather than burdens because they provide opportunity for increased resources, unique experiences, as well as deployment and training readiness. Exercise planners and their partner-nation equivalents are the key audience, say the authors, to influence and ensure success.

May 14, 2019

The Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement: An Old Tool for the Modern Military

This article builds on a recent contribution from General Votel and Colonel Keravuori (in JFQ 89) who showed how the BWT approach promotes sustainable multi-national, regional and local defense institutions. Using a simple exchange of supplies and materials by via Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement transactions, the Joint Force can simultaneously build partner capacity and increase logistical interoperability. This simple but effective tool, says the author, allows service members to function in ambiguous, complex and volatile environments. Given the demands of future operations, the Joint Force must utilize all resources available to be leaner, faster and more mobile.

May 7, 2019

Augmenting Bloom for Education in the Cognitive Domain

Bloom’s Taxonomy (named for educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom) is a system to classify learning objectives according to their level of complexity. In Professional Military Education (PME) Bloom’s Taxonomy is used to differentiate learning levels and create sequential learning objectives. This approach makes sense for most PME students but not everyone. Thus, the authors propose a stratified systems theory as a complementary framework that can be used to meet the contextual need across all PME educational systems. Implementing this recommendation, say the authors, will enhance PME and better prepare graduates to face the challenges associated with a dynamic, uncertain future.

May 7, 2019

Covert Action as an Intelligence Subcomponent of the Information Instrument

Covert Action consists of methods to influence political, economic and military conditions abroad where the government’s role is neither readily apparent nor publicly acknowledged. Because oversight of Covert Action is the responsibility of congressional intelligence committees and because the fundamental purpose is to manipulate information (and conceal knowledge about the actors involved) these methods belong to the information instrument of the DIME typology of diplomatic, information, military and economic instruments of power. Strategists and educators should keep this in mind in order to balance the costs, risks and benefits in support of national security and foreign policy objectives.

May 7, 2019

From DOPMA to Google: Cyber as a Case Study in Talent Management

How should we manage cyber talent in the information age? How do we use the military’s existing systems of talent management to optimize recruitment, employment and retention of the cyber force? Although we live in an age of increasing availability of information and integration of artificial intelligence, cyber warfare remains a human endeavor. To ensure the U.S. maintains its qualitative edge in the cyber domain, the Joint Force must attract, develop and retain the right people. This means borrowing good ideas from the private sector, say the authors, encouraging creativity, allowing flexibility and developing future leaders who understand their craft.

May 7, 2019

Tactical Maneuver in the Cyber Domain: Dominating the Enemy

Imagine the possibilities if tactical teams could plan a raid that integrated air and ground support, and on-call fires in the cyber domain. This article argues that our national defense organizations invest in capabilities, tactics and training to successfully conduct tactical maneuver in the cyber domain. The Joint Force must be able to visualize and integrate the cyber domain with other domains to achieve strategic military and national objectives. The ability to dominate the enemy in cyberspace as part of combined arms all-domain operations, says the author, is an essential requirement for the Joint Force.

May 2, 2019

"Untapped Resources" for Building Security from the Ground Up

What are the implications of expanding the U.S. Military's role beyond armed conflict? The author answers with a case study showing how the U.S. Army Special Operations Command forged a successful alliance with business in Honduras. Working by-with-through (BWT) the private sector and the University of Notre Dame Business on the Frontlines program, the U.S. Military overcame bureaucratic resistance to create a powerful and self-sustaining force to enhance security. The result is an unconventional partnership with American and Honduran business leaders, and a creative approach to theater security planning which redefines the concept of jointness.

April 16, 2019

China's Other Army: The People's Armed Police in an Era of Reform

China’s premier paramilitary force—the People’s Armed Police (PAP)—is undergoing its most profound restructuring since its establishment in 1982. Politically, the reforms reaffirm Chinese Communist Party (and Xi Jinping’s) control over the PAP and may reduce the scope for local abuse of power. Operationally, the reforms narrow the PAP’s responsibilities to three key areas: domestic stability, wartime support, and maritime rights protection. PAP activities beyond China’s borders are likely to increase and could have implications for the United States and other Indo-Pacific states.

March 25, 2019

Russian Challenges from Now into the Next Generation: A Geostrategic Primer

U.S. and Western relations with Russia remain challenged as Russia increasingly reasserts itself on the global stage. Russia remains driven by a worldview based on existential threats—real, perceived, and contrived. As a vast, 11-time zone Eurasian nation with major demographic and economic challenges, Russia faces multiple security dilemmas internally and along its vulnerable and expansive borders. Exhibiting a reactive xenophobia stemming from a long history of destructive war and invasion along most of its borders, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and perceived Western slights, Russia increasingly threatens others and lashes outward. However, time is not on Russia’s side, as it has entered into a debilitating status quo that includes unnecessary confrontation with the West, multiple unresolved military commitments, a sanctions-strained and only partially diversified economy, looming domestic tensions, and a rising China directly along its periphery. Washington still has an opportunity to carefully improve U.S.-Russia relations and regain a more stable relationship in the near term, but only if activities and initiatives are based on a firm and frank appreciation of each other’s core interests, including those of their allies and partners.

March 13, 2019

El Salvador's Recognition of the People's Republic of China: A Regional Context

In January 2016, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) abandoned an 8-year truce in its war with the Republic of China (ROC) over diplomatic recognition around the world and subsequently moved to aggressively woo traditional Taipei allies. This paper centers on the PRC’s recent successful push into Latin America, and particularly in Central America—historically a primary area of influence for the United States. Through a concerted effort—and often in exchange for promises of mega investments and financial aid—the PRC increasingly receives a warm welcome across the Latin American continent. This paper analyzes recent decisions by several countries in the Western Hemisphere in recognizing PRC and offers an in-depth assessment of El Salvador’s recent decision to break historic ties to Taiwan and embrace Beijing—a move that presents a significant strategic challenge to U.S. regional interests.