Oct. 30, 2023

The Drone Age: How Drone Technology Will Change War and Peace

Timely, relevant, and provocative, Michael J. Boyle’s The Drone Age makes the point better than any other on the subject: the sky is full of drones, and policymakers, especially those in defense agencies, need to come to terms with this technology.

Oct. 30, 2023

Winners of the 2023 Essay Competitions

NDU Press hosted the final round of judging on May 11–12, 2023, during which 29 faculty judges from 17 participating professional military education (PME) institutions selected the best entries in each category. There were 95 submissions in this year’s three categories. First Place winners in each of the three categories appear in the following pages.

Oct. 30, 2023

A Symphony of Capabilities: How the Joint Warfighting Concept Guides Service Force Design and Development

The United States today faces complex global challenges, including long-term strategic competition with major powers such as China and Russia. Rapidly evolving technologies are changing the character of warfare, and we are only just beginning to understand the implications of these changes. History shows that in times like this, nations that best capitalize on these changes create the greatest advantages in battle. Adapting to this evolving landscape requires the joint force to integrate capabilities and synchronize effects fluidly across domains.

Oct. 30, 2023

Sharpening Our Competitive Edge: Honing Our Warfighting Capabilities Through the Joint Warfighting Concept

The Joint Warfighting Concept (JWC) challenges the joint force to rethink competition, deterrence, and conflict. This necessitates a shift in how we utilize our current capabilities and a leap toward new ones. To truly sharpen our competitive edge, we must outpace our adversaries in adaptability and innovation. While the Pentagon has made strides in recent years, there is more to be done.

Oct. 30, 2023

Embracing Change: A Sense of Urgency

At the dawn of an ever-evolving geopolitical era, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the world’s most powerful political and military alliance, faces a new reality. This article examines the issues facing NATO and suggests ways to modernize and adapt the Alliance to meet current and future security challenges.

Oct. 30, 2023

Weaponizing Wheat: How Strategic Competition With Russia Could Threaten American Food Security

In the history of warfare, belligerents have often targeted food supplies to force opponents into submission. In America’s wars over the last century, threats to domestic food security have been minimal. We are now in an era of increased globalization, where food supply chains span the oceans. America faces the renewed rise of strategic competition as China and Russia seek to replace U.S. power across the globe. Given these new realities, timely evaluation of potential vulnerabilities to American food production is necessary.

Oct. 30, 2023

It’s Not Just About the Algorithm: Development of a Joint Medical Artificial Intelligence Capability

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have highlighted the sophisticated potential of this technology to drastically improve all aspects of medicine. AI has the promise of significantly improving many aspects of combat casualty care, including maximizing the impact of limited medical capabilities. However, because of the military’s unique operating environment, the military health system cannot rely on civilian medicine to develop AI capabilities. Given this, the military health system needs to develop a strategic approach to the generation of a medical AI capability for the joint force.

Oct. 30, 2023

Space Denial: A Deterrence Strategy

Space assets are strategic and crucial to U.S. national security in maintaining military superiority across the land, maritime, air, and cyber domains. U.S. adversaries recognize this advantage and intend to challenge American interests in space. As the leading space powers continue to enhance their direct-ascent capabilities, the United States must adopt a deterrence strategy through building robust constellations, optimizing satellite placement, and integrating U.S. Government–owned sensors on allies, strategic partners, and commercial satellites.

Oct. 30, 2023

An Interview with Michael E. Langley

It is an honor to convey the USAFRICOM message in this publication; Joint Force Quarterly is an important forum for strategic discussion. Africa is both key strategic and geopolitical terrain due to its physical geography, wealth of resources, and fast-growing populations. These attributes make Africa an increasingly contested environment as strategic competitors, violent extremist organizations [VEOs], and transnational criminal organizations collectively seek to exploit African nations for their gain.

Oct. 30, 2023

Guardian of the Seams: U.S. Africa Command at the Intersection of Diplomacy, Development, and Defense

By its constitution, programs, and ethos, U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) is committed to the idea that knowledge should unify rather than fragment actions, concepts, and relationships. The commander of USAFRICOM, General Michael E. Langley, USMC, charged us in this article and the two that follow to explore the concept of seams and challenged us to identify and address the disparities that potentially undermine the effectiveness of U.S. engagements with African partner forces—whether these differences are interagency relationships, resources, rules and authorities, priorities, objectives, data, or something yet unidentified.