Nov. 18, 2019

Joint Doctrine Updates

Joint Doctrine Updates

Nov. 18, 2019

Unmasking the Spectrum with Artificial Intelligence

This article examines the potential of artificial intelligence to improve joint electromagnetic spectrum operations along three lines of discussion. First, current doctrine and process limitations may impact a Joint Force commander’s ability to visualize and understand how Joint Forces are operating within the spectrum. Second, artificial intelligence and specific learning models can help understand how the electromagnetic spectrum connects military forces. And finally, the role of data can fuel machine learning despite the associated risks. Artificial intelligence can improve Joint Force understanding and visualization, say the authors, and help commanders make more accurate and timely decisions.

Nov. 18, 2019

Subordinating Intelligence

Long interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations have resulted in increased scrutiny of civil-military relations and the interagency intelligence community. Subordinating Intelligence analyzes the evolution of civil-military relationships with an emphasis on the post–Cold War era. This book identifies the barriers to cooperation, but also identifies the factors that made a difference where integration was achieved. Given that interagency alignment is a prerequisite for success, both military and intelligence professionals would be well served to read Oakley’s excellent book to find examples of what can go wrong, but also what can go right.

Nov. 18, 2019

Sailing True North

While the emphasis is on naval leaders, Sailing True North provides insights relevant to the entire Joint Force and beyond. This book is for anyone who wants to understand the essential questions of character and leadership under stress. The author is supremely well read, and provides an invaluable distillation over a vast span of history. This book encourages self-examination as the author challenges you, and asks you to identify your heroes and the qualities you admire. Given the author’s leadership experience at the most consequential levels of command, his scholarship on this topic is recommended reading.

Nov. 18, 2019

The Lessons of Tragedy

Colonel Joseph Collins, USA (Ret.), PhD reviews The Lessons of Tragedy: Statecraft and World Order by Hal Brands and Charles Edel. In this excellent book, the focus is on great power politics. And the centrality of survival and security supports this approach. However, the international order has a number of important aspects beyond interstate security politics. The issues of international political economy, trade, globalization and regional/global organizations are a big part of the story. If you can read only one book on world order, says Collins, you would do well to read Lessons of Tragedy. Aristotle would salute your prudence.

Nov. 18, 2019

Wolfe, Montcalm, and the Principles of Joint Operations in the Quebec Campaign of 1759

Analysis of the 1759 French and Indian War Quebec Campaign demonstrates that Britain achieved victory because it adhered to the principles of joint operations better than the French did. This historical case study examines the commanders’ uneven application of joint operating principles given contemporary technology and the physical environment. While the British lacked formal doctrine listing the principles of joint operations, the thought process and underlying concepts of current doctrinal principles shaped their military decisions. It is important that our joint leaders can do likewise, to learn from history and use their creativity to apply joint operating principles in combat.

Nov. 18, 2019

The Chain Home Early Warning Radar System: A Case Study in Defense Innovation

The Chain Home Early Warning Radar System played an important role in Great Britain’s defense during the 1940 Battle of Britain. The system’s ability to warn the Royal Air Force about incoming Luftwaffe attacks helped restore a measure of Britain’s protection from continental states, contributing to the resistance and eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. Today, creation of the Chain Home System serves as a case study in military innovation, which shows the importance of strategic planning in the acquisition process, the importance of wartime adaptation, and the need to have the right team to manage development and implementation.

Nov. 18, 2019

3D Printing for Joint Agile Operations

Additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing, can enable the production of replacement parts when and where they are needed, which is required to enable future agile operations. As such, AM development in the DOD represents a critical enabler of forward basing and denied area operations. However, creating reliable and trusted repair parts to the correct specification is challenging, especially in an austere environment. In order to overcome AM employment challenges and leverage this technology effectively and efficiently, unity of effort for development and implementation is required across the joint enterprise.

Nov. 18, 2019

Development Beyond the Joint Qualification System: An Overview

The Joint Qualification System’s narrow focus on officers working at the strategic level is insufficient to build the joint-ready force needed to meet our nation’s warfighting demands. Given that the Joint Qualification System was introduced ten years ago, it is time to assess how well the current system is meeting current needs. The Air Force is developing a talent management system to complement the Joint Qualification System. This initiative can inform similar efforts in other services to ensure that leaders are prepared for the challenges they will confront in increasingly sophisticated complex joint operations of the future.

Nov. 18, 2019

Countering Threat Networks to Deter, Compete, and Win: Competition Below Armed Conflict with Revisionist Powers

The current geopolitical environment is complex, dynamic and dangerous. Since the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union, the US has battled an assortment of rogue regimes and violent extremist organizations (VEOs). While these actors remain a security threat to the US and its allies, the 2018 National Defense Strategy directs the DOD to focus on long-term, strategic competition with two revisionist powers: Russia and China. The regional and global ambitions of these two nuclear powers, along with the emergent threats posed by rogue regimes and VEOs, presents the Joint Force with a unique security challenge.