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While not all readers of this journal read my Executive Summary, they do read the results of my team’s work. From acquisition to publication and distribution, the authors’ efforts are transformed from simple files of words and occasional graphics into the journal you are reading. At 32 years and now 119 issues, Joint Force Quarterly has had over 40 people involved in making the magic happen. As great as JFQ has become, two significant events will undoubtably change how this journal is produced and delivered.
Primarily because of changes in the media environment at large and the budgetary pressures across government, National Defense University (NDU) Press will be significantly reducing the available print copies of JFQ beginning with the next edition, JFQ 120, due after the New Year. A small quantity of copies will be published and provided primarily to the joint force community—specifically, the joint professional military education schoolhouses, the Joint Staff, and the Combatant Command staffs. Our budget and my proper stewardship of the limited funds available, along with the dramatic expansion and use of digital means to disseminate content, are the key drivers for this change. For locations other than those I have mentioned, JFQ 119 will be the last print edition delivered, both for individual subscriptions and for bulk deliveries. Effective October 1, 2025, NDU Press will no longer accept requests for print copies of JFQ, except for copies of previous editions. A small number of copies will continue to be available here on NDU’s North Campus at Fort McNair. Those who wish to continue receiving individual copies can do so through the Government Publishing Office’s U.S. Government Bookstore for a fee.
To me personally, another significant change will also influence future editions—the retirement of our longtime Executive Editor, Dr. Jeffrey Smotherman. Jeff has served at NDU Press for over 25 years and has done so brilliantly. Every page, every word, and even the very style of the current JFQ has his personal touch, dating back to JFQ 35 in the fall of 2000. Jeff was involved with some 84 of the now 119 editions, totaling some 1,732 articles from at least 2,400 authors and nearly 11,000 pages of the Chairman’s Journal. No other member of the NDU Press team past or present has served as long or as well for this special mission as Jeff.
In addition to his work on JFQ, Jeff has stewarded NDU Press’s production of 20 major books—always his preferred work assignment—and hundreds of research monographs and case studies. He has been the first person called upon when a document for NDU leadership use needed a perfectionist’s eye. Warriors talk of having a teammate to get them through the good times and the trials of combat. While Jeff Smotherman has not served in the military, he has been every bit a battle buddy to his NDU teammates and especially me. We wish Jeff a healthy, happy, and well-deserved retirement.
In Forum this time, we have four very current and significant articles on deterrence, support to the force, decision support from artificial intelligence (AI), and current U.S. munitions production. Robert Hinck continues our long discussion on integrated deterrence with his suggestions on how a network strategy can help the U.S. influence friend and foe alike. Every unit will want to consider Aubry Eaton and Dustin Thomas’s suggestions on how to build combat capability on the front lines. None of us can stop talking about AI, but Michael Silver, Kellen Sick, Matthew Snyder, and Justin Farnell offer us ways to use it for organizational design and decisionmaking in warfighting. Another hot topic is the U.S. defense industrial base, and Bryce Loidolt—my teammate from NDU’s Institute for National Strategic Studies— will bring you up to speed on the issues involved in getting the right materiel to the front lines of Ukraine.
Our JPME Today section returns with two important discussions, one old and another very new. Often it seems everyone has a good idea on how to reshape professional military education (PME), but serious change comes from just understanding this enterprise we are involved in. Ryan Wadle and Heather Venable offer their views on the right balance between breadth and depth of the content and courses in PME, as well as outlining the battle lines inside the halls of our colleges and higher headquarters. JFQ alum Kevin D. Stringer and his research partner, Taisiia Vivdych, bring us their insights on how the Ukrainian special forces are achieving success.
Commentary from two new JFQ voices helps extend the discussions we have had in recent issues on two key topics: cyber and nuclear weapons. Jorge Kravetz wades into the debate over the use of cyber for deterrence through intelligence special operations. Michaela Dodge brings us her Larry D. Welch Award–winning essay on the value of intercontinental ballistic missiles—an enduring part of our nuclear triad, despite calls not too long ago to abandon them.
One can easily see the strategic connections between the three articles we have for you in Features this time. Alexander Goodno discusses his ideas on how to combat Chinese influence and China’s illegal fishing in the waters of South America. Seeing an opportunity to learn lessons from past combat support efforts, Jonathan Pederson describes how the joint force might improve casualty evacuation in large-scale combat operations. Addressing what many believe is the next big theater of operations, Samuel Krakower and Troy Bouffard suggest how the United States can best position our military to fight when needed in the Bering Region of the Arctic.
Closing out this edition of JFQ, we have three excellent book reviews and in our Recall section, Bryan Leese offers his Cold War–era approach to educating us on integrated deterrence, providing a nice bookend to Robert Hinck’s earlier article in this edition.
To my teammate who was a constant companion to us here at NDU, who has suffered through all my stories and never-ending tortured analogies, I wish Jeff Smotherman fair winds and following seas, with a reminder to always check your six! JFQ
—William T. Eliason
Editor in Chief