Recent Publications

Strategic Insights: Lost in Translation
August 17, 2017 — Author: Dr M Chris Mason In a change from the Vietnam War—where the U.S. military trained at least 45,000 deploying service members to speak Vietnamese and probably twice that number—for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, apart from some remotely-based intelligence specialists doing classified work, the U.S. military trained almost no deploying... MORE

What Should the U.S. Army Learn From History? Recovery From a Strategy Deficit
July 26, 2017 — Author: Dr Colin S GrayView the Executive Summary Does history repeat itself? This monograph clearly answers “no,” firmly. However, it does not argue that an absence of repetition in the sense of analogy means that history can have no utility for the soldier today. This monograph argues for a “historical parallelism,” in place of shaky or false... MORE

The Army War College Review Vol. 3 No. 2
July 24, 2017 — Authors: Colonel James M. Efaw, Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin R. Jonsson, Lieutenant Colonel Asariel Loria, Commander Mark O’Connell, Colonel Stephen E. Schemenauer The Army War College Review, a refereed publication of student work, is produced under the purview of the Strategic Studies Institute and the United States Army War College. An electronic... MORE

Strategic Insights: U.S.-China Relations: Avoiding the Traps
July 19, 2017 — Professor John F. TroxellMuch has been written about the rise of China and the tensions that this has put on the international system. The potential for conflict between the United States and China can be compared to the Peloponnesian War, as told by the ancient historian Thucydides, and the inevitability of that war because of Sparta’s fear of a... MORE

The Army War College Review Vol. 3 No. 1
July 18, 2017 — Author: Colonel Darren Huxley, COL David C. Menser, Lieutenant Colonel Carter L. Price, Lieutenant Colonel Jaren K. Price, LTC Geoffrey W. Wright The Army War College Review, a refereed publication of student work, is produced under the purview of the Strategic Studies Institute and the United States Army War College. An electronic quarterly, The... MORE

Ends, Means, Ideology, and Pride: Why the Axis Lost and What We Can Learn from Its Defeat
July 13, 2017 — Author: Dr Jeffrey RecordView the Executive Summary The author examines the Axis defeat in World War II and concludes that the two main causes were resource inferiority (after 1941) and strategic incompetence—i.e., pursuit of imperial ambitions beyond the reach of its actual power. Until 1941 Axis military fortunes thrived, but the addition in that... MORE

SSI Live 73 – At Our Own Peril: DoD & Risk Assessment
July 11, 2017 — How does DoD go about defining, identifying, and mitigating risk? Are DoD risk assessment practices and procedures effective and useful to the Department and other stakeholders? SSI Research Professor Nate Freier joined Dr. John R. Deni to discuss the release of a major U.S. Army War College study on DoD risk assessment. Prof. Freier led an... MORE

U.S. Landpower in the South China Sea
July 7, 2017 — Author: LTC Clarence J Bouchat (USAF, Ret)View the Executive Summary U.S. landpower is an essential, but often overlooked, element of national power in semi-enclosed maritime environments like the South China Sea. This monograph gives U.S. policymakers a better understanding of the role of the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Forces... MORE

SSI Live 72 – Great Power War: Growing BCTs and an Expanded Army
July 5, 2017 — Is the Army ready for a ‘Great Power War’ against a peer competitor, in terms of the number of Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs)? If the Army had to double in size, what challenges would it face in terms of expanding the number of maneuver units? What steps should the Army consider to overcome these hurdles? Over the last nine months, an... MORE

At Our Own Peril: DoD Risk Assessment in a Post-Primacy World
June 29, 2017 — Author: Mr Nathan P FreierView the Executive Summary The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) faces persistent fundamental change in its strategic and operating environments. This report suggests this reality is the product of the United States entering or being in the midst of a new, more competitive, post-U.S. primacy environment. Post-primacy... MORE

Transforming the Force: The 11th Air Assault Division (Test) from 1963 to 1965
June 27, 2017 — Author: Brigadier General Thomas C. GravesView the Executive Summary This monograph will answer the question: Can the U.S. Army apply to the current “prototype brigade” the lessons that were learned during the development and experimentation of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test)? Having established that the criteria of DTLOMS is a valuable tool... MORE

SSI Live Ep 71 – Great Power War: Organization, Materiel, and an Expanded Army – Echevarria, Deni
June 21, 2017 — Is the Army ready for a ‘Great Power War’ against a peer competitor, in terms of its organization and materiel? If the Army had to double in size, what challenges would it face in terms of expanding its organization and ensuring sufficient materiel? What steps should the Army consider to overcome these hurdles? Over the last nine months, an... MORE