Recent Publications

Towards a U.S. Army Officer Corps Strategy for Success: Retaining Talent
January 1, 2010 — Authors: LTC Michael J Colarusso, COL David S Lyle, COL Casey Wardynski Over the last 3 decades, dramatic labor market changes and well-intentioned but uninformed policies have created significant officer talent flight. Poor retention engenders substantial risk for the Army as it directly affects accessions, development, and employment of talent... MORE

The Army Officers’ Professional Ethic–Past, Present, and Future
January 1, 2010 — Author: COL Matthew Moten Colonel Matthew Moten of the West Point History Department has asked why so many other professions have clear statements of professional responsibility, but the Army officer corps does not. This essay briefly surveys the history of the Army’s professional ethic, focusing primarily on the officer corps. It assesses today’s... MORE

Medvedev’s Plan: Giving Russia a Voice but not a Veto in a New European Security System
January 1, 2010 — Author: Dr Richard J Krickus The author addresses the question of how to give Russia a voice but not a veto in a new European security system and provides some provocative recommendations. Most specifically, he proposes that the time has come to provide Russia with a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) and agrees that those who argue against it... MORE

The Effects of Multiple Deployments on Army Adolescents
January 1, 2010 — Authors: Dr Stephen J Gerras, Dr Leonard Wong Multiple deployments have become a way of life for our Soldiers. In Army families, these frequent deployments increase the burden on children who must face the stress and strain of separation and anxiety. The authors take a much-needed, detailed look at the effects of multiple deployments on Army... MORE

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
December 31, 2009 — Author: Mr Daniel Alderman Participants considered the PLA’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party; trends in the PLA’s ongoing reforms to informationalize, mechanize, and adapt to China’s evolving defense needs; and the PLA’s role in tackling internal security challenges. PLA operations abroad were discussed, with participants assessing... MORE

Resetting the Reset Button: Realism About Russia
December 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the December 2009 newsletter.Read Now MORE

Pakistan’s Nuclear Future: Reining in the Risk
December 1, 2009 — Author: Mr Henry D Sokolski Unfortunately, a nuclear terrorist act is only one—and hardly the most probable—of several frightening security threats Pakistan now faces or poses. We know that traditional acts of terrorism and conventional military crises in Southwest Asia have nearly escalated into wars and, more recently, even threatened Indian and... MORE

YouTube War: Fighting in a World of Cameras in Every Cell Phone and Photoshop on Every Computer
November 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Cori E Dauber Terrorist attacks today are often media events in a second sense: information and communication technologies have developed to such a point that these groups can film, edit, and upload their own attacks within minutes of staging them, whether the Western media are present or not. In this radically new information... MORE

A Case Study in Security Sector Reform: Learning from Security Sector Reform/Building in Afghanistan (October 2002-September 2003)
November 1, 2009 — Author: Capt Jason C Howk This paper provides a case study to help explain the SSR concepts that were recently formalized in U.S. Army Field Manual 3.07, "Stability Operations Doctrine." It provides insights into how the military interacts with host-nation governments, the United Nations, the State Department, and national embassies to solve... MORE

Talent: Implications for a U.S. Army Officer Corps Strategy
November 1, 2009 — Authors: LTC Michael J Colarusso, COL David S Lyle, COL Casey Wardynski In our proposed Army Officer Corps Strategy, we established the interdependency of accessing, developing, retaining and employing talented leaders. Before exploring each of those functions in greater detail, however, we must first define “talent.” In our view, talent is... MORE

Schools for Strategy: Teaching Strategy for 21st Century Conflict
November 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Colin S Gray All would-be strategists would benefit by some formal education. However, for education in strategy to be well-directed, it needs to rest upon sound assumptions concerning the eternal nature yet ever shifting character, meaning, and function of strategy, as well as the range of behaviors required for effective strategic... MORE

Army Football and Full Spectrum Operations
November 1, 2009 — Author: Dr Stephen J Gerras Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the November 2009 newsletter.Read Now MORE