Recent Publications

Book Review: The Making of a Leader: The Formative Years of George C. Marshall
September 25, 2024 — Dr. Wylie Johnson provides a thoughtful review of Rhodes Scholar Josiah Bunting’s new book on the early life and career of General George Marshall. As Johnson notes, there are many books about Marshall, and Johnson highlights the value of Bunting’s book, which contextualizes Marshall’s early career—from experience as a staff officer (rather than leading troops in combat), to having authority in overseas assignments, to recreation. Johnson notes... MORE

cover of The Making of a Leader: The Formative Years of George C. Marshall

Military Culture Shift: The Impact of War, Money, and Generational Perspective on Morale, Retention, and Leadership
April 19, 2024 — Rodger M. Kissane provides a thoughtful review of this important book on “bridging and even transcending generational differences” in the US military. Kissane highlights author Corie Weathers’s “insightful . . . recognition that each generation imprints itself upon the institution in ways that reflect their life experiences.” He also outlines the book’s relevance to leaders in that Weathers addresses “... MORE

Book Review: Military Culture Shift: The Impact of War, Money, and Generational Perspective on Morale, Retention, and Leadership

New Technologies and Emerging Trends in the Indo-Pacific
March 27, 2024 — In this inaugural episode of CLSC Dialogues: Landpower in the Indo-Pacific, Lieutenant General Xavier T. Brunson, the commanding general of I Corps and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, retired Major General Mick Ryan of the Australian Army, and Colonel Rich Butler, director of the China Landpower Studies Center, discuss new technologies and emerging trends in the Indo-Pacific. ... MORE

Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine
March 27, 2024 — Strategy | Book Review: Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to UkraineAuthors: David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts | Reviewed by Dr. John A. Nagl, professor of warfighting studies, US Army War College | Dr. John A. Nagl provides readers a roadmap to navigate—and a lens with which to interpret—General David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts's... MORE

Dr. John A. Nagl provides readers a roadmap to navigate—and a lens with which to interpret—General David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts's best-selling book, Conflict, which Nagl considers "'[t]he closest thing to a memoir" of Petraeus and "likely . . . the best first-person account in history of [Petraeus's] efforts and results in Iraq and Afghanistan that made him the most important Army officer of his generation."

Waging a Good War: How the Civil Rights Movement Won Its Battles, 1954–1968
February 22, 2024 — Leadership | Book Review: Waging a Good War: How the Civil Rights Movement Won Its Battles, 1954–1968Author: Keith Nightingale| Reviewed by Keith Nightingale, retired colonel, US Army | Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas E. Ricks frames the American civil rights movement in terms of a (nonviolent) war, examining the leadership, strategy, and tactics... MORE

Book Review: Waging a Good War: How the Civil Rights Movement Won Its Battles, 1954–1968
Author: Thomas E. Ricks

Reviewed by Keith Nightingale, retired colonel, US Army

Parameters | Winter 2022–23
November 18, 2022 — Parameters | Winter 2022–23From the Acting Editor in ChiefConrad C. CraneIn FocusPresent Danger: Nuclear Power Plants and Modern WarfareHenry D. SokolskiPutin Chooses between a Series of Bad OptionsJeffrey D. McCauslandIndo-PacificIndian Perspectives: Insights for Indo-American PartnershipTyrell O. MayfieldSecurity Force Assistance Brigades and US... MORE

Parameters Summer 2023 Issue US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College Press

“The Cuban Missile Crisis: Miscalculation, Nuclear Risks, and the Human Element”
September 14, 2022 — Decisive Point Podcast, Dr. Arthur I. Cyr, leadership, deterrence, Cuba, nuclear weapons, missile crisis... MORE

“Character Traits Strategic Leaders Need”
July 5, 2022 — Strategic leaders must possess a range of skills to work successfully in complex environments. To use those skills to best effect, they rely on character traits that enhance the likelihood of their effectiveness as leaders and maximize their success when working in teams. Certain character traits facilitate work in demanding settings that rely heavily on communication, integration, and cooperation... MORE

Parameters VOL. 51 NO. 2 Summer 2021
August 17, 2021 — Parameters Summer 2021Download the Full IssueIn Focus: "Senior Leader Dissent", Conrad C. Crane; "Two Sides of COIN", M. Chris Mason and Darren Colby; "Allies and Partners", Jean-Yves Haine, Cynthia Salloum, Tongifi Kim, Luis Simon; "Strategy and Doctrine", Austin C. Doctor, James Walsh, Ann Mezzell, J. Wesley Hutto, Robert S. Ehlers Jr., Partrick... MORE

Cover for Parameters VOL. 51 NO. 2 Summer 2021

Command Decision: Ethical Leadership in the Information Environment
April 30, 2019 — Author: Mr Keir GilesView the Executive Summary Big data amplifies a classical problem of military leadership, namely, making critical decisions based on limited and often unreliable information. This monograph considers three leadership models that provide an alternative to an overreliance on technological solutions to address new challenges... MORE

Cover for Command Decision: Ethical Leadership in the Information Environment

Strategic Insights: Revolutionary Change Is Coming to Strategic Leadership
December 19, 2017 — Dr. Steven MetzClausewitz famously observed that war has an enduring nature and a changing character that evolves over time as technology, society, economics, and politics shift. This observation also applies to strategic leadership: it too has an enduring nature and a changing character.The enduring nature manifests itself as characteristics that... 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