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

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

Strategic Insights: Letting the Millennials Drive
May 2, 2016 — Dr. Leonard Wong In the preface to the Army’s Operating Concept, General David Perkins, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, counsels that as the Army prepares for the future, “We must not be consumed with focusing solely on avoiding risk, but build[ing] leaders and institutions that recognize and leverage... MORE

Cover for Strategic Insights: Letting the Millennials Drive

Parameters VOL. 46 NO. 1 SPRING 2016
April 1, 2016 — Editor: Dr Antulio J Echevarria IISpecial Commentary: Making Sense of the “Long Wars”Tami Davis BiddleUS Leadership and NATOLuis Simón, Alexander Mattelaer, John R. Deni, Magnus PeterssonIs Nation-Building a Myth?Charles J. Sullivan, M. Chris MasonLearning from Today’s WarsBen Nimmo, Roger N. McDermott, Erik W. GoepnerRead Now MORE

Cover for Parameters VOL. 46 NO. 1 SPRING 2016

Starting Strong: Talent-Based Branching of Newly Commissioned U.S. Army Officers
April 1, 2016 — Authors: LTC Michael J Colarusso, LTC Kenneth G Heckel, COL David S Lyle, LTC William L SkimmyhornBecause the U.S. military's long-held advantage in physical capital and equipment is waning, cutting-edge human capital management is more critical than ever before. The authors of "Starting Strong" argue that by gathering detailed information on the... MORE

Cover for Starting Strong: Talent-Based Branching of Newly Commissioned U.S. Army Officers

The Role of Leadership in Transitional States: The Cases of Lebanon, Israel-Palestine
November 1, 2014 — Author: Dr Anastasia Filippidou View the Executive SummaryLeadership is dynamic; it is a continuous process and ever-changing relationship between numerous different factors. The research focuses on political leadership in transitional situations and the efforts of leadership in the transformation process from weak and fragmented states or... MORE

Strategic Insights: Should General Dempsey Resign? Army Professionals and the Moral Space for Military Dissent
October 21, 2014 — Dr. Don M. Snider Given that all Army professionals have taken an oath to “support and defend the Constitution,” in what instances may, or even should, the stewards of the profession dissent in a public way—including resignation or retirement—from an administration’s policy that they believe to be so incorrect as to be ineffective, potentially... MORE

Cover for Strategic Insights: Should General Dempsey Resign? Army Professionals and the Moral Space for Military Dissent