General Walsh on the USMC Use of Airpower in Iraq: From Precision-Strike to Presence

11/30/2009
General Walsh has provided a core understanding to the strategic shift in the use of manned air in the COIN environment. The shift is from shaping air around precision-strike to shaping air to provide collaborative presence... “The ability of the ground and air elements to work together to shape presence…

Shaping the Con-ops of Ground Robotics: Robotics Rodeo at Fort Hood

09/18/2009
One of the more interesting dynamics of change in concepts of operations in the years ahead will be the relationship between robotic systems and ground, air and sea operations. An excellent illustration of the thinking about operational scenarios within which ground robotic vehicles might be used in the years ahead…

The AEGIS Global Enterprise: Crafting a Global Defensive Capability

09/18/2009
Missile defense is a global effort. It requires the global deployment of U.S. forces and the capability to connect those forces with those of its allies. Joint and coalition concepts of operations are being shaped to ensure decision makers with the options of providing defense for allied deployed forces and…

The USMC and Crafting the Seabase Enterprise

09/18/2009
The USMC has become more of a land army as a consequence of the Iraq War. General Conway, the USMC Commandant, is worried the Corps is losing its expeditionary focus. Marine officers who have joined the USMC during the Iraq period are very likely NEVER to have been aboard ship.

The Case for New Programs in a Period of Defense Transition: The Naval UCAS Case

09/17/2009
The United States and its allies are in the midst of a significant financial downturn with serious consequences for defense acquisition. The “contingency operation” in Afghanistan and the “withdrawal” from Iraq both generate severe budgetary pressures and emphasize force acquisition priorities most appropriate to those operations.