January-February 2021

 

January-February 2021 Cover

January-February 2021

 

Table of Contents

Download the PDFPDF Icon

 

2021 General William E. DePuy Special Topics Writing Competition

Contest opens 1 January 2021 and closes 20 July 2021.

 

Suggested Themes and Topics for Future Editions

 

China’s Maritime Militia and Fishing Fleets: A Primer for Operational Staffs and Tactical Leaders

Shuxian Luo
Jonathan G. Panter

China uses its maritime militia and fishing fleets as policy instruments to bridge the economic, informational, and military realms. Two PhD candidates provide a thorough discussion on China’s maritime policies and activities; the strategic uses, strengths, and limitations of China’s maritime militia and fishing fleets; and the challenges they pose to U.S. forces.

 

Dense Urban Environments: The Crucible of Multi-Domain Operations

Richard L. Wolfel, PhD
Amy Richmond, PhD
Lt. Col. Jason Ridgeway, PhD, U.S. Army

The authors describe how the size, density, and social elements of cities create a complex and changing environment that must be viewed as inherently multi-domain. They provide six categories of sociocultural systems that influence operations in dense urban terrain and three key intersections between dense urban areas and multi-domain operations.

 

Hunting the Adversary: Sensors in the 2035 Battlespace

Maj. Hassan M. Kamara, U.S. Army

Sensor technology will evolve substantially over the next fifteen years, and the U.S. Army will have to adapt holistically to effectively exploit sensors. This article won third place in Military Review’s 2020 General William E. DePuy Special Topics Writing Competition.

 

Humility: The Inconspicuous Quality of a Master of War

Maj. Andrew M. Clark, U.S. Army

The Army recently added humility as one of its defining attributes of a leader’s character. Self-awareness and humility can help combat the uncertainties of war by leveraging collective team experience to build warfighting mastery, by being flexible and prepared for uncertainty, and by truly understanding the enemy. This article was a 2020 General Douglas MacArthur Military Leadership Writing Competition entry.

 

Event Barraging and the Death of Tactical Level Open-Source Intelligence

Capt. Michael J. Rasak, U.S. Army

In the near future, friendly commanders and analysts will likely face “event barraging,” digital inundation by a series of embellished or entirely fabricated events on social media that directly threaten ongoing or near-term tactical operations. The author describes the potential effects of this phenomenon and offers recommendations for combatting such cyber threats.

 

Seeing through the Fog: Developing Fog of War Resistant Visualization

Lt. Col. Richard A. McConnell, DM, U.S. Army, Retired
Lt. Col. Jacob A. Mong, U.S. Army, Retired
Dawn Ptaschek

Leaders must be able to perform visualization in the uncertain environment of combat to be able to see through what Carl von Clausewitz coined the “fog of war.” According to the authors, visualization skills must be emphasized by senior leaders and made more resilient through deliberate practice and multiple repetitions.

 

Multi-Domain Operations at Division and Below

Maj. Jesse L. Skates, U.S. Army

The author illustrates how the multi-domain concept affects echelons at and below the division and discusses its tactical implications.

 

Impact of Cultural Globalization on Soldiering: An Emerging Concern for Future Leaders

Maj. Md Sajibul Islam, Bangladesh Army

A Bangladeshi army officer argues that cultural globalization—the transmission of meanings, ideas, and values around the world to extend and intensify social relations—could potentially negate the influence of the military organizational culture. This article was a 2020 General Douglas MacArthur Military Leadership Writing Competition entry.

 

Teaching the Army: Virtual Learning Tools to Train and
Educate Twenty-First-Century Soldiers

Angela M. Riotto, PhD

A historian with the Army University Press Films team explains the benefits of including simulations, virtual staff rides, and documentary films in both professional military education and unit training.

 

The Rock of Gallipoli: The Leadership of Mustafa Kemal

Maj. Eric T. Venditti, U.S. Army

In this 2020 General Douglas MacArthur Military Leadership Writing Competition entry, the author provides a descriptive narration of how Mustafa Kemal, commander of Turkey’s 19th Division, led his forces with great effectiveness to win the Battle of Gallipoli for the Turks.

 

The Pitfalls of Well-Meaning Compassion: Joint Task Force-Haiti’s Infowar of 2010

Col. John “Jay” Boyd, PhD, U.S. Army Reserve, Retired

A former command historian relates how Joint Task Force-Haiti engaged in an information war during its humanitarian assistance/disaster relief mission after an earthquake devastated the country in 2010. He offers lessons learned for units conducting similar operations in the future.

 

Leadership and Military Writing: Direct, Organized, Strategic

Allyson McNitt, PhD

A Military Review editor describes her experiences with military writers and how the ability to write effectively enhances leadership, and she offers advice to prospective military writers.

 

MA-21-Cover

 

Climate of Conquest: War, Environment, and Empire in Mughal North India

Robert D. Spessert, JD

The author critiques a book by Pratyay Nath that examines how the Turkic Muslims invaded and built an empire in North India in the late sixteenth through the mid-seventeenth centuries.

 

Letter to the Editor

A reader comments on a previous article.

 

Does Russia Need "Universal" Values?

Russian Secretary of the Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, comments on the system of traditional Russian values.

 

Back to Top