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2019 General William E. DePuy Special Topics Writing Competition
Contest opened 1 January 2019 and closes 15 July 2019.
Suggested Themes and Topics for Future Editions
Reinvigorating the Army’s Approach to Command and Control: Leading by Mission Command (Part II)
Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, U.S. Army
Maj. Gen. Gary Brito, U.S. Army
Maj. Gen. Douglas Crissman, U.S. Army
Maj. Kelly McCoy, U.S. Army
In this follow-up to an article published in the May-June issue of Military Review, the commander of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and his fellow authors discuss how effective, successful leadership is the result of using mission command. This article was originally published as a Military Review online exclusive in May 2019.
Risky Business: Commercial Support for Large-Scale Ground Combat Operations
Maj. Gen. Rodney D. Fogg, U.S. Army
Lt. Col. William C. Latham Jr., U.S. Army, Retired
An increase in reliance by the Army on commercial support places military contractors at correspondingly greater risk as they appear more forward and in greater numbers on the battlefield, according to the commander of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command.
Putting the Fight Back in the Staff
Lt. Col. Matthew T. Archambault, U.S. Army
Based on his experience as a senior observer-controller/trainer at the Joint Readiness Training Center, the author details ten common staff shortcomings exhibited by units participating in combat training center rotations.
Multi-Domain Information Operations and the Brigade Combat Team: Lessons from Cyber Blitz 2018
Maj. John P. Rodriguez, U.S. Army
The author relates lessons learned during Cyber Blitz 2018, an exercise with a focus on information operations and cyber-electromagnetic activities that demonstrated how brigade combat teams might conduct multi-domain operations at the tactical level.
Return of Ground-Based Electronic Warfare Platforms and Force Structure
Maj. Morgan J. Spring-Glace, U.S. Army
The author asserts that the U.S. Army must bring back ground-based electronic attack and deception platforms along with the requisite force structure to mitigate the gap in overmatch that U.S. Army forces are currently facing against the Russian military.
Of Strong Men and Straw Men: Appraising Post-Coup Political Developments
Jonathan Powell, PhD
Responding to “Zimbabwe’s Coup: Net Gain or No Gain?,” published in the March-April 2019 edition of Military Review, a political scientist specializing in the causes and consequences of military coups disputes certain assertions by the authors of the aforementioned article and provides more detail and clarification on post-coup political environments as they related to establishment of democratic regimes.
The Cost of Tolerating Toxic Behaviors in the Department of Defense Workplace
Chaplain (Col.) Kenneth R. Williams, PhD, U.S. Army
Despite a significant body of anecdotal evidence of toxic leadership in the U.S. military, there have been few research efforts that have attempted to apply metrics to the issue to calculate the actual damage of toxic leadership. In this article, the author provides a unique analysis based on a model the author developed that calculates the monetary cost of organizational toxicity to the Department of Defense in terms of lost manpower hours.
A Constructive Leader Training Program Designed to Rapidly Increase Unit Training Readiness
Lt. Col. Daniel S. Hall, U.S. Army
Maj. Kevin C. Kahre, U.S. Army
The authors describe a methodology for a constructive leader training program that can speed reserve component mission proficiency in preparation for deployment, and detail how this methodology was employed to conduct mobilization training for a Reserve unit deployment to the Guantanamo Bay prison.
Practical Advice to Thinking above the Tactical Level: The Six-Step Process
Maj. Patrick Naughton, U.S. Army Reserve
The author presents six practical techniques of self-development to help military leaders build a solid bedrock of knowledge and confidence as a foundation for expanding learning above the tactical level.
How the Russian Media Portrays the U.S. Military
Maj. Ray Finch, U.S. Army, Retired
A Eurasian military analyst for the Foreign Military Studies Office at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, provides an in-depth analysis of how the Russian media is used by its government to negatively portray the U.S. military.
Incompatibility and Divorce of Institutions: Civil-Military Conflict in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps’ Departure from Yale during the Vietnam War
Midshipman Third Class Andrew Song, Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps
A student and Navy ROTC midshipman at Yale University describes sources of tension between Yale and the military that were the primary reasons behind ROTC’s expulsion from the university in the early 1970s, unrelated to the protest movement during the Vietnam War.
Seeking the Elephant: Improving Leader Visualization Skills through Simple War Games
Lt. Col. Richard A McConnell, DM, U.S. Army, Retired
Lt. Col. Mark T. Gerges, PhD, U.S. Army, Retired
The authors describe their research findings related to the experimental introduction of a nineteenth-century German wargame into the Command and General Staff College curriculum to assess the effectiveness of employing wargames to improve student critical thinking and staff military decision-making skills. This article was originally published as Military Review online exclusive in October 2018.
The Maneuver Enhancement Brigade is the Support Area Command Post
Col. Patrick E. Proctor, U.S. Army
Maj. Matthew L. Wolverton, U.S. Army
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Barber, U.S. Army
The authors argue that in order for the division’s maneuver brigades to maintain momentum during large-scale operations, a dedicated mission command node is required to control and assess operations in the support and consolidation areas. This article was originally published as Military Review online exclusive in October 2018.
Information War 2022: Musings of a Senior Officer on Russian Information Warfare and Recent Events
Spc. Thomas Sarsfield, U.S. Army
In a fictional scenario reprinted from Military Review’s Future Warfare Writing Program (FWWP), a soldier provides a glimpse into the possible future use of information warfare by Russia. The FWWP was established as a venue for fiction writers to generate ideas about the possible complexities of future warfare. This article was previously published by Military Review as a Future Warfare Writing Program online article in June 2019.
Lasers, Death Rays, and the Long, Strange Quest for the Ultimate Weapon
Lt. Col. John H. Modinger, PhD, U.S. Air Force, Retired
The author critiques a book edited by Jeff Hecht that describes the history of laser weaponry.
Vets in Action
In commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the beginning of Operation Overlord (commonly known as D-Day), the Allied invasion of Normandy, Military Review highlights two veterans of World War II.