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Letter from the Editor
Themes for Future Editions
Table of Contents
The Role of the Singapore Armed Forces in Forging National Values, Image, and Identity
Col. Fred Wel-Shi Tan, Singapore Armed Forces; Senior Lt. Col. Psalm B. C. Lew, Singapore Armed Forces
Singapore espouses official national values and inculcates them into their population during mandatory national service.
The Venezuelan Crisis: What the United States and the Region Can Do
Gustavo R. Coronel
The author describes how Venezuela ended up as a failed state and provides an analysis of the potential role the United States and the rest of the countries in the region can play in restoring democracy and stability to the country.
Argentina at the Crossroads Again: Implications for the United States and for the Region
Dr. R. Evan Ellis
An expert on Latin America discusses the achievements of Argentine President Mauricio Macri and the implications of Argentina’s dramatic transformation for countries in the Western Hemisphere.
Addressing Behavioral Health Impacts: Balancing Treatment and Mission Readiness
Lt. Col. Christopher Landers, U.S. Army
To deal effectively with the challenge of balancing soldier needs with unit readiness, commanders need flexibility to effectively treat those who need care in a way that minimizes impact on unit training and operations.
Fixing the Army’s Feeding System: We Can, and Should, Do Better
Maj. Joel M. Machak, U.S. Army
It is time for a paradigm shift in how the Army thinks of garrison feeding programs.
Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures of the Islamic State: Lessons for U.S. Forces
Matthew F. Cancian
American policy makers would do well to learn about the tactics, techniques, and procedures of the Islamic State and adapt accordingly for our next confrontation with a nonstate armed group.
The Importance of a Long- Term Self-Development Concept to Army Officers
Col. Dean A. Nowowiejski, PhD, U.S. Army, Retired
The author discusses some simple concepts to help active-duty Army officers conceptualize their self-development goals and ways to reach them. (2016 DePuy Writing Contest, Honorable Mention)
Multidomain Operations and Close Air Support: A Fresh Perspective
Lt. Col. Clay Bartels, U.S. Air Force; Maj. Tim Tormey, U.S. Marine Corps; Dr. Jon Hendrickson
The authors present a counterargument to assertions that the Army should have its own fixed-wing component to provide close air support.
“More Quaint and Subtle Ways to Kill”: The Operations Process in Future War
Maj. Wesley Moerbe, U.S. Army
Solutions to cyberthreats have little to do with technology and quite a bit to do with how we visualize and think about the operations process and mission command as a system in future war.
Treading the Way of Ignorance: Officer Education and Critical Thought
1st Lt. James Tollefson, Alaska Army National Guard
The author argues for inculcating the habits of humble, multilogical critical thought that will enable today’s platoon leaders to be tomorrow’s adaptive battalion commanders. (2016 DePuy Writing Contest, 3rd Place)
How to Hinder Unit Readiness
Lt. Col. James Morgan, U.S. Army; Lt. Col. Soo Kim-Delio, U.S. Army, MD
The authors highlight the human resource and medical readiness challenges associated with personnel assignments that play a pivotal role in a unit’s readiness to deploy.
The Essence of Leadership: Trustworthiness
Sara VanderClute
The wife of a retired serviceman discusses leadership.
Enhanced Interrogation: Inside the Minds and Motives of the Islamic Terrorists Trying to Destroy America
John G. Breen, PhD
The author critiques a book by James E. Mitchell and Bill Harlow that discusses enhanced interrogation techniques, their effectiveness, and their morality, from the viewpoint of two Central Intelligence Agency insiders.
The Zimmermann Telegram
This year marks the one hundredth anniversary of the United States’ entry into World War I. On 6 April 1917, at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson, a special joint session of Congress voted to declare war on Germany. Perhaps the greatest impetus for U.S. entry into World War I may be the discovery of what has become known as the Zimmermann Telegram.
Poem of a Soldier
By 2nd Lt. George Bruner, U.S. Army
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You praise the man I was, and curse the man I am.
Depending on which God you love, who I will be may be damned.
Yet still I’ll sell my soul for you, I’ll save us all from our worst selves,
I know no other love than this, I fear no other hell.
I am what I am, ‘cause I was made to be.
I raise the mountains, bring them down, and push the seven seas.
I reap the grapes of wrath, I am the hand that feeds,
I am the brimstone falling from the angel wings.
I damn the damned, and bless the weak.
For the lame walk, and for the mute speak.
The poor and oppressed find their rest in me,
I break the chains and bring forth the free.
The destroyer of worlds, I am become of death.
I am enveloping nights, approaching bayonets.
I am the darkest valley where the sword is whet,
the shadow of death is my silhouette.
I was forged in a fire lit long ago.
Born of a crucible not my own.
Yet by this birthright in man am I mold,
I am strength multiplied by a thousand fold.
I am the photos of loved ones, now nothing but memories.
I am folded flags, torn, tattered and history.
Yet it is I who held high these in Pyrrhic victory,
I am the Idea that we’ve died for, for all of eternity.
I am the scorching heat, I am the bitter cold.
I am the broken sleep that shakes your soul.
I am the naive youth, and the fearful old,
I am the hell you pray you’ll never know.
I am a soldier, and no one asked me to be.
I raised my right hand and said “God, send me!”
I am the man that the boy I was wanted to be,
The incarnate nightmare of my enemies’ dreams.
I am the comforting safety we’ve known at home.
I am the cogs of wars we hope we won’t.
Pray you never need me, yet when you do,
I am also the fear which caused you to.
I am the cherubim, and original sin.
I rule the fallen world, and the broken men.
From the depths of the waters to the roaring winds,
I am new beginnings and imminent ends.