Letter from the Editor in Chief
The Next 100 Years …
Col. Todd A. Schmidt, PhD, U.S. Army
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With the January-February 2022 special edition of Military Review, Army University Press celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of the Army’s premier professional journal. There is immense pride and ownership by the editorial staff of the journal, as well as more broadly across the Command and General Staff College, Army University, and beyond. This November-December edition marks the end of our one hundredth anniversary year. Thus, it is time to begin thinking about the next one hundred years.
In the months ahead, Military Review will publish articles marking the launch of the Army’s new Field Manual (FM) 3-0, Operations. In the words of the chief of staff of the Army, the manual expands on the capstone doctrine of multi-domain operations. It remains rooted, however, in the principles of war; reinforces the offensive mindset; and demonstrates the imperatives of speed, range, and convergence of capabilities on current and future battlefields. Conceptually, it has potential to change how the Army operates and fights in the twenty-first century.
As with all new doctrinal publications, there will be much debate as new concepts are taught, trained, and operationalized. This is where our readers in the field and in our tactical and operational units play a very important role. The Army needs your contributions as a member of the Army profession to help understand the challenges, gaps, flaws, and confusion that can sometimes be overlooked in the development of operational concepts. To facilitate this public dialogue, Military Review will be hosting, posting, and promoting articles that discuss, question, and challenge FM 3-0. The 2023 DePuy Writing Competition will be solely focused on this important conversation and debate.
For anyone paying attention to current events over the past few years, the Nation’s military—the all-volunteer force—has become party to and the subject of great debate related to civil-military relations. On 6 September, eight former secretaries of defense and six retired chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff published an open letter calling attention to the “core principles and best practices” of civilian control of the military. Other respected scholars and intellectuals have also written several articles, blogs, op-eds, journals, and books on the topic. In 2023, we will publish and support work that celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the all-volunteer force, particularly in the context of civil-military relations and future operational and political environments.
Over the next few years, Military Review will work to bring a series of special editions that will highlight war poetry, space and missile defense, special operations, artificial intelligence, and civil-military relations. We intend to bring our readers the most current and relevant work from leading authors and scholars, and publish articles that spur widespread interest and healthy debate. Moreover, readers will not want to miss the lineup of products Army University Press will present over the course of 2023 from its other stellar teams.
The Army University Press Research & Books Team will be bringing volumes on leadership in large-scale combat operations, retreat and the lessons therein, and an investigation into the perils of interwar innovation. Manuscripts submitted and accepted by our editorial board continue to keep the mission in mind: fostering discussion among military professionals on topics of immediate and enduring interest to the profession of arms. Our authors, along with the entire editing team, work hard to create a wheelhouse of expertise for U.S. Army soldiers and leaders.
With over sixty-two thousand subscribers to our YouTube channel, and ten million views of our films on that site, Army University Films will continue its film series designed to teach current Army doctrine using historical case studies. Our films combine interviews from leading historical and doctrinal experts with archival film footage and motion graphics to give the viewers an educational and entertaining experience. In 2023, our new slate of films will study the complexities of logistical preparations for D-Day, military operations in the dense urban terrain of Warsaw and Hue, and the history of combined arms warfare. Other films will examine the U.S. near-peer military competitors: Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
The “Leavenworth staff ride” concept and exercise have been a tradition since the early 1900s. The Combat Studies Institute’s Staff Ride Team, hosting and facilitating professional staff rides for over twenty years, will continue to develop its virtual staff ride program. Upcoming virtual staff rides will include the Battle of Munda Point (New Georgia, 1943), Bougainville (1944), and the Battle of the Bzura River (Poland, 1939). We encourage you to reach out to our team to plan your next staff ride, particularly as we seek to support our FORSCOM units, TRADOC students, and ROTC cadets.
So, what will the next one hundred years of Military Review bring? We have hundreds of thousands of readers in 185 countries around the world and we are working to expand our readership further. To do so, we will strive to capture and improve our incorporation and utilization in professional military education as well as in educational venues outside of the military. Our online platform continues to develop and mature, providing readers and authors with new, relevant, and timely articles. We hope to partner and collaborate with other sister organizations as well, increase our book review program, support continued and improved civil-military relations education, and develop new ways to connect with and publish works by each new generation and cohort of military professionals and writers.
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