September-October 2016
Complete Edition 
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Cover
Letter from the Editor
2 Themes for Future Editions
4 Table of Contents
8 North Korean Collapse or Korean Reunification: The Importance of Preparation over Prediction
Bryan Port
Preparing for the collapse of North Korea or its reunification with South Korea is more important than predicting the manner or timing of those events. How the United States responds to such occurrences will have a tremendous impact on its future position in the region and elsewhere.
20 Strategic Acquisition for Effective Innovation
Lt. Col. Rafael Rodriguez, U.S. Army; Maj. William Shoemate, U.S. Army; Maj. Justin Barnes, U.S. Army; Karen Burke
A team from the Chief of Staff of the Army Strategic Studies Group recommends ways to make the Army’s cumbersome acquisition process more conducive to effective innovation.
30 How America Will Be Attacked: Irregular Warfare, the Islamic State, Russia, and China
Dr. Sebastian Gorka
A noted counterinsurgency scholar provides a primer on the roots of unconventional war theories behind the current Islamic insurgency being conducted by the Islamic State, Russia’s current approach to warfare, and the progress of Chinese unrestricted warfare.
42 The Global Spread of Arms: The Link between State Collapse, Small Arms Proliferation, and Global Conflict
2nd Lt. Josef Danczuk, U.S. Army
The United States and its partners need a strategy to prevent small arms and light weapons proliferation from collapsed states in order to protect global national security interests. The author demonstrates this need by highlighting events during the collapses of the Soviet Union in 1991 and Libya in 2011.
51 Strategic Assessment of Bolivia’s Defense Policy
Cristián Faundes
Bolivia is interested in expanding its territory by reclaiming portions of the Pacific coast it ceded to Chile as a result of a past war. The author assesses Bolivia’s defense policy as it relates to its geographical neighbors and its strategic objective of reasserting this territorial claim.
60 Commanding the Right: Islamic Morality and Why It Matters
Chaplain (Maj.) Seth H. George, U.S. Army
The author introduces the Islamic moral and legal obligation for “commanding the right and forbidding the wrong,” describes how Islamic extremists appeal to this duty to establish their moral legitimacy, and offers recommendations for Army leaders to succeed in dealings with our Muslim partners.
68 The Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Terrorism Threat from the Islamic State
Carole N. House
The demonstrated ruthlessness and extensive resources of the Islamic State warrant an examination of the viability and probability of a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attack by that nonstate actor.
76 Growing Army Professionals: Closing the Values Gap
Lt. Col. Thomas R. Matelski, U.S. Army
The author contends that new soldiers have difficulty identifying with the seven Army Values that are the foundation of the Army profession, and he describes a values-based training concept his unit implemented to bridge this gap.
84 How the Army’s Multi-Source Assessment and Feedback Program Could Become a Catalyst for Leader Development
Col. Kevin McAninch, U.S. Army
With certain changes, the Multi-Source Assessment and Feedback program could be a powerful means for enhancing leader development. The author describes the current unpopularity, misuse, and ineffectiveness of this program, then describes ways to improve its efficacy.
94 Ten Lessons Learned about Host-Nation Construction in Afghanistan
Vikram Mittal, PhD
Working with Afghan construction companies means overcoming unique challenges for U.S. personnel in charge of designing or overseeing construction on U.S. military bases. A former brigade engineer shares lessons he learned while overseeing construction operations in the Kabul Base Cluster in Afghanistan.
102 Training for Decisive Action
Maj. Will Shoemate, U.S. Army; Maj. Benjamin Jensen, U.S. Army
The Army can provide training that ensures units are ready to conduct unified land operations through decisive action. Army leaders start by describing operations in terms of time, space, purpose, and resources.
110 A Financial Comparison of the Blended (New) Retirement System and the Current (Soon to Be Old) Defined Benefit System
John B. White, PhD, professor of finance, U.S. Coast Guard Academy
Service members need to be informed of the advantages of the new Army retirement system versus the old system before making career decisions. A financial expert lays out the benefits of each to help military readers understand their retirement options.
119 Constructive Effects Focus on Capabilities
Lt. Col. Kevin McCaskey, PhD, U.S. Air Force
Developing doctrine based on the destructive effects that yielded positive results during Desert Storm is the wrong course of action for military planners. Instead, the military should focus on developing its constructive capabilities to yield predictable, value-added results in future wars.
128 Rebuttal: The CIA Responds to the Senate Intelligence Committee’s Study of Its Detention and Interrogation Program
John G. Breen, PhD
The reviewer critiques a book that describes the Central Intelligence Agency’s highly detailed and introspective response to a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report on the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program, along with essays written by senior CIA officials involved with the program.
130 Letters to the Editor
133 Book Reviews
148 Cover 3
On 15 May 1967, soldiers from 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne were battling hundreds of heavily armed North Vietnamese in a rural riverbed near Duc Pho, Republic of Vietnam. They made an urgent request for aviation support to evacuate the wounded and to bring more soldiers into the fight. Answering the early morning call, then Maj. Charles Kettles led a flight of six Huey helicopters, carrying replacements and supplies, to a landing zone near the battle area.