Urban Legend: Is Combat in Cities Really Inevitable?
Future combat will take place in dense urban areas and likely in megacities. These are the new “truths” that are taking hold in the U.S. military. But before going all-in on optimizing for urban operations, the U.S. military should take a deep breath and think carefully about future operations within the context of the National Defense Strategy.
May 7, 2019 War on the Rocks
An Army Caught in the Middle Between Luddites, Luminaries, and the Occasional Looney
The creation of the Army Futures Command is an important and necessary move for the U.S. Army. For the first time since the 1970s, the Army has a major command focused on preparing it for future war with a peer competitor.
Dec 20, 2018 War on the Rocks
Cluster Munitions and Rearming for Great Power Competition
The United States might need Cluster munitions, anti-personnel landmines, and tactical nuclear weapons to deter or defeat aggression. If policymakers choose to lift bans on these munitions, the ensuing policy restrictions might be tailored to address where these capabilities are necessary.
May 9, 2018 War on the Rocks
Reimagining and Modernizing U.S. Airborne Forces for the 21st Century
Many of the challenges the U.S. will face in the coming years across the range of military operations could be deep inland and require rapid response. Airborne forcible entry — with reimagined and modernized airborne forces — would offer decisionmakers options in crises that they do not possess today.
Apr 20, 2016 War on the Rocks
Planning for the 'Army of the Future'
What must the Army be ready to do as part of a joint force, now and in the future? What capacities and capabilities should the Army have in order to be ready? The NCFA comes up short in its answers to both of these questions.
Feb 17, 2016 The Hill
Ground Combat
The U.S. Army needs to pay attention to state-sponsored irregular forces, whose numbers are growing. Such groups represent the type of adversary U.S. ground forces are likely to face.
Dec 23, 2015 The Cipher Brief
Vietnam Teaches Us That Iraq Needs More Than U.S. Combat Advisers
There are issues that must be examined, understood, and planned for if the United States does not wish to have U.S. advisers left to the cruelties of the Islamic State.
Sep 14, 2015 War on the Rocks
Means Matter: Competent Ground Forces and the Fight Against ISIL
If Iraqi security forces are incapable of defeating ISIL in the cities where they have gone to ground, then the only reliable means available are U.S. ground combat forces. The U.S. Army and Marine Corps have all the skills in joint combined arms warfare that the ISF lacks.
Mar 19, 2015 War on the Rocks
Failure to Learn: Reflections on a Career in the Post-Vietnam Army
In the aftermath of a decade of war, the Army must have an objective, serious debate — one that it never engaged in after Vietnam — to understand its experiences, both good and bad.
Jan 27, 2014 War on the Rocks
Iran's Counter-Strike
Iran's headstrong attempt to join the world's nuclear-weapons club is setting the stage for a military confrontation that nobody wants, but may happen anyway, writes David E. Johnson.
Feb 25, 2010 Providence Journal and GlobalSecurity.org
Ends, Ways, and Means—the Debate We Still Need on Afghanistan
When President Obama explained his decision to send 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan to support General Stanley McChrystal's new counterinsurgency campaign, he left a key question unanswered: Will this be enough to achieve U.S. strategic ends in Afghanistan? writes David E. Johnson.
Dec 9, 2009 RAND.org
