This paper explores the advances in automatic identification technology, specifically radio frequency identification, and seeks to exploit these capabilities for use in the Department of Defense (DOD) supply chain. Using technological trends, a thorough literature review, and the opinions of experts, the paper compares current technology to a 2035 requirements forecast to identify capability gaps. The end goal is logistics situational awareness, whereby the DOD has the a...

This paper investigates the DOD’s tactical logistical challenges and each service’s tactical lift requirements, especially with respect to the movement of supplies from forward supply hubs to forward forces. To address these challenges and requirements, the author suggests the use of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) as a potential solution. Focusing on existing and quickly emerging technologies as well as the joint operating requirements, the author proposes RPA performan...

This paper addresses the question, “Will metamaterials facilitate an operationally feasible and significant optical stealth capability for the US Air Force?” To answer this question, the author’s research is directed at the advances and development patterns of optical band metamaterials; specifically, it addresses the leading indicators of frequency, bandwidth, and energy loss. Following that, a backcasting futures technique helps uncover the obstacles of metamaterial du...

I set a goal of utilizing primary sources as the basis for this paper. I wanted to research what the key players wrote or said at the time or later in their memoirs. But, in addition to finding information relevant to this thesis.

This paper examines the counterterrorist strategy employed on the Island of Basilan during Operation Enduring Freedom- Philippines (OEF–P) and discusses its potential applicability in the current Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) insurgency. The strategy used the principles found in the Diamond Model, the counterinsurgency (COIN) model that Dr. Gordon McCormick developed.

This paper explores the utility of a debriefing method resulting in individual, unit, and organizational transcendence toward increased effectiveness in the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF). The conceptual framework is centered on the transformational and complexity theories of leadership science. The study offers for consideration a debriefing methodology termed “holistic” as a structure for achieving both individualistic and unit inner growth and efficiency. The probl...

A call is being made for an aircraft dedicated to the counterinsurgency (COIN) mission within military academic circles and the special operations community. Support for a COIN aircraft needs hard numbers, given the Air Force’s budget constraints brought on by the dedication to the F- 22A. Building on Arthur Davis’s COIN aircraft advocacy paper, this research doesn’t focus on further advocacy, but on a process and method for COIN aircraft procurement. The acquisition foc...

This paper addresses the use of airpower during the French military operations in Africa since 1960. Using case study methodology, it emphasizes the operational level of war and analyzes the use of the different French army, air force, and naval aviation operational roles; the adaptation of equipment to conditions in Africa; and the changes in the French- African policy that have influenced the use of airpower.

The United States has over the last 16 years demonstrated amazing proficiency in winning military campaigns, but failure in securing “a better peace” as Basil Liddell Hart advocated. There is a need for an interagency analysis model, owned by the National Security Council (NSC), that can determine how the different instruments of power (IOP) can contribute to the achievement of the national strategic objectives, including which combination of IOPs is most efficient, but ...

Lack of investment in future agile combat-support technologies could lead to a strategic surprise that diverts military attention and resources from critical air, space, and cyber operations. Looking to the national security environment in 2030, this research explores one technology—the microbial fuel cell (MFC)—that gives life to self-contained facilities decoupled from vulnerable supply lines and infrastructure networks. MFCs can dispose of waste (sewage, food scraps, ...

This paper draws on well-established close air support (CAS) doctrine and organizational models to build new intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) organizational and execution constructs to bridge the gap between theater-level ISR assets and tactical operations. These models bind ISR asset, exploiter, CAOC, and the supported unit through face-to-face interactions and standardized processes that apply across any theater of operations or combatant command.

The importance of close air support (CAS) has markedly increased over the last five years in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. CAS has been a heavily debated topic within the services for decades. CAS doctrine and training issues have affected aircraft procurement, interservice relationships, and the application and effectiveness of airpower on the battlefield. While much progress has been made since 2001, the services must continue to make CAS more effectiv...

CAS has been a heavily debated topic within the services for decades. CAS doctrine and training issues have affected aircraft procurement, interservice relationships, and the application and effectiveness of airpower on the battlefield. While much progress has been made since 2001, the services must continue to make CAS more effective. On the modern battlefield, the joint application of firepower is a reality, not a concept. It is time to “engage” the doctrinal and train...

The Slovak National Uprising of 1944 is ignored and/or treated as a nonevent in the Western historiography of World War II. The political climate during World War II and the Cold War that followed obscured and distorted the history and understanding of this revolt. The raising of the Iron Curtain in the 1990s removed the veil of secrecy from much of Eastern Europe’s wartime history, and Western historians are exploring the new resources available, but coverage of Slovaki...

Air Force Smart Operations for the Twenty-first Century (AFSO 21) is the Air Force’s initiative to recapitalize funds by maximizing value and minimizing waste in operations. This paper identifies potential failure points associated with the changing Air Force culture. Overall, the Air Force’s change plan appears to be proceeding according to schedule. However, it does not appear that the Air Force is adequately planning for a long-term sustainment of AFSO 21. There is st...

This research is framed in the context of a specialized weapon in military aviation: an unmanned multirole fighter capable of replacing manned systems and their respective missions. This paper gives a brief history of unmanned aerial vehicles and their employment as weapons to demonstrate the evolution from ISR platform to unmanned combat air vehicle and then evolves into two main sections of “can we” and “should we” pursue this avenue of development. The primary means o...

This research will determine why leftism is on the rise and whether US national security is being threatened. The causes are a combination of extreme inequality with regards to income per capita, an increased awareness among the populace as to its unequal situation, a poor display of US foreign policy, and an increase in education levels throughout the region. Based on these findings, three policy proposals are recommended. First, the United States needs to pioneer faire...

After exploring the definitions and theories of nonkinetic warfare, this paper charts the development of warfare in practice and finds that the latest incarnation of warfare, by making the will of the people the primary target, has moved into the nonkinetic realm.

While history cannot provide a panacea for global terrorism, today’s military can learn lessons from historical small wars and low intensity conflicts to train and employ forces effectively to wage and win a war of ideas to counter global insurgents and their ability to win popular support. This paper employs a review of two case studies, Malaya (1945–60) and Vietnam (1964–72), to illuminate my thesis.

This study proposes a joint architecture that potentially would reduce the resources required to procure, move, store, and maintain bare base assets. Because expeditionary basing is one of its distinctive capabilities, the Air Force should be designated as the executive agent for joint bare base operations, with each service continuing to train its bare base support forces and meet its service-specific requirements.