Modern War Institute at West Point

The US military needs to prepare its leaders to embrace innovation. That's why it should bring Hacking for Defense® (H4D) courses to the service academies. Justin Fanelli Tip Myers Caleb Stenholm https://lnkd.in/d8nZkvQP

"The ability for land-based forces to integrate with maritime elements to achieve sea denial is key to the US Indo-Pacific Command campaigning strategy. Every unit west of the international date line is a potential sensor." A Marine battalion and an Army company experimented with the joint reconnaissance-strike complex during a rehearsal in Japan. Here’s what they learned.

"For those responsible for guiding Western policy vis-à-vis Ukraine, the audacious cross-border assault—and its initial success—reframe the strategic and political dimensions of the Russo-Ukraine War." There is sound military logic underpinning Ukraine's cross-border incursion into Russia. It's also really smart politics.

"For all its recent progress toward more evidence-based approaches to talent management, defense leaders seem to accept and repeat myths about generations in the workforce." Generational labels are a convenient shortcut to categorize personnel. But they have no place in Army talent management. Here's why.

7th Special Forces Group used a recent rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center to explore what role special operations forces will play in large-scale combat operations. Here's what they learned.

"The purpose of the fighter is to move the fighter aviator around to the point of contact to accomplish the mission. The fighter doesn't do any of that by itself—it's just a vehicle." Ukraine finally has its first batch of US-made F-16s. A veteran fighter aviator joins this episode of the MWI Podcast to examine what the aircraft will mean for the overall war.

"The unrealistic volume of documents to update, inspect, and reference quickly inundates and overwhelms company leaders and simply dilutes the effectiveness that SOPs are supposed to provide." The Army's leadership wants small units to refocus on warfighting. Current administrative requirements at the company level are going to make that difficult.

Are you an Army officer that wants to come to West Point and develop future leaders? We've got exciting opportunities to do so. Check out the details here!

"US senior commanders had learned that public anger and lost credibility due to collateral damage imposed a greater threat to strategic success than the escape of even hundreds of identified terrorists." The United States does not need to condition aid to Israel on a ceasefire in order to encourage fewer civilian casualties. It can share the lessons it learned on clearance-of-fires processes in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Not only have the armies that have benefited from US largesse failed to eliminate the terrorists, but they have also been good at overthrowing existing governments." US security assistance in Africa has long overshadowed—and often undermined—governance and development efforts. Worse, it has produced little in the way of sustainable outcomes. Doubling down on that approach, therefore, makes little strategic sense.