“I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means” Information Power and Deterrence by Kevin Piercy

A little over 200,000 votes in Mexico’s 2006 presidential election determined whether or not the United States might soon share a border with a potentially communist country. A closer look reveals Mexico was nearly another domino in a rash of leftism that is sweeping through Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In fact, there are as many leftist countries in the LAC region today as there were in Eastern Europe at the height of the Cold War. 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. In short, Latin Americans are smarter, poorer, and angrier with the United States for its inattentiveness since the end of the Cold War. [LCDR J. Lee Bennett, USN / 2008 / 37 pages / ISBN: / AU Press Code: WF-31]

Our military future will likely be radically different from our past. Consequently, military personnel can prepare for this future by investigating ways to adapt to novel challenges posed by new weapons, new theories, or new organizations. This study explores the problem of how joint task force staffs should reorganize to improve future command and control to meet demands of the most likely future environment. The research methodology consisted of a literature search from a broad body of evidence. Sources included business literature, studies by organizations such as the Center for Naval Analyses, and research papers produced by other students. Several key changes envisioned for the military provide a foundation for the project and introduce future operational and environmental complexities. These changes include emerging international and national trends such as increased military operations other than war and growing military pressures to shrink but remain effective. [MAJ Lisa A. Row, USMC / 1998 / 47 pages ISBN: / AU Press Code: WF-4]

This paper is about how a Rapid Global Effects Capability will provide the Air Force with operational agility. This ability will enable the Air Force to achieve the core missions of Multi-Domain Command and Control, Adaptive Domain Control, Global Integrated Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, Rapid Global Mobility, and Global Precision Strike by 2035. The ability to rapidly deliver global effects will have implications for both domestic and foreign policy. [Major Gabriel S. Arrington, USAF / 2019 / 60 pages / ISSN: 2687-7260 / AU Press Code: WF-62]

A Thinking Culture Accelerates the Rate of Change: John Boyd, David Marquet, and the Future of United States Military by Major Jason R. Bingham, USAF, BSC. Wright Flyer, Air University Press

Lifting mass to orbit is one of the most challenging concepts of space travel. This paper proposes a concept of a hub at low Earth orbit (LEO) that additively manufactures or more colloquially 3-D prints components of the boost and satellite systems to reduce weight to orbit. A hub at LEO with three component modules will accomplish this, and estimates put the cost for this effort around that of one government satellite launch. This concept proposes a receive/assemble/deploy module to capture a satellite as it boosts from Earth and then attaches additively manufactured parts to the satellite for redeployment, a print module to print RL-10-like boost phase engines and multimode propulsion systems, and a storage facility for materials and propellants. This hub will enable making parts through additive manufacturing in space and lead to the printing of more complex systems in the future, thereby promoting the development of space exploration. [Kristen C. Castonguay / 2018 / 29 pages / ISSN: 2687-7260 / AU Press Code: WF-69]

The twenty-first-century Air Force has maintained a twentieth-century operations security (OPSEC) culture, one heavily oriented toward speech and activities related to an Airman’s official duties. Air Force OPSEC policy and culture insufficiently address the connected world characterized by ubiquitous data collection. This gap creates a critical vulnerability with the potential to diminish the Air Force’s competitive edge in a future conflict. The author proposes potential safeguards and mitigation strategies, highlighting the challenge of addressing a vulnerability that is deeply intertwined with an Airman’s personal life. He further suggests adopting a framework of subjective and objective harm to reorient the Air Force’s OPSEC culture. Finally, he recommends a mitigation approach based in education and training occurring throughout an Airman’s career. Doing so will grow a culture of educated awareness surrounding the threat posed by ubiquitous data collection and population-based surveillance.

In this paper, Maj Harold Linnean explores how Air Force leadership may avoid potential failure points in its implementation of Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century (AFSO 21), the Air Force’s initiative to recapitalize funds by maximizing value and minimizing waste in operations. The author addresses three potential failure points: (1) focusing only on culture and thus creating an unbalanced system or organization, (2) the inflexibility of the Air Force structure, and (3) the Air Force’s human resource management systems. Major Linnean proposes that a culture of continuous process improvement will take root only when Air Force leadership fully commits to AFSO 21. [Maj Harold W. Linnean, III, USAFR / 2008 / 40 pages / ISBN: / AU Press Code: WF-33]

In this paper, the author argues that because of the issues in Afghanistan and the inability to transition to an air force that is manned independently, that they augment with Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The author cites that since small-UAS are already in use in country, expanding the program will enhance their capabilities. [Benjamin F. Schumacher / 2021 / 35 pages / ISSN 2687-7260 / AU Press Code: WF-86]

In September 1918, the EEF concluded its campaign in Palestine by routing the Turkish forces at the battle of Megiddo. Under command of British general Allenby, the EEF successfully executed one of the most decisive engagements in any theater of World War I. Ably employing and synchronizing infantry, cavalry, and air forces, Allenby provided future military professionals and historians with a shining illustration of the efficacy of combined arms operations. In terms of surprise, concentration, and operational balance of forces, the culmination of the Palestine campaign was a foreshadowing of the German blitzkrieg used in World War II. Unfortunately, the true lessons of Allenby’s campaign were lost for future generations of military officers. Focusing on the culture and romanticism of the horse cavalry, students of the Palestine battles garnered little instruction on the emerging trends of combined arms operations that integrated air and ground mobility into a decisive operational level weapon. This paper analyzes the reasons those in the profession of arms missed the lessons of airpower and its role in combined arms operations. It examines the context of the Middle Eastern theater of World War I, describing how “western front myopia” added to the overshadowing of operations conducted in Palestine. The paper also delves into the role of airpower in the Middle East and how Allenby integrated a relatively new weapon system into his force structure and operational planning and execution. Though largely unexplored by military professionals and historians, Allenby’s final campaign in Palestine proved to be a momentous step in the evolution of combined arms operations. [MAJ Gregory A. Daddis, USA/ 2005 / 54 pages / ISBN: / AU Press Code: WF-20]