Adaptation under Fire

2020-08-03 History

Author : Lt. General David Barno
Release : 2020-08-03
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 064/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Adaptation under Fire by : Lt. General David Barno

Download or read book Adaptation under Fire written by Lt. General David Barno. This book was released on 2020-08-03. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every military must prepare for future wars despite not really knowing the shape such wars will ultimately take. As former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates once noted: "We have a perfect record in predicting the next war. We have never once gotten it right." In the face of such great uncertainty, militaries must be able to adapt rapidly in order to win. Adaptation under Fire identifies the characteristics that make militaries more adaptable, illustrated through historical examples and the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Authors David Barno and Nora Bensahel argue that militaries facing unknown future conflicts must nevertheless make choices about the type of doctrine that their units will use, the weapons and equipment they will purchase, and the kind of leaders they will select and develop to guide the force to victory. Yet after a war begins, many of these choices will prove flawed in the unpredictable crucible of the battlefield. For a U.S. military facing diverse global threats, its ability to adapt quickly and effectively to those unforeseen circumstances may spell the difference between victory and defeat. Barno and Bensahel start by providing a framework for understanding adaptation and include historical cases of success and failure. Next, they examine U.S. military adaptation during the nation's recent wars, and explain why certain forms of adaptation have proven problematic. In the final section, Barno and Bensahel conclude that the U.S. military must become much more adaptable in order to address the fast-changing security challenges of the future, and they offer recommendations on how to do so before it is too late.

Adaptation Under Fire

2020 Adaptability (Psychology).

Author : David Barno
Release : 2020
Genre : Adaptability (Psychology).
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 056/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Adaptation Under Fire by : David Barno

Download or read book Adaptation Under Fire written by David Barno. This book was released on 2020. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Adaptation Under Fire looks at the essential importance of military adaptation in winning wars. Every military must prepare for future wars despite inevitably having little confidence about the precise shape that those wars will take. As former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates once noted: "We have a perfect record in predicting the next war. We have never once gotten it right." Despite this uncertainty, military organizations still must make choices. They must determine the nature of doctrine they will need to fight effectively, the type of weaponry and equipment they must procure to defeat their potential foe, and the kind of leaders they must select and develop to guide the force to victory. Since the U.S. military has global security responsibilities, it will have to make these choices without knowing when, where, or how the next war will unfold, nor even who the enemy may be. It will need to adapt quickly and successfully in the face of the unexpected in order to prevail. The book starts by providing a framework for understanding adaptation, and includes several historical examples of success and failure. The second section examines U.S. military adaptation during the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and explains why certain forms of adaptation have proven so problematic. The final section argues that the U.S. military must become more adaptable in order to successfully address the fast-changing security challenges of the 21st century, and concludes with some recommendations on how it should do so. "--

The War for Ukraine

2024-08-13 History

Author : Mick Ryan
Release : 2024-08-13
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 536/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The War for Ukraine by : Mick Ryan

Download or read book The War for Ukraine written by Mick Ryan. This book was released on 2024-08-13. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Russo-Ukraine War is a vital learning opportunity for military strategists across the globe. The first and clearest lesson to be gleaned from it is this: the soundness of a military’s strategy and the nimbleness with which it can adapt to unforeseen circumstances are the two most important factors in deciding victory or defeat. The War for Ukraine analyzes the war through these twin lenses of strategy and adaptation, detailing how each army has succeeded or failed to plan for and adapt to this twenty-first century war. Author Mick Ryan examines the foundations of Ukrainian and Russian strategy for their ongoing war, looking back over several decades to reveal how both sides have evolved their military strategy and force structure. Each has undertaken institutional-level reforms of their military and national security enterprises in the decade leading up to this war. But because the emergent behavior of military forces after fighting begins cannot be fully predicted, these prewar reforms only constitute a starting point for adaptation during the war. Part I of the book covers the role of strategic leadership, with a focus on evolution of strategy since February 2022. From there, the second part of the book delves into how the Ukrainians and Russians have adapted their tactics, organizations, operational approaches, and strategic foundations for war-making throughout the conflict. Central to this discussion are the ways that, regardless of cutting-edge technology, human elements have remained a crucial deciding factor in Ukraine. Ryan shows how good leadership allows a nation to navigate the ambiguity and uncertainty of conflict, while poor leadership leaves it vulnerable to surprises. Likewise, The War for Ukraine offers case studies of the importance of an institution’s ability to nurture and reward human learning as it relates to combat. The book provides strategists, policymakers, and military leaders with a basis from which to plan for constant adaption in military organizations. General readers of contemporary global conflict will also find The War for Ukraine of great interest.

Learning While Under Fire

2015

Author :
Release : 2015
Genre :
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : /5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Learning While Under Fire by :

Download or read book Learning While Under Fire written by . This book was released on 2015. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis examines what makes some military organizations more or less likely to change during wartime than others. It seeks to define the attributes or mechanisms that can be designed into organizations to enhance their competitive performance via adaptation in armed conflict during war. Given that war generates surprises, new environment contexts and performance gaps, the ability to gain insights and respond via adaptation is fundamental to success in conflict. Can we identify and create adaptive mechanisms that are best suited to enhance performance or ensure organizational survival in military institutions? If adaptation is central to success in wartime, knowing the internal elements that support or retard adaptation appears useful. Military adaptation incorporates the multiple occurrences of learning from direct field experience into doctrinal, organizational and technological solutions to adjust current competencies or new capabilities that a military organization did not have in its repertory prior to wartime. The distinction in this definition is its temporal dimension during conflict, and its source-a response to the enemy's own actions and ~ to the particularly conditions that a specific campaign presents to military leaders. This thesis seeks to determine the organizational attributes or mechanisms of learning and adaptation by constructing and exploring a theory of Organizational Learning Capacity which is initially defined as "the aggregate ability of a military organization to recognize and respond to performance gaps generated by campaign pressures, unexpected adversary actions or unanticipated aspects of the operating environment via adaptation or innovation."

Israel's Long War with Hezbollah

2018-10-01 Political Science

Author : Raphael D. Marcus
Release : 2018-10-01
Genre : Political Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 129/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Israel's Long War with Hezbollah by : Raphael D. Marcus

Download or read book Israel's Long War with Hezbollah written by Raphael D. Marcus. This book was released on 2018-10-01. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah is now in its fourth decade and shows no signs of ending. Raphael D. Marcus examines this conflict since the formation of Hezbollah during Israel’s occupation of Lebanon in the early 1980s. He critically evaluates events including Israel’s long counterguerrilla campaign throughout the 1990s, the Israeli withdrawal in 2000, the 2006 summer war, and concludes with an assessment of current tensions on the border between Israel and Lebanon related to the Syrian civil war. Israel’s Long War with Hezbollah is both the first complete military history of this decades-long conflict and an analysis of military innovation and adaptation. The book is based on unique fieldwork in Israel and Lebanon, extensive research into Hebrew and Arabic primary sources, and dozens of interviews Marcus conducted with Israeli defense officials, high-ranking military officers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), United Nations personnel, a Hezbollah official, and Western diplomats. As an expert on organizational learning, Marcus analyzes ongoing processes of strategic and operational innovation and adaptation by both the IDF and Hezbollah throughout the long guerrilla conflict. His conclusions illuminate the dynamics of the ongoing conflict and illustrate the complexity of military adaptation under fire. With Hezbollah playing an ongoing role in the civil war in Syria and the simmering hostilities on the Israel-Lebanon border, students, scholars, diplomats, and military practitioners with an interest in Middle Eastern security issues, Israeli military history, and military innovation and adaptation can ill afford to neglect this book.

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