Military Review English Edition March-April 2015 | Page 17

CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

them, occur more rapidly than in the
past due to advances in technology,
the proliferation of information, and
the associated increased momentum
of human interaction.

—The U.S. Army Operating Concept21

Fallacies persist, in large measure, because they define war as
one might like it to be. Preparing
Army forces to operate as part
of joint, interorganizational, and
multinational teams to prevent
conflict, shape security environments, and, if necessary, win in war
requires clear thinking. Army professionals might begin by rejecting
fallacies that are inconsistent with
continuities in the nature of war.
But Army professionals must also
consider changes in the character
of warfare.
To understand continuity and
change, it is hard to improve on
the approach found in historian Sir Michael Howard’s 1961
(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Eric Petosky)
Personnel provide command and control information at the 612th Air and Space Operaseminal essay on how military
tions Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.,16 February 2010.
professionals should develop what
community a fait accompli and then portraying its reacClausewitz describes as their own
tions as escalatory.
“theory” of war.22 First, “study in width.” Observe
Moreover, as joint force freedom of movement and
how “warfare has developed over a long historical
action in the maritime, air, space, and cyber domains beperiod.” Next, “study in depth.” Study campaigns and
come more contested, the deterrent value of land forces
explore them thoroughly, consulting original sources
will become more important. Land forces operating in
and applying various theories and interdisciplinary
areas such as the South China Sea or the Persian Gulf
approaches. This is important, Howard observes,
may have to control territory not only to deny its use to
because as the “tidy outlines dissolve,” we can “catch
the enemy but also to project power from land across
a glimpse of the confusion and horror of the real
multiple domains to restrict enemy freedom of action
experience.” And last, “study in context.” Wars and
and preserve the joint force’s freedom of movement at
warfare must be understood in context of their
sea, in the air, in space, and in cyberspace.
social, cultural, economic, human, moral, political,
and psychological dimensions because “the roots of
Thinking Clearly about War and
victory and defeat often have to be sought far from
the Future of Warfare
the battlefield.” As we consider war and warfare
in width, depth, and context, Army professionals
Shifts in the geopolitical landscape caused by compemight consider change and continuity in four areas:
tition for power and resources influence the character of
threats, missions, technology, and history and lessons
armed conflict. These shifts, and violence associated with learned during recent operations.
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