9 Apr 2021

The Integrated Resilience Program at Malmstrom AFB, Montana, 2019-2020

In response to General David Goldfein’s call to fight “an adversary that is killing more of our airmen than any enemy on the planet,”1 Headquarters Air Force implemented Operation THURSDAY to address rising suicide numbers. From 1 August to 15 September 2019, this resilience tactical pause (RTP) sought to empower Airmen at the lowest level to

31 Mar 2021

“Fight’s on. Commit. You’re Dead.” Why the United States’ Largest Training Ranges Are Too Small and How LVC Can Provide the Answer

Executive SummaryThe United States is running out of room.Eielson AFB, Alaska, boasts claim to the Department of Defense’s (DOD) premier training venue, a range spanning over 1.5 million acres of maneuver land and 65,000 square miles of airspace known as the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC). It is the largest block of contiguous airspace

29 Mar 2021

Satellite Servicing: A History, the Impact to the Space Force, and the Logistics Behind It

IntroductionSatellite servicing is an important emerging technology not only to industry and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), but also to national security. Servicing technology should be of key interest for the United States Space Force (USSF) to research, and serviceability should be an even greater requirement pushed by the

26 Mar 2021

AI-Enabled War-in-the-Air

It is a time of rapid disruptive technological change and none more so than in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). While developed by and for the commercial sector, AI’s apparent potential for military use is now pushing armed forces globally to begin experimenting with embryonic AI-enabled defense systems. There may be a considerable

18 Mar 2021

Organizational Innovation to Achieve JADC2

The US military is banking on technological solutions to usher in the future of effective military command and control in a joint and all-domain combat environment. While much has been written about the Air Force’s technical development of the advanced battle management system (ABMS), given the Army’s skepticism of the program as a panacea for

9 Mar 2021

Better Models for Specialized Career Fields

It’s no secret the Air Force is currently unable to fill cockpits for its aircraft due to a pilot shortage.1 Even with COVID-19 increasing retention from 46 percent of pilots to 51 percent, the service is still 2,000 pilots short, with no end in sight.2 The Air Force is attempting to fill the shortage by increasing pilot production and

5 Mar 2021

Contingency Basing for Great Powers Competition

This Air University Advanced Research paper focuses on applying the new context created from Great Powers Competition to military contingency basing.  The broad scope of this paper relates the emerging concepts of adaptive operations and Agile Combat Employment (ACE) to the challenge of basing in a contested environment. 

29 Sep 2020

Your Stance against Child Sex Trafficking Is Threatening the National Security of the United States

The authors describe “narrative warfare” and just how difficult it can be to combat. While the concept of creating, influencing, or spreading narratives with specific objectives is not new, interest in the practice has grown substantially with the rise of social media and online communication.

29 Sep 2020

Book Review: Space Warfare in the 21st Century: Arming the Heavens

Author: Joan Johnson-Freese Reviewer: Forrest L. Marion, PhD --- In Space Warfare in the 21st Century, Joan Johnson-Freese seeks to persuade the incoming Trump administration to change the nation’s space policy that, in her view, has been mostly on the wrong track especially since 2006. The author is a highly respected national security affairs and space scholar who has served on the Naval War College faculty for nearly two decades

29 Sep 2020

Conflict and Controversy in the Space Domain: Legalities, Lethalities, and Celestial Security

This article assumes the inevitability of space exploration—including celestial body resource exploitation, weapon research and developments, and the human colonization of Mars—in an attempt to answer the question of how important the role is for American leadership of human expansion into space. The author explores the technologies available in today's space race environment, including potential future energy resources available in space, weapon systems designed for space warfare, the legal implications of each, and some potential consequences of different nations gaining the upper hand in the heavens. Part 1 outlines recent space-relevant technological developments. Part 2 examines lunar exploitation and resources, particularly Helium-3, and the potential for future fusion energy developments. Part 3 explores the potential benefits of exploring, exploiting, and colonizing Mars. Part 4 underscores the severity of the potential and actuality of space weaponization, including an overview of existing and theoretical weaponry and legal implications. Finally, Part 5 concludes with an analysis of the potential implications of recent developments and control over space and celestial bodies with regard to global economic stability and space superiority, emphasizing the absolute need of American leadership as humans expand into the space domain.