Aug. 28, 2025

Mission Command: Trust, Empowerment, and the Future Force

Air Force Doctrine Publication 1 discusses mission command as a product of trust.01 It is a philosophy of leadership that empowers commanders and operators in uncertain, complex, and rapidly changing environments through trust, shared awareness, and understanding of the commander’s intent. Think back to Nimitz, the technological challenges of his era required trust, though it was his way of command regardless.02 Modernity, conversely, does not inherently demand it; in fact, it often eschews trust, with compartmentalized information viewed as devoid of the necessary context for proper understanding. The ever-present challenge in modern military affairs persists: higher headquarters making snap judgments without grasping the “atmospherics” of the situation.03 What then should commanders do with their pixel of information?

Aug. 7, 2025

Going Above and Beyond the Battlefield: Elevating Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations in the SOF-Space-Cyber Triad

This article emphasizes the critical role of Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations within the evolving SOF-Space-Cyber Triad, a strategic framework designed to enhance U.S. military advantages across multi-domain operations. Civil Affairs units provide vital insights into civil environments, counter adversary influence, and support governance while Psychological Operations influence perceptions and shape narratives in the information environment. When integrated with cyber and space capabilities, these units create a comprehensive approach to modern warfare, especially against near-peer competitors.

July 16, 2025

Understanding and Mitigating Subterranean Operational Threats on Human Health and Performance: The Fatigue-Hormone-Mood Triad

With the advent of large-scale combat operations (LSCO) and contemporary threat groups’ use of underground tunnels, it is essential to understand the impact of subterranean military operations on human health and performance. Subterranean operations are not rapid in execution. Rather, warfighters can expect to spend days, weeks, and possibly months operating underground with limited access to sunlight, potable water, food, medical evacuation, and the resupply of rations and other military equipment. In brief, subterranean operations directly challenge human endurance, physiologically and psychologically. While subterranean operations are predicted to acutely strain and chronically suppress most, if not all, physiological systems of the body, this article focuses on the fatigue-hormone-mood triad.

July 10, 2025

Book Review: Patton’s War: An American General’s Combat Leadership, Volume 1

George S. Patton, Jr. remains one of the most renowned leaders in American military history. This is the narrative any student of history will find, emblazoned by Patton’s own memoirs, the seminal works of Martin Blumenson, Carlo D’Este, and Stanley Hirshon, and autobiographies of Patton’s peers and superiors. Historian Kevin Hymel seeks to contextualize this narrative through the lens of another Patton, “the man mentioned in the letters and memoirs of the many soldiers he led into battle.”