Why War? Why an Army? John M. House Colonel (retired), US Army

2 Background SAMS class Desire to capture lessons from SAMS Lots of notes to ship as HHG Joined notes from MA in History & MS in Business Desert Storm Desire to modify lessons from SAMS after ODS Added to the pile of notes to ship in my HHG Naval War College Surely I learned something from battalion command Had to learn something from the Navy – right? More notes to drag around in my HHG Retired – Decided to earn a PhD (Northcentral University) Needed to clear out all of those notes in my HHG Time to finish this or quit

3 The Result At least four major revisions and countless smaller ones A summary of an explanation of war A review of the reasons for war A review of the things armies do The impact of a changing environment Why War? Why an Army?

4 What’s in it? War is not new and is not going away Struggle for Power Violence and the threat of violence Not a review of doctrine but doctrine is in it Old and current Frames certain elements of the discussion Discussion of concepts Strategy to transformation Levels of war to spectrum of conflict Natures of war Physical, moral, and cognitive Process of change for military services Evolutionary to revolutionary

A Struggle for Power Power provides a nation or a group to have the freedom to do as they wish Power comes in many forms Military Economic Geography and Resources National Will Political Structure Policy involves the use of power Violence is a method of imposing power War then is the violent use of military power 5

Types of Wars Conflict intensity Conventional and Unconventional Types of weapons Ex. Nuclear or non-nuclear Geography A nation or the world Revolutionary Full spectrum A collection of mission types executed by military power 6

Purpose of an Army Defense against all enemies Nation building Exploration Law enforcement Governing Socialization Critical purpose is to retain the ability to fight, to kill a nation’s enemies 7

Levels of War & Domains of War Levels of War Strategic Operational Tactical Domains of War Physical Cognitive Moral 8

Change and the Military Services Change Revolutionary and Evolutionary Operational concepts Weapon systems Organization changes Technological change Ensuring Change Leadership Authority versus Learning-driven Systems approach Maintaining relevance Bumps in the Tank Trail Making the right change 9

The Future War is not going away Violent conflict between states and non-state groups will continue Force structure will adjust Belligerents will rely on their capabilities Space, land, technology New form of war? Constants War is a human drama that protects and destroys at the same time 10

11 Who should buy it? Anyone interested war and armies Provides an overview of war and operations Starting point for a study of war Useful as an overview for: The serious student to provoke discussion The person who wants to understand war and armies