SWJ / SWC TRADOC SLC Reading List
As you peruse the posts in this forum on the issues being discussed at the TRADOC Senior Leaders Conference we would appreciate any and all reading recommendations. We will consolidate the list and publish it on Small Wars Journal - please provide the title (book, article, study), author and a short blurb on why that particular item is relevant to the discourse.
If your recommendation is an article, essay or study and is available online a link would be most appreciated. If you'd like your recommendation, when published, to be tied to your real name you can either provide it here or send it along via PM or e-mail to me - SWJED. Otherwise we will go with your Council ID.
We've already had one suggestion today, by Council member Anlaochfhile, The American Culture of War: The History of U.S. Military Force from World War II to Operation Iraqi Freedom, by Dr. Adrian Lewis, as a resource that addresses the role that American culture plays in how our forces organize, equip, and fight.
Thanks much.
--Dave Dilegge
'Competitive Adaptation' book
The brilliant 'Traffiking and Terrorist Networks, Government Bureaucracies, and Competitive Adaptation' by Michael Kenney. Published by The Pennsylvannia State University Press 2007 (ISBN 0=27102931-5). Best chapters are on how "narcs" and terrorists learn. For this reading list I expect the process of adaptation is more valuable.
Three reviewers cited on publishers website: http://www.psupress.org/books/titles...1-02931-3.html
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B001RTST4C
Note available in e-form (Kindle), paperback and hardback.
davidbfpo
Once a Warrior King: Memories of an Officer in Vietnam
Once a Warrior King: Memories of an Officer in Vietnam by David Donovan.
A very insightful book on the dynamics of small unit leadership, especially in the context of a small advisory unit that is isolated from main body U.S. forces. I found the anecdotes on cultural understanding and engagement very helpful as I prepared for my MiTT mission a couple of years ago. While the advisory mission has changed somewhat in the last year, the ideas on building and nuturing relationships with your counterpart without "going native" are still worth a read.
Black's book is good, but...
I think I'd put forward The Past as Prologue as a better examination on the whole of military history and its possible use for making policy. As it's an anthology, you get more than one viewpoint and it does deal with many of the same issues that Black covers without getting bogged down in some of the "pet rocks."
The Age of the Unthinkable
While hardly a great book, it is still worth the small investment of time required to read it. "The Age of the Unthinkable", by Joshua Ramo focuses on complexity, rapid change, and concludes we can't predict or prevent all future threats, so our strategy should be focused on resilience. In other words designing a political/economic/social structure that can survive and continue to thrive in the unavoidable 9/11 like events in the future. Hardly a complete strategy, but resilience should definitely be a component of our national strategy. Especially since the trend enabled by technology is greater centralization of critical infrastructure, because it is cost efficient, but it makes us increasingly vulnerable. One example is our power grid.
I found this book to be a good supplement to the Joint Operational Environment (the JOE) published by JFCOM, and it also sounds like it would nest nicely with the "The American Culture of War", which I haven't read yet (but intend to).
"The Drunkard's Walk, How Ramdomness Rules Our Lives"
"The Drunkard's Walk, How Ramdomness Rules Our Lives"
Quote:
In The Drunkard’s Walk Leonard Mlodinow provides readers with a wonderfully readable guide to how the mathematical laws of randomness affect our lives. With insight he shows how the hallmarks of chance are apparent in the course of events all around us. The understanding of randomness has brought about profound changes in the way we view our surroundings, and our universe. I am pleased that Leonard has skillfully explained this important branch of mathematics.
From Stephen Hawking.
Yes, from his formatible intellect, Dr. Hawking has a accurate description, but has not explained the value of this book for Soldiers, Marines, and other warriors. This book illuminates some of the causes of the the "fog of war" and is a helpful tool for reducing Clausewitze like "friction".