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AI-Enabled Autonomous Weapons and Human Control: Part II: Human Control and Military Commanders
Full text linkThis article is the second installment of a three-part series exploring human control throughout the entire life cycle of an autonomous weapon system (AWS). The series aims to understand the decision-making process and identify key decision-makers to see how human judgment is embedded into an AWS\u27s parameters. Each article in this series focuses on a different stage of the life cycle. The first article discussed the roles and responsibilities of software developers and designers during the design and development phase. This article looks at the role of commanders in decision-making related to AWS deployment. The third article in the series will examine operator decision-making when deploying AWS in an operational environment
Episode 17: Security in the Cyber Age: Understanding American Policy and Technology in Cyberspace
No full textOver the last quarter century, digital technologies have transformed the way we ways we communicate, the way we shop, the way we bank, and even the way we socialize and consume information. With these advancements have come a number of vulnerabilities that adversaries and malign actors have sought to exploit in the cyber age.
Joining The Debrief to help weigh the challenges and opportunities posed by cyberspace is Dr. Derek S. Reveron, professor and chair of the National Security Affairs Department and co-author, with John E. Savage, of Security in the Cyber Age: An Introduction to Policy and Technology (Cambridge University Press, 2023).https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/the-debrief/1016/thumbnail.jp
Floating Fortresses—American Carriers’ Extraordinary Resilience to Battle Damage
No full textOn the basis of Cold War–era munitions accidents and World War II combat experience, U.S. carriers of today are far more resistant to battle damage than commonly believed
Neither Confirm nor Deny—The U.S. Navy’s Declaratory Policy on Nuclear Weapons
No full textThe reintroduction of the submarine-launched nuclear cruise missile into the U.S. Navy’s arsenal signals a shift in U.S. nuclear policy, challenging long-standing declaratory norms and public statements such as the “neither confirm nor deny” stance on the presence of nuclear weapons on warships
The Art and Science of Naval Warfare: Essays in Memory of Wayne P. Hughes Jr.
Full text linkRetired Navy captain Wayne P. Hughes left an indelible mark on the U.S. Navy after a lifetime of service. The author of Fleet Tactics was outspoken in his determination to better the service to which he dedicated his life, throughout his Navy career and carrying through to his time teaching at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Following his passing on 3 December 2019 at the age of eighty-nine, Hughes\u27s colleagues, students, and friends gathered virtually in June 2021—on what would have been his ninetieth birthday—to discuss his career, fleet tactics, and the lasting impact of his work. Collected in this volume is a series of articles born out of that gathering.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/usnwc-newport-papers/1047/thumbnail.jp
CMSI Translations #21: How to Achieve a “Soft Landing” for New Recruits Joining Companies
Full text linkWith expectations, dreams, and curiosity, in mid-June the new sailors who had enlisted this spring joined their companies. Saying goodbye to boot camp and moving to new posts, some new sailors experienced acclimatization issues in the unfamiliar environment. How can we help new comrades smoothly get through the second adjustment period ? Each unit must carefully monitor the characteristics of the new sailors in addition to guiding and educating them. This issue\u27s “Pathways of Youth” special edition brings you the stories and experiences of naval units as they work to effectively manage the integration of new sailors into their companies.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-translations/1020/thumbnail.jp
CMSI Translations #22: Implications of the U.S. Navy\u27s Sea Base Construction for Equipment Support in Cross-Sea Landing Operations
Full text linkCross-sea landing operations (跨海登陆作战) is one of the primary forms of warfare for which our military is preparing, both for the present and for a period into the future. How to provide timely, reliable, continuous, and efficient equipment support for cross-sea landing operations is a critical matter requiring urgent research. The U.S. military was the first to propose the operational concept of “seabasing” to enable sea-based logistics and equipment support for forward-deployed task forces, thereby providing critical sustainment for out-of-area military operations. This seabasing initiative has important implications and provides a valuable reference for enhancing our military\u27s equipment support capabilities for cross-sea landing operations.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-translations/1021/thumbnail.jp
China Maritime Report #49: The PLAN Corruption Paradox: Insights from the 1st Destroyer Flotilla
Full text linkMain Findings Like all organizations led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the People Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) suffers from endemic corruption, defined as the personal abuse of power for selfish ends. Corruption occurs when PLAN leaders use their power to: 1) influence personnel decisions in exchange for money and/or favor; and 2) extract kickbacks for influencing decisions in the contracting/procurement process for equipment and materiel, construction projects, and other service requirements. Despite widespread corruption in the PLAN, the service has continued to grow and modernize at an astonishing rate. One explanation for this paradox is that the PLAN has strived to keep corruption from infecting the personnel selection process in operational units, which matter most for combat power generation. For at least two decades, the PLAN’s anti-corruption “watchdog”—the Discipline Inspection Commission—has prioritized scrutiny over those units and personnel most directly responsible for the “preparation for military struggle.” This top-down approach has combined with efforts by the units themselves—likely driven by the self-interest of the unit Party Committee, which must answer for poor unit performance—to enact policies to ensure that the best candidates are chosen for leadership positions. The case of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla illustrates policies adopted by operational units to ensure the integrity of the personnel selection process. These include formulating clear regulations stipulating minimum qualifications for leadership positions, adopting strict standards for officer evaluation, and carrying out a transparent selection process. The Flotillas’ personnel selection process entails knowledge and skills competitions judged by senior unit members and incorporates feedback and inputs from other members of the unit. Due to the approaches adopted by units such as the 1st Destroyer Flotilla, individuals in positions of power have less leeway to engage in corrupt behavior, thereby increasing the probability that the most capable officers (commissioned and non-commissioned) will be selected for leadership positions.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-maritime-reports/1049/thumbnail.jp
Episode 3: Strategic Leadership Matters: Demosthenes and Brasidas in the Peloponnesian War
No full textGuests Michael Pavković and Josh Hammond join host Vanya Eftimova Bellinger to profile the strategic leadership of two of the most compelling figures of the Peloponnesian War: Demosthenes and Brasidas. They compare Brasidas’s formative experiences in Sparta with Demosthenes’s in Athens, exploring how these backgrounds shaped each man’s approach to strategic leadership. The discussion highlights key qualities of effective strategic leaders, including the ability to balance boldness with prudence, exceptional creative and critical thinking skills, and the capacity to reassess, adapt, and decide faster than the adversary. A central theme is the adaptability required to transition from a successful tactical commander to an effective strategist. Careful listeners will also enjoy a surprisingly apt Guns N’ Roses analogy.
Guests
Professor Michael F. Pavković currently serves as Vice Admiral William Ledyard Rodgers Professor in Naval History in the Strategy and Policy Department at the college. He received his B.A. in history and classics from Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. in history from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He has presented papers at national and international conferences and has also published a number of articles, book chapters and reviews on topics relating to ancient, early modern and Napoleonic military history. He is co-author of What is Military History? (Polity Press, 3rd edition, 2017). He is currently writing a book on sea power in the ancient world.
Cmdr. Josh Hammond graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in classical languages and the U.S. Naval War College with an M.A. in national security and strategic studies. While at NWC, he received the Adm. Richard G. Colbert Memorial Prize for professional writing and research. A career naval flight officer, he has over 2,300 hours and 500 carrier landings in the F-14D and F/A-18F in support of numerous operations in the Arabian Gulf and Western Pacific. Other assignments include air operations officer on USS Carl Vinson and an exchange assignment with the Royal Navy in carrier doctrine development.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/strategy-matters/1002/thumbnail.jp