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China Maritime Report No. 41: One Force, Two Force, Red Force, Blue Force: PLA Navy Blue Force Development for Realistic Combat Training
Get PDFSince the mid-2010s, there has been a concerted effort to professionalize a PLAN “blue force” as an opposition force, or OPFOR, in maritime exercises and training. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) routinely refers to its blue forces as metaphorical “whetstones” used to sharpen the PLA for a future fight against enemies of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Efforts to develop a PLAN blue force appear to have accelerated over the past several years in response to Chairman Xi Jinping’s decade-long demand for more realistic combat training.
This report examines recent developments in the PLAN’s blue force. It comprises four sections. Part one provides background on PLAN efforts to professionalize its maritime blue force. Part two describes the PLAN’s blue force training units. Part three examines companies producing equipment and virtual environments for China’s blue force units, while part four discusses current blue force capabilities. The report concludes with a summary of findings and implications for the United States, its allies, and partners.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-maritime-reports/1041/thumbnail.jp
“Confining the Enemy”—Halford Mackinder’s Theory of Containment and the Conflict in Ukraine
Get PDFBefore George Kennan outlined his vision of containment, Halford Mackinder articulated a vision of maritime geostrategic logic that prioritized some geographic locations over others. Because Mackinder’s writings have been marshaled to assess the ongoing U.S. commitment to Ukraine, it is important to appreciate how his theory applies to the current crisis
Prisoner of War Status and Nationals of a Detaining Power
Get PDFThis article examines whether a Detaining State is obliged to recognize prisoner of war status for its own nationals under Article 4A of the 1949 Geneva Convention III. It begins with an assessment of that article from the perspective of established principles for construing treaty provisions. It then adds context to that assessment by examining relevant scholarship and State practice regarding its prescriptions before and after the Convention’s negotiation and adoption. Although it concludes that denying prisoner of war status to a national of the Detaining Power is the more persuasive interpretation of Article 4A, it concludes by highlighting the practical challenges of determining nationality that Detaining States may confront
China Maritime Report No. 32: The PCH191 Modular Long-Range Rocket Launcher: Reshaping the PLA Army\u27s Role in a Cross-Strait Campaign
Get PDFWith its fielding of the PCH191 multiple rocket launcher (MRL) and its variety of long-range precision munitions, the PLA Army (PLAA) has become arguably the most important contributor of campaign and tactical firepower during a joint island landing campaign against Taiwan. No longer simply the primary source of amphibious and air assault forces, the PLAA is now capable of using its multiple battalions of PCH191 MRLs to support maritime dominance, the joint firepower strike, and ground forces landing on Taiwan’s shores and in depth. The Chinese ordnance industry has developed multiple low-cost rockets, an anti-ship cruise missile, and a tactical missile to be used with the PCH191, as well as its export variant, the AR3, including munitions that can quickly and precisely strike targets in the Taiwan Strait, across the island, and beyond. Recent demonstrations of the PCH191 during PLA training events and Eastern Theater Command response actions to politically charged visits, in addition to the fielding of new reconnaissance assets capable of providing targeting and battle damage assessments to the MRL, make it clear the Army intends to use the system to achieve effects in a future Taiwan crisis that formerly would have been the responsibility of other PLA services.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-maritime-reports/1031/thumbnail.jp
Memo regarding secret investigations at Newport, R.I., 1918 Feb 7 (3 of 3)
No full textSecret Service investigations at the Torpedo Station bring unwelcomed publicity.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/torpedo/1112/thumbnail.jp
Naval Considerations in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Get PDFRussia’s grand military strategy has a distinct maritime bent, the Ukrainian south coast is Russia’s most tangible strategic prize, and naval forces are crucial to holding it. Since the war’s beginning, Ukraine’s carefully planned strategy has applied stress to key elements of Russia’s maritime strategy, and Ukraine’s theory of victory is shaped by maritime considerations as thoroughly as Russia’s
Episode 26: A Return to Great Power Competition
No full textIn this episode Jon O\u27Gorman hosts Andrew Dex Wilson, Timothy Hoyt, James Holmes, and David Stone in talking about the modern challenges for the U.S. in the political and strategic realms. We begin by talking about what there is to think about in strategic culture and concepts to aid us going forward or retrospect and prospect\u27 as A.T. Mahan called it. We then move into the top topics of the day in talking about what the Chinese weather balloon incident means for both China and what the shoot down signals from the U.S. We next move to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and talk about how difficult war termination will be now that both sides have painted themselves into a corner diplomatically. Lastly, we look at the lessons of the irregular wars of the last 20 years and what lessons we need to keep in mind from them, moving forward, as we move back into an arena of great power competitions.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/profiles-in-strategy/1025/thumbnail.jp
Episode 35: Air Power and Air Power Theory
No full textIn this episode Jon O’Gorman hosts Andrew Stigler, Timothy Shultz, and Phil Haun in a discussion about airpower. They begin by looking at the theorical basis of airpower and the thoughts of Giulio Douhet and John Warden. Next, they move to the other theorists on use of airpower and theory of victory of airpower alone. They question if the U.S Airforce are still believers in the winning from the air alone theory. Then we look at cases studies where airpower was used in various degrees to attempt to achieve victory such as WWII, Vietnam, 1990 Gulf War, and Kosovo in 1999. We end with a contemporary use of technology and airpower in Ukraine, how the Russians have used airpower, and what this might mean for the future.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/profiles-in-strategy/1034/thumbnail.jp
Adele Ann Balasingham’s LTTE Tigresses
Get PDFBefore near-erasure in 2009, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were among modernity’s most potent insurgents. Essential to LTTE influence over swaths of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka was the recruiting of women and girls into the political, administrative, economic and martial sides of the conflict that had begun in the mid-1970s.
Among the leaders of Tamil efforts was Adele Ann Balasingham, an Australian, allied with and married to the Tigers’ top diplomat. She was involved in female recruitment, politicization, and training in a system that eventually drew thousands of women and girls into the insurgency. Many were combatants in mixed or all-female infantry units.
To attract and develop female cadres, Ms. Balasingham authored a sophisticated training manual covering political, social, cultural, and physical/martial elements of the conflict against the Sinhalese ethnic majority and the state government. Despite its significance, proven success, and availability on the world wide web, the forty-page text Women Fighters of Liberation Tigers has been largely ignored by Westerners--including commentators focusing on women in terrorism in Sri Lanka. This chapter/paper will begin to remedy the oversight.https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/wps/1026/thumbnail.jp