Un(wo)manned aerial vehicles: an assessment of how unmanned aerial vehicles influence masculinity in the conflict arena

Through the construction of masculinity in the military and technological advancements in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, prevailing gender norms of masculinity are being challenged. This article bridges the gap in studies of military technology and ethical dilemmas in the use of force, stressing the impact of prevailing hyper-masculinization in the future of warfare. To strengthen appreciation of hegemonic masculinity in militaries and emerging technological capabilities on the genderization of war, this article applies literature from a variety of fields, including critical gender studies, robotics and military organizations. While a case can be made that genderization of war is inclined towards feminization of battle ground, a deeper analysis of drones and military technology reveals that a state of hyper-masculinity will be more typical of future of warfare. In evaluating the aspects that drones bring to a conflict, it might initially seem that the technology challenges previously dominant masculinity. However, upon further evaluation, it is apparent that the traits of drones and other emerging military technologies support the masculinities currently present, and make armed conflict increasingly hyper-masculinized.     

Moving the techno-science gap in Security Force Assistance

This paper looks at the impact of military technology diffusion on military assistance operations (MAO), in the United States known as Security Force Assistance or SFA. The discussion looks conceptually at the role of technological change and how it interacts with martial cultures in military assistant operations. I argue that growing trends in science and technology suggest potential conflicts between culture and technology. Relying on a culture-technology model drawn from anthropology, the paper contends that new technologies will present increasing challenges for the emerging MAO landscape. The paper will illustrate that the techno-science gap will continue to grow as innovations such as robotics, sensors, and networks continue to develop. Finally, the paper will look at ways to overcome this conflict between culture and technology.     

Impact of an all volunteer force upon the navy in the 1972-1973 timeframe

This paper develops estimates of true volunteer levels for 1972 and 1973, based on experience gained through 1970 draft lottery data. The paper also formulates estimates of the qualitative characteristics of a 1972-1973 Navy volunteer force, and establishes a relationship between rate of volunteerism and military pay. Utilizing estimates generated in the paper, Navy military personnel budget requirements for FY '72 and '73 are presented.     

Political Scientists and Historians in Search of the Bomb

Britain's failure to cut military commitments in spite of escalating defence costs was not the result of blocking policies by disgruntled services. Rather, there was no determination among Whitehall's political departments to cut commitments even before the service departments could obstruct a decision on force levels. The Conservative governments under Macmillan and Douglas‐Home showed a propensity for substantial force reductions in Europe rather than in out‐of NATO areas. This remained London's long‐term aim even after it had been accepted to build up British troops in Europe to agreed force levels. During Alec Douglas‐Home's premiership Britain's global military role, especially east of Suez, gained a greater significance. An Anglo‐American military axis operating in the Far East and the Indian Ocean became a prominent feature. Ultimately, Anglo‐American military interdependence outside NATO was to ensure that Britain would be able to pursue a policy with more room for independent action.     

谈我国地方行政机关的军事行政立法权

在我国，对于地方行政机关是否享有“军事行政立法权”，相关法律中没有作出直接的明确规定，因此学术界还存在着不同的观点。应当承认我国地方行政机关享有国防军事职权，可以制定有关国防军事事项的地方性行政规章。但是，承认地方行政机关享有军事行政立法权与允许其通过立法直接对当地驻军和现役军人作出规范性要求是两个不同的问题。承认前者并不意味着就肯定了后者。要避免地方行政机关的军事立法对军队的集中统一领导带来负面影响，就应当对其加以适当的限制。     

Implementing sustainable mission command in the Hellenic Army

The modern Mission Command philosophy in military operations originated with the German concept of Auftragstaktik (mission tactics). It emphasizes in general terms the exercise of disciplined initiatives by subordinates during the execution of mission-type orders in the course of military operations that are conducted within the overall intent of a commander. The present paper contains an overview of the historical evolution of the mission command concept and its application. The paper compares the mission command concept with the detailed or linear method of command. This paper focuses on the relevance of the mission command concept for the Hellenic Land Forces (HLF) in Greece. The paper provides a historical account on when and where mission command was successfully exercised by the Hellenic Armed Forces in the modern military history of Greece. The authors support the premise that the mission command concept is essential for safeguarding Greek national security in the current environment of evolving symmetric and asymmetric threats, and in meeting operational challenges in a diverse and difficult terrain. The paper examines the cultural reasons that have impeded the adoption of the mission command concept within the HLF and recommends a three-phase model for its permanent implementation.     

卫星军事应用系统作战效能评估的网络层次分析法研究

根据卫星军事应用系统的特点研究了基于网络层次分析法的效能评估方法.确立了效能评价的准则,给出了影响其作战效能的指标集,建立了网络层次分析法控制层和网络层模型,并且利用计算极限超矩阵的方法对单个准则下各方案的作战效能进行排序.最后,通过对单个准则下的排序向量进行加权求和获得卫星军事应用系统作战效能的排序向量.     

战区一体化装备保障组织形式

针对未来信息化条件下作战中如何科学合理地组织战区装备保障力量的问题,借鉴外军经验,立足我军实际,从整体保障效能目标出发,区分诸军兵种一体、各层次各专业一体、军民一体3个层面,分别提出了三军联合保障、纵横联动保障、军地综合保障3类一体化装备保障组织形式。研究结果可为构建具有我军特色的＂大保障＂体制,加快提升战区部队体系保障能力提供理论指导。     

Bringing Military Conduct out of the Shadow of Law: Towards a Holistic Understanding of Rules of Engagement

In this article, I outline a holistic approach to the military concept of “Rules of Engagement” (ROE), which complements the legal aspects of ROE with considerations of operational and political requirements for the use of military force. Drawing upon two illustrative cases from the US military experience with the use of ROE, I demonstrate that ROE for any particular military operation should be formulated to balance optimally, if not harmonize fully, the legal, operational and political concerns related to the use of force. In this task, political decision-makers and military practitioners alike are confronted with unavoidable and real-life dilemmas. How these dilemmas are handled has significant implications for how legal requirements concerning accountability and concerns for civilian lives in military combat can be preserved through ROE.     

试论军事刑事司法专属管辖的根据

军事刑事司法专属管辖划分的根据在军事法学界存在着争议,在法律规范的规定中也是非常原则,缺乏可操作性。本文从军事法学界对军事刑事司法专属管辖根据的不同学术观点入手,依据我国现行法律规范的零散性规定,以军事司法权的内在属性为理论依托,论证了我国军事刑事司法专属管辖根据的原则与例外。     

Civil–military relations in France: is there a gap?

Since President Jacques Chirac's 1996 decision to professionalise the armed forces, many political and military leader expressed concerns about its potential consequences on civil–military relations. Will the shift to an all-volunteer force create a gap in civil–military relations? The goal of the article is to provide a preliminary assessment of civil–military relations in France before the full professionalisation of the armed forces. Using the results of existing polls conducted annually, I lay out a basis of comparison to evaluate the future evolution of civil–military relations on several dimensions: image of the military, perception of civil–military relations, social and political values, and the legitimacy of the use of force. Although civil–military relations in France have never been as harmonious since the Second World War as they are today, the article argues that these relations are not as rosy as they may seem.     

兵力编成结构裁剪中指挥关系优化研究

由于决策个体控制战场作战平台资源实体,通过平台资源实体执行作战任务,作战平台资源实体在任务上的聚集导致决策个体间需要复杂的交互协作与交流,兵力编成需要为任务的执行创造良好的交互结构。基于任务执行的兵力编成包括两方面的内容:一是指控决策结点间的协作关系;二是指控决策结点间的指挥关系。本文基于决策个体在任务上的协作关系设计兵力编成的指挥关系,以最小化编成中总的协作工作负载为目标,并描述了编成指挥决策关系的生成过程,对生成过程的求解采用了优化协作树算法。     

Progress payments and cost overruns in defence contracts

In recent years military procurement agencies have used “progress payments” in contracting. Although, overall, the adoption of such a policy may well have contributed to a decrease in total costs of procurement, we identify a class of inefficiencies that are likely to have been generated by it.     

Do Distinct (National) Operational Styles of Conflict Resolution Exist?

This article contains a reply to a previously published paper on the use and abuse of the so-called Dutch approach to counterinsurgency. In addition to commenting on this paper, the article constitutes an argument to initiate more comparative studies in the field of military and strategic studies. Only comparative studies will help to better understand the effectiveness of military force in preventing, containing and solving violent conflicts.     

Countering Insurgent-terrorism: Why Nato Chose The Wrong Historical Foundation For Cimic

History teaches that counterinsurgency and counterterrorism campaigns have never been won through purely military action. Defeating an opponent who avoids open battle, but who uses force to reach his goals, including terrorist action, requires a combination of police, administrative, economic and military measures. As a counterinsurgency campaign should pursue a comprehensive political objective, it requires high levels of civil–military cooperation. However, current NATO doctrine for Civil–Military Cooperation (CIMIC) as it emerged from the 1990s is founded in conventional war-fighting and outdated peacekeeping doctrine. CIMIC's focus is on supporting military objectives rather than enabling the military to make a coherent contribution to political objectives. This makes CIMIC unfit for the Alliance's main operational challenges that have expanded from peace operations on the Balkans to countering insurgent terrorism in Afghanistan. When developing CIMIC, the Alliance obviously neglected the historical lessons from counterinsurgency campaigns.     

反恐分队作战效能的灰色聚类方法评估

评估反恐分队作战效能对加强反恐部队建设、提高反恐能力有一定的指导意义.本文根据影响反恐作战的主要因素,建立了比较全面的评价指标体系.运用层次分析的方法确定各指标的权重系数.采用灰色聚类的评价方法将子效能聚合成反恐作战的体系效能.其中要素包括样本矩阵、灰类、白化权函数.由此实现反恐分队作战效能的量化评估.最后通过实例分析和计算,证明评价模型的合理、有效、可行.     

Ideology,ballots, and alliances: Canadian participation in multinational military operations

The decision to employ force abroad is often a contentious political decision, where partisanship plays a crucial role. Prior to military intervention, political parties usually make their ideologically distinctive preferences clear and seek to implement them once in power. What remains unclear, however, is how ideology affects the decision to use military force. This article contends that alliance and electoral calculations constrain the ability of political parties to implement their ideological preferences with regards to the use of force. It examines a “most likely” case for the partisan theory of military intervention, namely Canada’s refusal to take part in the invasion of Iraq and its decision to commit forces to the war against the Islamic State. It finds that only in combination with alliance and electoral calculations does executive ideology offer valuable insights into Canada’s military support to U.S.-led coalition operations, which contributes to our understanding of allied decision-making.     

浅谈发挥军旅格言的战斗文化功能

论述了如何充分发挥军旅格言的战斗文化功能，营造崇尚战斗、敢于战斗、争当战斗英雄的浓厚战斗文化氖围，努力把武警部队建设成为军心凝聚、士气高昂、英勇顽强的文明之师、威武之师，更好地履行党和人民“忠诚卫士”的神圣使命。     

Research communication security in the 90s: A view from the UK

This paper develops a methodology for measuring the capital value of military assets in monetary terms. We distinguish between two military capital measures. One measure, called the value of military capital (services) summarizes the value of military defense assets during a particular year. A comparison of the capital‐services value of U.S. and Soviet tactical combat aircraft is provided for the period 1970–1984.

One feature of the capital‐services measure that makes it particularly interesting is that its size can be compared with such military expenditures as operating and support. While these latter expenditures reflect the readiness of a defense establishment, the relevant capital‐services measure reflects force structure and modernization.

A second measure, called the value of military capital (wealth), summarizes the military benefits obtained from defense assets over the remainder of their service lives. This measure depreciates the capital as it ages, and is useful for comparing military wealth with other types of wealth in the economy. We provide this measure for the U.S. military capital stock for 1925–1984.