Private military contractors’ financial experiences and incentives

ABSTRACT

This article analyses findings from an original survey of 187 private military contractors on their incentives for working in the industry. Perceptions of contractors as “greedy, ruthless, and unscrupulous mercenaries” shape both public and military opinions of outsourcing and may impact U.S. military effectiveness, civil–military relations, and contractor identity. We find that contractors are motivated by a range of factors and that their financial experiences are not clearly more positive than that of state military troops. We recommend broad education of military and defense officials and the public in the U.S. and other relevant nations, regarding the true incentives of modern-day, Western contractors, in an effort to dispel misperceptions, increase effective utilisation of contractors, and beneficially shape PMC-military coordination. DoD may consider integrating such training into its current efforts to improve outsourcing, including its Joint OCS Planning and Execution Course, pre-deployment fora, and curricula of advanced military studies schools.     

《唐律疏议》中军事资产保护问题研究

《唐律疏议》代表着唐代法律的完善,在各方面都有较成熟的规定。其在军事资产方面亦是如此。譬如在保护武器装备、马政、邮驿、库藏、粮草等军事资产方面都有较为成熟的规定。同时,对于违反军事资产保护行为的刑罚处罚也作出了相关规定。本文从《唐律疏议》关于武器装备保护、关于官司马牛及邮驿保护、关于库藏、粮草保护等进行分析,试图得出《唐律疏议》中关于军事资产保护问题的特点。     

United States defence contractors and the future of military operations

ABSTRACT

The United States’ global strategic outlook has shifted markedly since the end of major combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the United States’ strategic posture shifts, the nature of military operations is simultaneously changing rapidly. Many analysts predict that cyber-operations, autonomous weapons systems, artificial intelligence, and clandestine special forces operations will be central features in future conflicts. Although often overlooked by scholars and policy analysts, defence contractors are integral to the development and implementation of these emerging categories of warfare. This inquiry examines the evolving nature of the American defence industry and the roles corporations play in current theatres of conflict. Surprisingly, rather than becoming less reliant on defence contractors after their much-maligned performance in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, American military and intelligence agencies have become more dependent on the private sector as technology becomes increasingly central to warfare.     

【专栏】军事计量测试设备国产化发展构想

军事计量测试设备是武器装备计量保障体系的重要物质基础。为解决军事计量测试设备领域受到发达国家严重制约的问题，本文通过梳理军队计量测试设备国产化的现状，分析制约军队计量测试设备国产化的各种因素，提出了军事计量领域计量测试设备国产化发展的综合考虑和发展思路，即需求生成发布机制、联合攻关机制、设备定型机制、计量应用考核机制、推广应用机制和国产化审核机制等六种推进机制，同时从强化顶层谋划、加强资源统筹、加大经费投入及强化持续推进四个方面提出了措施建议，对推进军事计量测试设备国产化进程有一定的参考价值和借鉴意义。     

The Ethics of Cyber Attack: Pursuing Legitimate Security and the Common Good in Contemporary Conflict Scenarios

ABSTRACT

Cyber attack against Critical National Infrastructure is a developing capability in state arsenals. The onset of this new instrument in national security has implications for conflict thresholds and military ethics. To serve as a legitimate tool of policy, cyber attack must operate in accordance with moral concerns. To test the viability of cyber attack, this paper provides a new perspective on cyber ethics. Cyber attack is tested against the criteria of the common good. This involves identifying the four core components of the common good from a conflict perspective: respect for the person; social wellbeing; peace and security; and solidarity. The fate of these components is assessed in relation to the six key characteristics of cyber attack from a moral standpoint: security; the role or absence of violence; discrimination; proportionality; cyberharm; and the threshold of conflict. It is concluded that the common good must be incorporated into developing state cyber strategies.     

基于动态窗口的灰色加权填充算法及应用?

为解决复杂系统中单属性缺失数据填充困难问题，提出了基于动态窗口的灰色加权填充算法。该算法通过建立双向灰色预测模型，并采用模型精度评价系数加权填充缺失数据，有效增强了算法的准确性；提出基于灰色模型评价系数反馈的动态伸缩窗口概念，寻找产生最优模型的训练数据序列，使算法具有良好的鲁棒性和适应性。实验结果表明，该方法在RMSE和MA两项指标上均优于传统的双向灰插值、灰插值、多项式插值等方法。     

境外反恐行动的理论研究与实践探索

境外反恐行动在国际上已有大量先例，对于一个境外目标面临恐怖威胁或遭受恐怖袭击的国家，是不容回避的现实问题。通过对境外反恐行动产生的根源、各国境外反恐的对策、采取的方式及其制约因素的综合分析，能够得出有益的启示。反恐怖斗争的严峻现实和发展趋势，要求我们探索境外反恐对策，切实保护国家利益和人民生命财产安全，同时为国际反恐斗争作出应有的贡献。     

用科学发展观指导部队“三基”工程建设的实践与思考

科学发展观内涵的第一要义是发展，核心是以人为本，基本要求是全面协调可持续，根本方法是统筹兼顾。部队近几年的“三基”工程建设实践表明，只有牢固树立科学发展观，才能有效地推进部队“三基”工程建设。     

The security sector and the plunder of Zimbabwe’s Chiadzwa alluvial diamonds: the ‘goat mentality’ in practice

While the human rights impact of the deployment of state security agencies in the Chiadzwa diamond fields has been explored, it is important to continue to expose the increasing tendency within the sector to take public resources that should be protected by the state and used for the benefit of the people and channel them for personal gain. The security sector stranglehold of President Robert Mugabe and the ruling political party, the Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), has facilitated the siphoning of Chiadzwa diamond revenue into the pockets of individual security personnel. The unfolding sociopolitical crisis in Zimbabwe has also meant that these security personnel have been deployed beyond conflict zones and into traditionally civilian domains, with dire consequences for the public purse. With this in mind, it is asserted that these issues have driven state security agencies to enrich themselves through what is termed in this article as a ‘goat mentality’. The article thus explores the ways in which state security agencies have been deployed and gone on to promote personal enrichment in the Chiadzwa diamond fields.     

无人舰艇技术及军事应用研究

随着无人飞机的大量研发和广泛应用,无人化智能武器越来越受到世界各国的重视。在海洋争端愈演愈烈的今天,世界军事强国又纷纷把目光投向海上无人作战舰艇,无人舰艇技术得到突飞猛进的发展。近期,美国高调宣布将在中国南海打造以"无人飞机"和"无人舰艇"为骨干的"无人军团",以期全面遏制我海军的行动,加强无人舰艇技术研究已迫在眉睫。从世界无人舰艇发展历程出发,详细阐述了无人舰艇的技术特点和应用前景,重点分析了我军无人舰艇发展应用对策。研究表明,无人舰艇作为未来海航作战中不可忽视的力量,必将走俏未来战场,深度改变战争格局。