Factors influencing military recruitment in South Africa: the voices of Cape Town high school learners

This research sets out to establish how the youth in South Africa view military service, and what factors affect the ability of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to attract suitable recruits to staff its modern, technologically advanced military. Due to high levels of youth unemployment, South Africa has sufficient persons volunteering for military service. The problem lies with recruiting sufficient quality personnel with the right profile and abilities. To establish what affects enlistment, focus group discussions were conducted with learners from eight schools to determine what influences their career choices, what deters them from or attracts them to military service, their perception of the military profession, their knowledge of the military, and the influence of factors such as race and gender. The conclusion is reached that the SANDF is not considered an employer of choice due to poor service conditions, a decline in the prestige of the military, unfavourable aspects associated with military culture, a growing ‘knowledge gap’ and disconnect between the military and South African society, the estrangement of certain race groups, and the masculine nature of the military. These aspects need to be addressed if the SANDF wishes to attract learners with good academic credentials.     

信息系统体系作战弹药保障能力评估

弹药信息化是武器装备信息化的重要组成部分,直接影响战斗力的生成。如何分析、评估保障单位在信息系统体系作战弹药信息化保障能力的建设水平,对我军信息化建设至关重要。在分析影响弹药信息化保障能力形成的主要因素的基础上,构建了符合我军弹药信息化保障能力特点的评估指标体系,提出了一种基于主成分和集对分析法综合分析的基于信息系统体系作战弹药信息化保障能力评估方法,通过该方法可求得指标权重,最终获得被评估单位弹药信息化保障能力的整体建设水平。结合实例分析,验证构建的评估模型能够用于我军基于信息系统体系作战弹药信息化保障能力的评估,进一步为如何提高弹药信息化保障能力提供技术指导。     

军用飞机燃油消耗多元线性回归模型

为了解决军用飞机非标准动作燃油消耗建模问题,利用实际飞参数据,采用多元线性回归方法进行建模分析。建立了燃油消耗量与飞行时间、油箱平均油量、平均高度、平均速度、T1温度、T4温度、N2转速、高度变化量、飞机外挂的多元线性回归模型,并对回归模型进行统计性检验和验证。结论显示:模型拟合度较好,符合军用飞机飞行耗油规律,对军用飞机非标准动作燃油消耗规律研究具有重要意义。     

New terrorist threat to India's internal security: the danger from Pakistan's “Karachi Project”

The spectacular commando-style terrorist strike on Mumbai in November 2008 exposed India's lax internal security structure. As nearly all the security apparatus broke down during the long spell of attacks, massive public outrage flared up across the country calling for a firmer government response. Shockingly, India has done little to prevent a recurrence and a new security threat faces the country every single day not merely before but even after the Mumbai attacks. In contrast, Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence and the Lashkar-e-Taiba have successfully evaded pressures from both India and the international community and continue their terror campaign against India under the “Karachi Project” with the explicit intention to unsettle South Asia. Classified documents indicated that India is at the forefront of a cataclysmic “nuclear terrorism” threat from a “combination of Pakistan-based terrorists and homegrown radicals.” This article analyses the danger posed by the Indo-Pak radical groups targeting India and India's lack of preparedness to the new security threat from the “Karachi Project.”     

Explaining the (il)legality of Uganda's intervention in the current South Sudan conflict

During the night of 15 December 2013, fighting broke out between factions of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in Juba, the capital of the Republic of South Sudan. The fighting pitted forces loyal to President Salva Kiir against those loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar. Five days later, Uganda sent troops into South Sudan, advancing a number of reasons for intervention, including that it had been invited by the legitimate government of South Sudan to ensure order; it needed to evacuate Ugandan citizens caught up in the fighting; it had been asked by the United Nations Secretary-General to intervene; and that the regional organisation, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development had sanctioned the intervention. As the conflict escalated, Ugandan troops started fighting on the side of forces loyal to Kiir. The underlying reasons for the intervention were clearly economic, but those advanced were legal. This article discusses both sets of reasons and concludes that the economic reasons are more persuasive. Nevertheless, while some of the legal arguments (such as being invited by the legitimate government of South Sudan) can be asserted, others are clearly dubious. In addition, the participation of Ugandan troops in the fighting on the side of the Kiir government renders the intervention illegal.     

美国精确打击历史回溯

美智库机构战略与预算评估中心(CSBA)高级研究员巴里·瓦茨(Darry D.Watts)2013年发表的《精确打击的演化发展》报告,对美国海湾战争以来的军事革命进行了详尽的分析。报告提出了区分远程与近程精确打击的参考标准,详细介绍了美国20世纪军事革命中精确打击能力和作战趋势形成的背景和过程,分析了精确打击弹药采购的资源制约因素,评价了美国在成熟精确打击体制中全球力量投送面临的风险和挑战,希望美国及时做出相应的调整和变革。《精确打击的演化发展》报告对理解精确打击时代的美国军事革命有较大帮助,对美国未来几十年的新的军队结构和能力发展趋势可能具有重要参考价值。     

美军训练转型的特点及启示

美军是世界新军事变革的积极倡导者和先行者,其以信息化为核心的全面军事转型计划启动早,成效明显,具有丰富的实践经验。借鉴美军的训练转型经验,对于准确理解和把握战斗力生成模式转变的特点规律,探索战斗力生成模式转变的方法途径,破除制约战斗力生成的瓶颈,加快推进战斗力生成模式转变,提升信息化条件下的作战能力,具有一定的理论和现实意义。     

也谈军事训练文化

文章研究军事训练文化作为引导、教化和推动军事训练向能力聚焦,向实战靠拢的精神财富,既有对过去训练实践的凝练、对当前训练实践的反思,也有对未来训练实践的探索,对军队训练活动具有不可替代的指导意义。提出,需要在理解基本蕴涵,把握共性特点、认清表现形式和明确发展路径的基础上廓清相关理论认识。     

新征程军事指导理论创新发展

十八大以来,习主席关于国防和军队建设重要论述,体现了我党军事指导理论的创新发展,既是习主席治国理政思想在军事领域的重要体现,也处处体现了辩证唯物主义的思想方法。学习贯彻习主席关于国防和军队建设的重要论述,必须牢牢把握其思想精华,把意志和力量凝聚到实现中国梦强军梦上来,推动国防和军队建设的创新发展。     

美国2014年《四年防务评估报告》特点

2014年3月4日,美国国防部向国会提交了2014年版《四年防务评估报告》和《2015财年国防预算报告》。《四年防务评估报告》更新了再平衡战略,为美军建设提出了优先发展方向,要求美军联合部队向“更小型化”转型,以满足未来军事行动需求。