Learning ‘Under Fire’: Israel’s improvised military adaptation to Hamas tunnel warfare

What organisational attributes enhance a military’s ability to effectively adapt on the battlefield? Upon the outbreak of war in July 2014 between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) encountered an expansive network of tunnels from which Hamas was launching large-scale assaults into Israel. This article illustrates that the IDF’s ability to successfully adapt ‘under fire’ to this battlefield surprise was facilitated by several important attributes related to its organisational learning capacity: a dynamic, action-oriented organisational culture, a flexible leadership and command style, specialised commando units which acted as ‘incubators’ for learning and innovation, and a formal system to institutionalise and disseminate lessons learned.     

US-American Intervention in Europe: Morality,Justice, and Freedom in World War II Cinema

This article analyzes the American intervention in Nazi-oppressed Europe during World War II and the way in which this intervention is represented in film. Examining the visual and cinematic aesthetics of Saving Private Ryan and the mini-series Band of Brothers, the article seeks to demonstrate how film has responded to US intervention overseas. It is argued that the need to liberate Europe from the evil Other stands forth as the main, heavily moralized purpose of US military intrusion in the film and the mini-series being analyzed. To shore up this speculation, the author considers other films on the topic, namely, The Longest Day (1962) and Shutter Island (2009). The author claims that the scenes in the concentration camps that are crucial in Band of Brothers and Shutter Island have an ethical function, i.e. they justify US intervention in the foreign territory. Additionally, the article provides a brief overview of Playing for Time (1980), Schindler’s List (1993), The Devil’s Arithmetic (1999), The Grey Zone (2001), as well as the mini-series Holocaust (1978).     

From show of force to naval presence,and back again: the U.S. Navy in the Baltic, 1982–2017

This article discusses roles and missions of the United States Navy with a particular focus on the Baltic Sea. That particular sea has gained renewed political and military attention following Russia's resurgent and increasingly hybrid-offensive foreign policy. Baltic nations, uncertain of what the future holds, ought to look at sea power and maritime missions in the Baltic, as well as US naval presence in Europe, to draw lessons for future posture.     

美军试验鉴定技术发展研究

众所周知,美军的装备试验鉴定技术一直处于世界领先地位,对其进行深入研究有利于试验鉴定的发展。本文主要对美军试验鉴定的管理部门、类型、发展历程以及技术领域进行详细研究,系统梳理美军试验鉴定的整个过程,在此基础上,结合我试验鉴定的发展现状,取其精华,去其糟粕,为试验鉴定的发展提出了几点思考和建议。     

刑法修正案（七）中军用标志犯罪立法完善研究

《刑法修正案（七）》对原刑法规定的侵犯军用标志的犯罪进行了修正,但其规定还存在一些立法疏漏和缺陷,有必要予以改进。《刑法修正案（七）》中的罪名应立法化,由立法机关确定;增设非法生产、伪造、变造、盗窃、抢劫、抢夺、破坏、侮辱武装部队专用标志的行为和伪造、变造、盗窃、非法提供、使用、非法出租、出借、赠送武装部队制式服装的行为;犯罪对象应包括制式服装的标志服饰、军服专用材料和军服仿制品;刑罚种类应增加剥夺政治权利;增加非法生产、买卖武装部队制式服装罪的情节加重犯的法定刑。     

美军飞机易损性实弹测试现状及启示

飞机易损性分析与评估是指对飞机在战斗状态下遭受攻击后受损的难易程度的评价,是衡量飞机战斗性能的重要指标.研究飞机易损性对于飞机高生存力设计和飞机战伤预测评估具有重要意义.本文首先简要介绍了飞机易损性分析的一般方法与流程,收集并整理了美军飞机易损性实弹测试的历史沿革和条件建设现状,同时以F-35整机、F135发动机和C2...     

当前战区陆军预备役部队民用运力动员初探

我国民用运力资源丰富.自2020年7月1日零时起,预备役部队全面纳入军队领导体制,改由党中央、中央军委集中统一领导.在此背景下,本文对民用运力动员的含义进行了深入剖析,分析了民用运力动员的主要任务和战区陆军部队对民用运力动员的要求,指出了预备役部队民用运力动员所面临的矛盾和困难,提出了推进民用运力动员的几点对策,如健全...     

How might Democratisation Affect Military Professionalism in Africa? Reviewing the Literature

The search continues for methods to improve security for development in Sub-Saharan Africa. One of the important actors in this security arena is Sub-Saharan African governments’ armies. Much of their capability to meet security challenge depends on how militarily professional they are. The wave of democratic evolution in Africa since 1990 also affected military professionalism. This article reviews three models for assessing how democratisation might affect military professionalism in Sub-Saharan Africa, with special attention to post-conflict states. This should make it possible to decide which analytical methods are most appropriate to measure military professionalism in the particular circumstances of Sub-Saharan African post-conflict democratisation. Depending upon the particular nation-state in question, this decision on analytical methods may be useful for other Sub-Saharan states as well.     

Governmental Re-organization in Counterinsurgency Context: Foreign Policy Program Transfer and Operation Switchback in South Vietnam

Foreign policy program transfer, the shifting of implementation responsibility for a foreign policy program from one organization to another, is a ubiquitous, yet under-studied, counterinsurgency phenomenon. This article conceptually develops program transfer as an important object of study; analyzes, using archival sources, an empirical case of program transfer, Operation Switchback, drawn from US counterinsurgency practice in South Vietnam; and formulates two preliminary theoretical claims related to program transfer: (1) transferred programs will tend to be altered in accordance with the characteristics of the gaining organization, and (2) program transfer may act as a signal or early-warning indicator of foreign policy change.     

美军军官职业军事教育政策探析

美军在军事人才培养的体系构筑、目标设定、课目设置等方面有着众多独到之处。《军官职业军事教育政策》是美军规范军官职业军事教育的指导性文件,研究掌握其核心内容的发展演变,从中提取美军职业教育改革的先进理念和成熟做法,可为我军军事职业教育建设提供经验借鉴。