Explaining US and British performance in complex expeditionary operations: The civil-military dimension

A nation's structure and culture of civil-military relations are important and largely overlooked factors in explaining the performance of armed forces involved in complex expeditionary operations. The US model of ‘Huntingtonian’, divided civil-military structures and poor interagency cooperation, makes the US military less suited for complex expeditionary operations. British civil-military relations involve a Defence Ministry that conscientiously integrates military and civilian personnel, as well as extensive interagency cooperation and coordination. This ‘Janowitzean’, integrated form of civil-military relations makes the British military more likely to provide for the planning and implementation of comprehensive campaigns that employ and coordinate all instruments of power available to the state, as well as troops in the field displaying the flexibility and cultural and political understanding that are necessary in complex expeditionary operations.     

Risk communication within military decision-making: pedagogic considerations

Risk management is a decision-support process and a vital tool for military planning and decision-making. Today, several nations utilize risk-based approaches to analyze the level of security in military operations. There are both strengths and challenges in applying risk-based approaches to support military decisions. In this article, the challenges related to risk communication are investigated with the aim of describing how a military organization should train to create a good environment for effective risk communication. The analysis finds that it is important for the organization to define and consistently use a shared risk understanding. Such a shared risk understanding will need a systematic development process that focuses on the future decision makers’ and analysts’ education and training. To reach understanding, all involved parties must have the chance to identify the problem, reflect on its implications, test different solutions and develop a solution.     

军事虚拟仓库的结构分析

军事虚拟仓库可以有效改进我国当前军事仓库物资储备机制,健全储备结构,优化储备布局,提高储备效率。研究军事虚拟仓库对于促进军事物流的发展具有重要意义。对军事虚拟仓库的概念及作用进行了简单介绍,分析了其主要特点,并对军事虚拟仓库的信息网络结构、功能结构以及组织结构进行了研究。     

防空群掩护固定目标兵力区分模型构建

兵力区分是防空兵战斗部署的重要环节。传统的区分方法过于笼统,同时针对性不强。对防空群掩护固定目标时兵力区分的原则、方法和程序进行了探讨,并按照目标重要程度排序空袭兵力需求分析防空兵力需求分析兵力分配的思路建立了防空群兵力区分的数理模型。     

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.     

定量的近距空战训练对抗态势分析方法

针对近距对抗态势分析不能量化的不足,提出一种定量的近距空战训练对抗态势分析方法。该方法以对抗过程中双方的位置关系为基础,结合近距空空导弹的攻击包线,建立位置优势函数和武器优势函数,通过两类函数的线性组合构造对抗态势函数,实现了空战训练对抗态势的定量描述。通过算例验证了该方法的合理性和有效性。     

装备虚拟训练操作过程监控系统的设计

针对在面向操作训练的装备虚拟训练系统开发中遇到的对受训者操作监控的问题,为实现对装备操作过程的详尽描述和对受训者操作逻辑性的监控,提出了一种基于IDEF3的装备操作过程概念建模方法和基于有限状态机、浅层专家知识数据库的操作过程监控系统的设计方案。建立了监控系统的结构框架,并详细介绍了系统三个组成部分的设计方案：浅层专家知识数据库、操作过程状态机和通用操作监控引擎。基于此设计方案的操作过程监控系统已成功的应用于某装备虚拟训练平台,解决了对受训者的操作监控问题,提高了训练效果。     

‘Blackmailing the army’ – ‘Strategic Military Refusal’ as policy and doctrine enforcement: the formation of a new security agent

The study shows how ‘strategic military refusal’ in Israel developed as a rational and institutional means to influence security policies. As opposed to the perspective that sees military refusal as a spontaneous individual act, the study illustrates how organizations operate to distribute military refusal in order to pressure decision-makers to change their military policies. This strategy has proven to be effective when the military is involved with groups that threaten it with refusal – which threatens the military's operational ability and its official and apolitical image. These include soldiers whose civilian authorities, rather than their military commanders, are perceived as an epistemic authority regarding security issues. The case study refers to the impact of strategic military refusal in Israel on security policies and the military doctrine. This was influenced by leftist groups, which, although they belonged to the parliamentary opposition, had dominant presence in the military ranks. Furthermore, the study examines the effect of the use of strategic military refusal on the model of military recruitment.     

虚拟现实技术及其在军事上的应用

虚拟现实技术与多媒体技术、网络技术并称为三大前景最好的计算机技术。它自诞生以来,就在航空航天、军事、核工业等行业中发挥着不可替代的作用。本文仅就虚拟现实技术的概念、特点、设备及在军事上的应用作一综述。