In the wake of the Vietnam War, the United States Army commenced a rigourous program of self-examination as well as the study of recent wars such as the 1973 Yom Kipuur War. It resulted in widespread training, education, doctrinal and organisational reform.
It also led to a re-equipping strategy for modern war based on what was described as The Big Five. These were the five major procurement programs that would provide the transforming US Army with first-class, modern equipment for a potential war in Europe or elsewhere. The Big Five were:
The AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.
The M-1 Abrams main battle tank.
The UH-60 Black Hawk utility and transport helicopter
The M-2 and M-3 Bradley fighting vehicles.
The Patriot air defense missile system.
While nowhere near as grand, or expensive, I have decided to name my new weekly column in honour of this U.S. Army program that has fundamentally shaped its operations and training over the past half century.
My aim is to provide five recent articles each week that assist policy makers, military leaders and the broader public to understand the intellectual, physcial and moral challenges of war under modern conditions, and the types of adaptations to organisations, warfighting concepts, training and education, command and control and technology, that will be needed to succeeed in 21st century military endeavours.
So, onto this week’s ‘Big Five’.
1. Reducing Detection to Destruction Time
This article in Defense One by Sam Skove explores recent experiments in more effectively using networking, data and tactical operating procedures to speed up decision making and engagement times on the battlefield by the U.S. Army. You can read the whole article here.
2. Chinese Non-Army Land Power
This article explores how China uses its police and internal security forces as a nontraditional means of projecting strategic Landpower in the Indo-Pacific and Central Asia. It provides an insight into this large and capable source of land capability which fills a gap in the broader understanding of how China uses land forces in the Indo-Pacific operating environment. You can read the article in the latest edition of Parameters by Sheena Chestnut Greitens here.
3. Re-examining Operational Art
There has been vigourous debade over the last couple of decades about whether the operational level exists, and if it does, what does it consist of. Part of this conversation has been about developing the operational art in military institutions as a way of ensuring tactical actions across the domains meet desired strategic objectives. This is an interesting exploration about the reinvigoration of operaitonal art for war under modern conditions. You can read the full article here.
4. Artificial Intelligence in Military Planning and Operations
A new report featuring contributions from several authors aims to identify and address the ethical issues of the increasing use of artificial intelligence in military planning. The authors cover key elements of military operations— critical data collection and intelligence gathering; command and control (C2); and weapon use— as well as their applications of AI. Finally, the report explores advantages and shortcomings of those AI systems. Read the full report here.
5. Professionals Talk Logistics
On Exercise Talisman Sabre this year, one of the objectives was to rehearse logistics over the shore operations. This has become a more frequent training objective with the US Army and the Australian Army’s exercises in the Pacific. Building on this, the US Army’s Material Command is leading a joint effort to expand the capacity for more dispersed and survivable expeditionary logistics across the Indo-Pacific. You can read the article here.
Bonus Content - A Space Reading List
I am a big fan of reading lists. They provide curated lists of books, as well as journal articles, podcasts and other resources to hone professional knowledge. As part of my weekly Big Five posts, I will endeavour to also include a recent reading list from a military or national security institution.
This week, I have included the 2024 reading list from the U.S. Space Force’s National Security Space Institute (NSSI). This list is produced for ‘space professionals’, and this year also includes my 2023 book White Sun War. You can check out the list here.
That’s it for my inaugural Big Five weekly reads. I will post another edition next week.
Cool idea! Thank you. These are resources I wouldn't normally encounter, even doing a Google search :-) And I certainly wouldn't know how to assess the value of the publication without your endorsement.