Blue-Skying the Future of War in the 21st Century

Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 15 April

Today I facilitated an afternoonís worth of workshop for the Office of Force Transformation (Office of the Secretary of Defense) at the Decision Support Center at the gaming facility at the Naval War College. Fun stuff with a substantial group of free thinkers specifically gathered to help Art Cebrowski think about what sort of naval force structure (mix of ships, aircraft, etc.) America needs in the future. Art being Art, it is a genuine blue-skying affair where people are instructed not only to get out of the box, but frankly, never to look back. Today, we spoke about the ìnew rulesî of warfare. The underlying theme? Providing the President with more options over time in this global war on terrorism and everything else DoD is on the hook for in the Era of Globalization.

What does blue-skying mean here? When you think of naval power in the future, donít assume itís all about ships. The only restriction on thought here is: stuff that moves over, on or through water.

In all a good workshop, I walk away from the afternoon with at least three big thoughts I can turn into articles that should turn heads.

BTW, Artís office has me ask Putnam for 8 copies of the book: one each for four chiefs of staff (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines), a couple for the Vice and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and a couple for SECDEF and DEPSECDEF.

That is how much Art Cebrowski likes this book . . .

Hereís today catch, culled by me during breaks in the action:

REFERENCES:

(1) ìSharon Coup: U.S. Go-Ahead: Move by White House Bypasses Palestinians,î by James Bennett, New York Times, 15 April, p. A1.

(2) ìSyrians Test Limits Of Political Dissent: Assadís Government Talks of Reform,î by Daniel Williams, Washington Post, 11 April, p. A23.

(3) ìMarines Use Low-Tech Skill To Kill 100 in Urban Battle,î by Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times, 15 April, p. A8.

(7) ìArmy Spouses Expect Reenlistment Problems,î by Thomas Ricks, WP, 28 March, p. A1.

(8) ìChina Recruits Foreign Talent: State Enterprises Seek Infusion of New Blood in Management,î by Ben Dolven, Wall Street Journal, 15 April, p. A13.

(9) ìCheney Urges China to Press North Korea on A-Bombs,î by Joseph Kahn, NYT, 15 April, p. A3.

(10) ìLatin America Warms Up to EU in Trade Talks,î by Geraldo Samor and Scott Miller, WSJ, 15 April, p. A13.

Iíll do them all in four clumps.