United StatesCategory

U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas

In an international security environment described as one of renewed great power competition, the South China Sea (SCS) has emerged as an arena of U.S.-China strategic competition. U.S.-China strategic competition in the SCS forms an element of the Trump Administration’s more confrontational overall approach toward China, and of the Administration’s efforts for promoting its construct… Continue Reading U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas

New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions

The United States and Russia signed the New START Treaty on April 8, 2010. After more than 20hearings, the U.S. Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification on December 22, 2010, by a vote of 71-26. Both houses of the Russian parliament—the Duma and Federation Council—approved the treaty in late January 2011 and it… Continue Reading New START Treaty: Central Limits and Key Provisions

Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans

The Trump Administration has identified the achievement of a Navy of 355 or more ships within 10 years as a high priority. The Navy states that it is working as well as it can, within a Navy budget top line that is essentially flat in real (i.e., inflation-adjusted terms), toward achieving that goal while also… Continue Reading Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding Plans

Navy Columbia (SSBN-826) Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Program

The Columbia (SSBN-826) class program is a program to design and build a class of 12 new ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) to replace the Navy’s current force of 14 aging Ohio-class SSBNs. The Navy has identified the Columbia-class program as the Navy’s top priority program. The Navy wants to procure the first Columbia-class boat in… Continue Reading Navy Columbia (SSBN-826) Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Program

Navy LPD-17 Flight II and LHA Amphibious Ship Programs

This report discusses two types of amphibious ships being procured for the Navy: LPD-17 Flight II class amphibious ships and LHA-type amphibious assault ships. Both types are built by Huntington Ingalls Industries/Ingalls Shipbuilding (HII/Ingalls) of Pascagoula, MS. The firstLPD-17 Flight II class ship, LPD-30, was procured in FY2018; the Navy’s FY2021 budget submission estimates its… Continue Reading Navy LPD-17 Flight II and LHA Amphibious Ship Programs

To the Last Man: A National Guard Regiment in the Great War, 1917-1919

  Historian and Army Captain Jonathan Bratten provides the rich history of a Maine National Guard unit, the 103rd Infantry Regiment, and their mobilization, training, and wartime experiences during the Great War. Lessons exist throughout the book and Bratten’s storytelling brings to life America’s relationship with World War I in the stories of men who… Continue Reading To the Last Man: A National Guard Regiment in the Great War, 1917-1919

Latin America 2020: Challenges to U.S. National Security Interests

U.S. national security interests in Latin America are undermined by three key threats: transnational criminal organizations, which exploit weak levels of governance across the majority of countries in the region; extra-regional actors, which fill the vacuum created by U.S. distraction and inattention to its neighborhood; and finally, a number of regional political actors embracing ideological… Continue Reading Latin America 2020: Challenges to U.S. National Security Interests

Forging the 10th Mountain Division for War, 1940–45

In Forging the 10th Mountain Division for War, Major Justin Chabalko presents a history of Army adaptability and ingenuity. The latest in AUP’s Art of War series offers an examination of how wartime and environmental factors informed Army training, with the exciting history of the development of the 10th Mountain Division and the special cold… Continue Reading Forging the 10th Mountain Division for War, 1940–45

Striking the Balance: US Army Force Posture in Europe, 2028

Within the context of Europe, the US Army must develop a force posture that best navigates the tensions between deterring or defeating armed conflict at an acceptable cost, successfully competing below armed conflict, and maintaining global responsiveness and institutional flexibility through the global operating model and dynamic force employment. While Russia’s economy, and consequently military… Continue Reading Striking the Balance: US Army Force Posture in Europe, 2028

U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces

Even though the United States has reduced the number of warheads deployed on its long-range missiles and bombers, consistent with the terms of the 2010 New START Treaty, it is also developing new delivery systems for deployment over the next 10-30 years. With the implementation of New START completed in February 2018, the United States… Continue Reading U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces