Predicting army cadets’ performance: The role of character strengths, GPA and GMA

The purpose of this study was to examine how well a set of 12 character strengths (Leadership, Integrity, Open-Mindedness, Bravery, Teamwork, Persistence, Social Intelligence, Love of Learning, Fairness, Self-Regulation, Perspective and Creativity) will predict academic performance (AP) and military performance (MP), compared to high school grade point average (GPA) and general mental ability (GMA). The study sample comprised 123 army cadets of two cohorts from the three-year bachelor's degree programme at the Norwegian Military Academy (NMA). GPA predicted AP (r = 0.32, p ≤ 0.05), but not MP (r = 0.14, n.s.), while GMA correlated significantly with neither AP nor MP. All 12 character strengths correlated significantly with MP (rs ranging from 0.27 to 0.65), and all except for Fairness correlated significantly with AP (rs ranging from 0.18 to 0.58). An average score of the 12 character strengths showed incremental validity beyond GMA and GPA in predicting both AP and MP. Our results suggest that character strengths should be considered when selecting and training army cadets.

An examination of authentic leadership as an individual and social factor of resilience

Resilient qualities, which derive from protective factors, enable an individual to balance exposure to vulnerabilities in military service and throughout life. Protective factors arise from within an individual, from social factors, and from an individual's environment. Research on social factors, such as strong leadership and peer relationships, continues to emerge and significantly relate to resilience. Of specific interest to organisations is how perceptions of leadership contribute to resilience as an individual and social protective factor. Knowing more about how soldiers perceive themselves on authentic leadership and resilience would better help researchers and practitioners understand the contribution of leadership on perceived resilience. The current study examined the perception of authentic leadership in self and first-line leaders with resilience in a population of 179 soldiers (N = 179; M = 26.86 years, SD = 6.42). The results noted a significant correlation between the perception of authentic leadership in oneself and resilience (r = 0.506, p < 0.001). A subsequent analysis examining the perception of authentic leadership in one's first-line leader and subordinate resilience was also significant (r = 0.394, p < 0.001), supporting previous findings. These results demonstrate that perceptions of leadership matter as an individual and social factor in military personnel.

Siting military base camps through an MCDA framework

The process used to determine site suitability for military base camps lacks a formal framework for reducing relative risks to soldier safety and maximise mission effectiveness. Presently, military personnel responsible for determining site suitability of a base camp must assess large amounts of geographic, socioeconomic and logistical data, without a decision analysis framework to aid in the process. By adopting a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework to determine site suitability of base camps, battlespace commanders can make better, more defensible decisions. This paper surveys US Army officers with recent base camp experience to develop a set of initial criteria and weights relevant to base camp site selection. The developed decision framework is demonstrated using an MCDA methodology in an illustrative example to compare alternative base camp locations within a designated Area of Interest (AoI). Leveraging the site ranking output and/or criteria weights resulting from the methodology provides decision-making support that can be used in the field when time, resources and data may not be readily available.

Nuclear warfare beyond counterforce

A counterforce attack intends to disable an opponent's nuclear arsenal to limit potential damage from that adversary. We postulate a future when hardening and deeply burying fixed sites, transition to mobile strategic systems, and improved defences make executing a counterforce strategy against an adversary's nuclear forces extremely difficult. Additionally, our postulated future has multiple nations possessing nuclear weapons. Consequently, each country needs to consider multiple actors when addressing the question of how to deter a potential adversary's nuclear attack. We examine six nuclear targeting alternatives and consider how to deter them. These strategies include nuclear demonstration, conventional military targets, and attacks consisting of communications/electronics, economic, infrastructure, and population centers that a nation might consider striking with nuclear weapons. Since these alternative strikes require only a few nuclear weapons, executing one of them would not significantly shift the balance of nuclear forces. The attacking country's remaining nuclear forces may inhibit the attacked country or its allies from responding. How can nations deter these limited nuclear attacks? Potentially, threatening economic counter-strikes seems to be the best alternative. How might escalation be controlled in the event of a limited attack? Other instruments of power, such as political or economic, might be employed to bolster deterrence against these types of nuclear strikes.

Military thoracic gunshot wounds: A systematic review

A systematic review of the literature was carried out using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to investigate the frequency of military thoracic gunshot wounds (GSWs) and deaths in combat theatres since World War Two (WW2). An electronic database search of World of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, PubMed and Microsoft Academic was conducted using the keywords ‘combat, casualties, thorax, gunshot, and military’ to identify peer-reviewed journals and conference papers on the topic. Twenty-three sources relevant to this review were identified and covered multiple theatres of operation. While there is a downward trend in the frequency of thoracic GSWs and fatalities likely due to the improvement of body armour, the improvement in medical treatment and increased frequency of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the review shows that the advancement has not removed the likelihood of thoracic GSWs, which still accounted for approximately 15% of all thoracic injuries in the most recent combat theatres. The systematic review identifies that GSWs of the thorax continue to be a risk in military theatres and therefore, medical personnel should be aware of the frequency and severity of thoracic GSWs and should be prepared to treat these life-threatening injuries, as timely intervention is essential.

Greece as a frontline state in the historical longue durée

Greece as a state in South-eastern Europe and the Mediterranean has perceived itself as a frontline state, especially after it became a NATO member in 1952 along with Turkey. The two states formed the south-eastern flank of NATO and along with Iran constituted the Greece, Turkey, Iran (GTI) Corridor, part of Rimland. Greece’s strategic value stemmed from its frontline position in relation to the Eastern Bloc. After the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc, Greece has reinvented itself as a frontline state, this time in the Mediterranean Sea. We use the historical notion of longue durée and loci of Classical Geopolitics, such as Heartland and Rimland, to assess Greece’s strategic value in the long period. We also propose an additional spatial unity, the New Rimland.

Siting military base camps through an MCDA framework

The process used to determine site suitability for military base camps lacks a formal framework for reducing relative risks to soldier safety and maximise mission effectiveness. Presently, military personnel responsible for determining site suitability of a base camp must assess large amounts of geographic, socioeconomic and logistical data, without a decision analysis framework to aid in the process. By adopting a multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) framework to determine site suitability of base camps, battlespace commanders can make better, more defensible decisions. This paper surveys US Army officers with recent base camp experience to develop a set of initial criteria and weights relevant to base camp site selection. The developed decision framework is demonstrated using an MCDA methodology in an illustrative example to compare alternative base camp locations within a designated Area of Interest (AoI). Leveraging the site ranking output and/or criteria weights resulting from the methodology provides decision-making support that can be used in the field when time, resources and data may not be readily available.

Advanced education for NCMs’ professional career development: a conclusive experience?

The purpose of this article is to present the results of a research which assessed whether the Knowledge Acquisition Programme and the Non-Commissioned Member Executive Professional Development Programme contributed to the Non-Commissioned Members’ effectiveness as senior leaders in the Profession of Arms within the Canadian Armed Forces. Thirty-seven Programme graduates from 2006 to 2015 received a questionnaire containing seven closed-ended general information questions and twelve open-ended programme/course specific questions. Seventeen graduates responded to the questionnaire. Manual coding was used to identify main themes and sub-themes. The research findings determined that both Programmes contributed to the effectiveness of senior leaders in the Profession of Arms within the Canadian Armed Forces. However, some caveats were expressed, and recommendations brought forward to enhance the Programme and to improve its future deliveries.

Omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent commanders: The impact of a cultural paradigm derived from a secularised Christianity on the philosophy of infocentric warfare

This article examines how a religious cultural paradigm deriving from the Humanism of the West affects the modern art and science of War. It was in the framework of a religified Humanism, in which man ‘stole’ God’s capabilities and properties, that the worldview of man-god was created. This worldview permeated the development of military strategy, thereby facilitating its transformation in the worldview of a commander-god; this is the same worldview which today threatens to reach extremes, assisted by technological evolution allowing the development of robust C4ISR networks Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. The acronym today is C5ISR, with the addition of Combat Systems. interconnected with precision guided munitions (PGMs) of various configurations. The article then examines the influence of Western intellectualism, which is a basic element of Western Christianity, over the development of modern theories and perceptions on military strategy and the risks that can arise for future Western armies from this impact. As an antidote to this influence, the article suggests a new perception on military strategy which emphasises adaptability and flexibility and is based on a cultural paradigm from the Orthodox Christian Faith.

Clausewitz and the partisan: Accounting for unlimited enmity in the twenty-first century

Napoleon harnessed unlimited enmity to transform wars from limited ones to unlimited ones. Accordingly, Clausewitz developed the Trinity to describe this source of power. However, the increasing destruction due to interstate wars has led to a decrease in this type of conflict. At the same time, there has been an increase in partisan wars. The Trinity cannot explain partisan victories or state defeats. Using social psychology to explain the relationship of the partisan to the group, this research shows how partisans harness unlimited enmity to engage in existential wars. Furthering Clausewitzian philosophy, a new analogy, the singularity, is created to describe this power. Implications and conclusions drawn are at the end of the paper.