Military Culture and Structure

Have You Ever Been in Bosnia? British Military Travelers in the Balkans since 1992

by Catherine Baker

Journeys: the International Journal of Travel and Travel Writing 12:1 (2011): 63-92

Tens of thousands of British military personnel traveled in former Yugoslavia as peacekeepers between 1992 and 2007.... more Tens of thousands of British military personnel traveled in former Yugoslavia as peacekeepers between 1992 and 2007. The settlements where British forces established their military presence and supply chain were conceptually far from former Yugoslavia’s tourist sites, but military travelers made sense of them by drawing on the commonplaces of previous travel accounts and the lessons of pre-deployment training.

British military travelers constructed themselves as often frustrated helpers in Bosnia who struggled with political limitations on their activities but found satisfaction in improving socio-economic relations at the level of the immediate community. For troops, long otiose periods in a stabilizing and startlingly cheap country engendered a touristic sensibility. This paper draws on published memoirs and more than fifty new oral history interviews with British peacekeepers and their Bosnian employees to illustrate how British military travelers drew on, perpetuated and changed the patterns and representation of British travel to the Balkans.

Estudio Organizacional de la Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional SEDENA

by Paloma Mendoza

Cartel del Segundo Congreso de Alumnos de Posgrado, UNAM

La Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional SEDENA en las Relaciones Civil-Militares de México. Estructura de la SEDENA.... more La Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional SEDENA en las Relaciones Civil-Militares de México. Estructura de la SEDENA. Ejército y Fuerza Aérea Mexicanos, Fuerzas Armadas
Mexico´s Military, Mexican Armed Forces, Civil-Military Relations, structure of the Mexican armed forces

Nato Smart Defence: Smart Defence Starts with Common Goals

by Tabish Shah

Peer-review op-ed article published in Atlantic Community (April 2012)

NATO’s Smart Defense initiative requires more than simply technological projects. The success of Smart Defense relies... more NATO’s Smart Defense initiative requires more than simply technological projects. The success of Smart Defense relies on NATO finding common strategic goals before Members are willing to come together and pool and share their military resources.

Asymmetrical Military Socialization: Mongolia as a Case Study

by Mendee Jargalsaikhan

published [online] Armed Forces & Society, 2012

This article presents a small state’s perspectives on military socialization by examining military interactions at... more This article presents a small state’s perspectives on military socialization by examining military interactions at political and strategic, operational, and tactical as well as educational tiers. Transnational military socialization creates learning and socializing environments for militaries. However, the transnational military socialization process in Asia has received little scholarly attention, although its nature changed dramatically after the Cold War and 9/11. A small state often enters into asymmetric socialization with major powers. Mongolia presents an interesting case to capture these changes and impacts of transnational military interactions. The Mongolian military internalized Soviet military norms, ideas, and values during its seventy-year military socialization process. Since then, it has been attempting to disconnect from its communist past by internalizing the Western military norms, ideas, and culture even though it is isolated from the Western world. Interactions between Sino-Mongolian militaries over the past two decades have not resulted in any in-depth exchanges of ideas due to political, historical, and cultural factors. In the absence of explicit pressures from these three major powers, today the Mongolia military has consolidated a new identity, similar to a Western military. It has increased its contribution to peace support operations while attempting to disconnect its Soviet past and avoiding absorption from the growing Chinese military initiatives toward Central Asia. At the same time, Mongolia’s military socialization with Russian or American militaries often triggers uncertainty for Chinese security.

Who Gives the Orders in the New Russian Military?

by Keir Giles

March 2012

The process of transformation of the Russian military, under way since 2008, is intended to turn the Armed Forces of... more The process of transformation of the Russian military, under way since 2008, is intended to turn the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from the atrophied remnant of the Soviet Armed Forces into a usable military tool for the 21st century. This includes radical reform of command and control systems at all levels up to the supreme command.



Previous conclusions on the nature of post-Soviet Russian military command and control systems may therefore no longer be valid. This is significant for Russia's overseas partners who wish to understand the nature of a potential Russian reaction to any challenge which can be interpreted as a military threat.



In particular, understanding of the division of responsibilities between the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff needs to be updated following the dramatic contraction of both bodies and redistribution of their functions.



The emergence of the Security Council of the Russian Federation as an additional body exerting control over the military also needs to be considered, when examining how decisions affecting the Armed Forces are made at the highest level.



Lower down the chain of command, the creation of the new Joint Strategic Commands also bears directly on the nature of decision-making on employment of forces, in ways which appear still debatable even within Russia but which are of critical importance for close neighbours of Russia.



The example of the early stages of armed conflict in Georgia in August 2008 could suggest that the Joint Strategic Commands are in part intended to ensure closer control over small units, in order to reduce the potential for independent and uncontrolled activity.



This paper seeks to introduce the new landscape of military decision-making in Russia, in order to raise key questions over the nature of the new command and control systems which are critical for a full understanding of how, when and in what manner Russia's Armed Forces may be used in the future.

The Romanian Army Officer Lt. Alexandru Gheorghe (27 y.o.) Fights for Democracy Under the Weight of the Lingering Communist Era Tombstones

by Adrian Toader-Williams

Denigrating intellectuals and eliminating people that stands out against the ruling government for a public interest cause has deep roots in the old time human behavior tendency to hold power. Personally I have hard time to accept that during our days such concepts and practices are still generalized in the civilized countries. Remainders of the old communist and dictatorial regimes isolated tendencies are possible to linger around. We can aim towards a sustainable development only by reaffirming the democracy, the social contract and the fundamental law protecting the Human Rights. If not absolutely nothing makes sense. Full Article: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-743320 Military Army NATO Romania Social Contract Human Rights Health Freedom Economy Economics Equilibrium TEKT Triangular Ecokinematics Theory Webcast Romania Retirement Law Education Security Sustainable Development Government Finances Banks Money Inflation Attribution

Denigrating intellectuals and eliminating people that stands out against the ruling government for a public interest... more Denigrating intellectuals and eliminating people that stands out against the ruling government for a public interest cause has deep roots in the old time human behavior tendency to hold power. Personally I have hard time to accept that during our days such concepts and practices are still generalized in the civilized countries. Remainders of the old communist and dictatorial regimes isolated tendencies are possible to linger around. We can aim towards a sustainable development only by reaffirming the democracy, the social contract and the fundamental law protecting the Human Rights. If not absolutely nothing makes sense. Full Article: http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-743320

Preparing Junior Officers for Roles in FORCEnet & Network Centric Operations

by Mark Tempestilli

Can 'Citizen in Uniform'Survive? German Civil-–Military Culture Responding to War.

by Tomas Kucera

published in 'German Politics' Vol. 21, No. 1 (2012)

This article points out the role of perceptions, hereafter referred to as ‘civil– military culture’, that German... more This article points out the role of perceptions, hereafter referred to as ‘civil– military culture’, that German society holds about the German armed forces. Analysing the discourse in German newspapers concerning Bundeswehr missions abroad since the early 1990s, and the engagement in Afghanistan in particular, it is argued that options to use the military abroad were circumscribed mainly to humanitarian tasks. This was so because German soldiers have been perceived in accordance with the official concept of a ‘citizen in uniform’, which has strong ethical implications, and consequently the Bundeswehr was seen as a humanitarian and rescue organisation. However, since the discourse in 2009 made it clear that the internalised civil–military culture no longer provides adequate guidance regarding how to approach a war-like situation such as that in Afghanistan, the entire German civil–military culture is challenged.

Autoritarismo e costruzione di personalità fasciste nelle forze armate italiane: un’autoetnografia

by Pietro Saitta

Charlie Barnao & Pietro Saitta (2012) Autoritarismo e costruzione di personalità fasciste nelle forze armate italiane: un’autoetnografia, "I quaderni del Cirsdig", n. 50, Messina: Cirsdig.

The present article focuses on the learning of aggression in a “total institution” within the Italian army – namely,... more The present article focuses on the learning of aggression in a “total institution” within the Italian army – namely, an elite corpse of paratroopers called Folgore. The extremely violent training and rituals of this group can be seen as both symbolic and particularly representative of the ideal model pursued within the army, and the armed forces in general. The central hypothesis of the work is that the learning of aggression within the military institution is wanted and controlled, being necessary and functional for the purposes of the military institution itself. Based on an autobiographic ethnography, main rituals and practices in the everyday life of the squad are described and analyzed by making conceptual references to the notions of rites of passage, rites of institution, and the psychological behaviourist learning model. Moreover, the authors argue that Italy is witnessing the transmission of practices and ideologies from the military to the police – thus producing a blend which makes the custom between war and peace ever more blurred.


Il presente articolo indaga le modalità di apprendimento della violenza all’interno di una “istituzione totale” e di un corpo d’elite dell’esercito italiano: la Folgore. L’addestramento e i riti estremamente violenti di questo gruppo possono essere considerati simbolici, oltre che particolarmente rappresentativi, di un modello ideale perseguito dall’esercito e dalle forze armate in genere. L’ipotesi centrale presentato nel lavoro è quella per cui l’apprendimento dell’aggressione dentro le forze armate è voluta e controllata, essendo funzionale ai fini di queste
stesse istituzioni. Attraverso un’etnografia autobiografica e il riferimento alle nozioni di rito di passaggio, rito di istituzione e, infine, al modello comportamentista di apprendimento, vengono descritti e analizzati i principali riti e le pratiche quotidiane di un reparto di paracadutisti. Gliautori sostengono inoltre che in Italia si stia assistendo alla trasmissione di pratiche e ideologie dall’esercito alla polizia, producendo una commistione che rende il confine tra guerra e pace sempre più confuso.

Mexico´s Defense Plans (DN-III-E)

by Paloma Mendoza

Resumen

El presente artículo propone una revisión de los Planes de Defensa Nacional de México,... more Resumen

El presente artículo propone una revisión de los Planes de Defensa Nacional de México, centralizándonos en el Plan DN-III-E que se enfoca a la atención de la población civil afectada por fenómenos naturales y provocados por el hombre en el marco de las cinco misiones generales del Ejército y Fuerza Aérea Mexica-nos. Este Plan considera el despliegue militar desde el nivel local hasta el nacio-nal como respuesta a las emergencias masivas que puede sufrir la población en coordinación con las autoridades civiles de protección civil.

Palabras clave: Defensa Nacional, Fuerzas Armadas Mexicanas, Ejército Mexi-cano, Relaciones Civil-militares, protección civil.

Abstract

This is an analisis about the expansion of the military´s rol as guarantor of na-tional security by means of the national defense plan three (DN-III-E), ap-proached in the civil population assistance in emergency caused by natural phe-nomenon.

Key words: National Defense, Mexico´s Military, Mexican Armed Forces, Civil-military relations, population assistance.

Dalla spiaggia di Nettuno. Difese dello Stato ecclesiastico in età moderna. [From Nettuno's Beach. Defenses of the Church's State in Modern Age]

by Piero Cimbolli Spagnesi

In: CAPERNA, Maurizio (editor). Il forte di Nettuno. Storia, costruzione e restauri. ROMA: Gangemi Editore. 2006; pp. 70-86. ISBN 978-88-492-1180-1

Military Graffiti in Kuwait and Afghanistan

by Steven Featherstone

Published in Issue #5 of A Public Space, 2008

Pay and allowances in the Russian Armed Forces: a guidance note

by Keir Giles

June 2007

* Western views of the Russian Armed Forces traditionally hold that Russian military pay is disastrously... more * Western views of the Russian Armed Forces traditionally hold that Russian military pay is disastrously inadequate.

* But headline figures for Russian military pay scales bear little relation to what servicemen actually earn.

* This is because pay for all servicemen is made up of two parallel basic components, plus a large number of allowances, extras, and increments.

* It is therefore almost always misleading to generalise about Russian military pay.

Russian regional commands

by Keir Giles

Where Have All the Soldiers Gone? Russia's Military Plans Versus Demographic Reality

by Keir Giles

October 2006

In 2008, Russia halved the term of conscription into the armed forces from two years to one, while attempting to... more In 2008, Russia halved the term of conscription into the armed forces from two years to one, while attempting to retain the overall size of the forces.

This 2006 CSRC paper noted that this plan implied doubling the number of conscripts drafted each year, but that demographic change in Russia meant there would not be enough healthy 18-year-olds to do this. A number of grounds for deferral of conscription were to be abolished, but this would still not provide anything like enough conscripts. Recruitment and retention on contract service appeared insufficient to fill the gap. Furthermore, the timing of the change-over to one-year conscription threatened major disruption and upheaval in the armed forces.

Sociology and New Wars in the Era of Globalisation

by Michael S. Drake

Sociology Compass 1/2 (2007): 637–650

The sociology of war has used a number of analytical perspectives to explain why the end of the Cold War saw outbreaks... more The sociology of war has used a number of analytical perspectives to explain why the end of the Cold War saw outbreaks of violence around the world in the form of 'new wars', rather than universal peace. Factors often considered are globalisation, nationalist ideology, political elites, the Revolution in Military Affairs, international crime and migration. Sociological analysis of these new wars often makes use of comparative historical sociology, but these are wars of state disintegration rather than of state formation. This summary undertakes a critical evaluation of different approaches, arguing that they mostly follow a model of war inherited from Clausewitz which conceives of war only as an encounter between two states and so cannot successfully explain new war, where armed forces no longer primarily fight each other but target civilians.

"Women in the Military"

by Nanette Norris

Video Essay 2010

Our defensive force: a law unto itself

by Ben Wadham

The Age

IN RECENT weeks, there have been new reports about bullying in the Australian military and the alleged gang rape of a... more IN RECENT weeks, there have been new reports about bullying in the Australian military and the alleged gang rape of a female recruit in Wagga Wagga. These continuing incidents of abuse in our Defence Force demonstrate that the Federal Government's decision to ignore a Senate inquiry's recommendations for significant overhaul of the defence judicial system is a missed opportunity.

"A Red Letter Day"

by Mark Geldof

published in 'The Armourer' 71 (2005): 59-61.

“Information Troops” – a Russian Cyber Command?

by Keir Giles

March 2011

Appraisals of Russian military performance during the armed conflict with Georgia in August 2008 noted, among other... more Appraisals of Russian military performance during the armed conflict with Georgia in August 2008 noted, among other deficiencies, poor performance in Information Warfare (IW). This led to calls in informed commentary for the creation of dedicated “Information Troops” within the Russian armed forces, whose  duties would include what we would define as cyber operations. This stemmed from a perception in parts of the Russian Armed Forces that the "information war" against Georgia had been lost.

No such entity has appeared in the Russian order of battle, but the public discussion and military comment is informative. Prospects for the appearance of “Information Troops” have been discounted both officially by the FSB and privately by Russian
military officers. Arguments put forward against a unit of this kind include the unsuitability of servicemen for advanced cyber operations, and the ready availability and deniability of talented civilian volunteers. But at the same time Russia’s EW troops are seeing their role and profile evolve in a manner which suggests they may be acquiring at least some IW capability.

The Russian approach to IW differs from our own, and there are  specific perceived internet vulnerabilities which further affect the Russian approach to cyber operations, and prompt Russian pushes for treaty arrangements governing cyberspace.

This paper draws on unclassified open-source media and interviews with serving Russian military officers to consider the Russian military view of cyber operations as a subset of information war, and the prospects for creation of “information troops” (whether given this name or not) in the context of ongoing Russian military transformation. Informal links with volunteer and co-opted cyber forces are also considered.