Strategic Studies Institute
United States Army War College

Transformation and Strategic Surprise

Authored by Dr. Colin S. Gray.

Other Studies by Keyword

+[Transformation] +[Gray] +[warfare] +[politics] +[statecraft] +[culture] +[geopolitics] +[reorganization] +[futures] +[emerging concepts]

Brief Synopsis

The current process of military transformation will enable the Armed Forces to do better what they already do superbly well. It is important to excel at decisive maneuver and in the application of precise, yet overwhelming firepower. But those attributes, though key in warfare against regular enemies, tend to be less valuable in conflict with irregulars. In war after war, the United States has been surprised by the poor political reward it has earned for its military effort. The IT-led transformation will do nothing to help correct the persisting American difficulty in functioning strategically and politically in its conduct of war. The author develops a cumulative seven-point argument.

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Military Change and Transformation