Böcker utgivna av Naval Institute Press

In the electrifying fourth novel of the Punk’s Series, Admiral ‘Punk’ Reichert faces a critical mission that could redefine naval warfare. With the future of the U.S.S. Gerald Ford—and the entire aircraft carrier program—hanging in the balance, Punk must prove that America’s pride can defend itself against the most advanced hypersonic missile threats. If he fails, long-range bombers may replace carriers, and the Navy’s legacy will be forever altered.Tasked with Operation Blue Aegis, Punk assembles a formidable team of former squadmates and brilliant engineers to deploy a cutting-edge directed-energy weapon, leveraging the latest in machine learning technology for battlefield supremacy. Yet, as he battles bureaucratic obstacles and personal crises—including his wife’s cancer diagnosis—he soon realizes that a far more sinister plot is unfolding. Enter Justin Wolfe, a ruthless tech magnate whose ambitions stretch from machine learning to supplying drones to terrorist groups. Wolfe’s vendetta against the Navy drives him to orchestrate an elaborate scheme involving a traitor within Punk’s ranks. With the stakes escalating, Wolfe will stop at nothing to see the Ford sunk, believing it will usher in a new era where technology reigns supreme over traditional military might. As tensions rise, Punk’s team grapples with internal conflicts and the shocking murder of a young engineer, heightening suspicion and anxiety. With only one directed-energy weapon at his disposal, Punk fights to maintain focus and morale among his team as they prepare for the test of a lifetime. On the day of the operation, chaos erupts as Wolfe hacks the Air Force’s systems to launch live hypersonic missiles at the Ford. The Navy and Air Force engage in a high-stakes showdown off the California coast, pitting the best pilots against the clock. In a heart-pounding race against time, Punk must rely on his leadership and the unwavering spirit of his team to counter a barrage of missiles that threaten to annihilate everything they’ve worked for. Punk’s Force is a gripping tale of loyalty, betrayal, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. As Punk navigates the storm of treachery and innovation, he learns that in the face of unprecedented threats, it is the human connection and teamwork that ultimately lead to victory. Join Punk and his allies in this thrilling installment, where every decision can mean the difference between survival and destruction, and the future of naval warfare hangs by a thread. Will they rise to the occasion and secure their legacy, or will they be lost to the tides of technology? The answer awaits in Punk’s Force.

Based primarily on original sources and contemporary accounts, this book is an account of the life and times of Benjamin Clough. Set in the golden age of whaling, the book follows him from the time he first went to sea in 1835 as a teenager to his retirement from whaling in 1867 as a veteran whaling captain and his life thereafter. It crosses the world’s oceans, providing the reader with an understanding of whaling from a first-hand perspective over a thirty-year period from the South Atlantic to the northern Pacific and then on into the Arctic Ocean. It is a gritty portrayal of the hardships, dangers, and harsh working conditions endured by whalers during this period. Clough’s life ashore during the intervals between voyages and after retiring from the sea featured its own unique experiences, offering a window into nineteenth-century life in Martha’s Vineyard.

In this third edition of the Chief Petty Officer’s Guide, author Paul Kingsbury offers the same caliber of wisdom and advice that has helped Chief Petty Officers (CPOs) succeed for decades. Fully revised, this edition features updates to every chapter as well as a broader context, scope, and audience. With the addition of guidance for Navy and Coast Guard chiefs of all experience levels, aspiring petty officers seeking advancement to chief, and other leaders, this book is a vital tool for anyone who wants to understand how great chiefs think, manage, and lead.Those striving to improve as a chief, senior chief, or master chief will find this handbook an essential resource on how to lead and manage strong maintenance and operational teams. Kingsbury provides key perspectives on how chiefs can use power bases, influence tactics, and managerial skills to achieve mission success at all levels of Navy and Coast Guard leadership. Chapters feature tools for self-assessment, including explanations of the attributes, behaviors, and qualities that all petty officers (or any leader or manager) should strive for.

Airpower over the Rhine is a critical new perspective on the air battle between the French Air Force (FAF) and the Luftwaffe in the skies over France during May and June 1940. Why were the French overpowered in the air? What factors led to their defeat? Author James F. Slaughter III examines how each country's leadership created the circumstances that enabled the Luftwaffe's victory over the FAF and Germany's ultimate defeat of France.  Conventional wisdom-especially in the English-speaking world-purports that the FAF was a nonentity whose loss was all but guaranteed. But the FAF did, in fact, show up to fight. With virtually every disadvantage and under impossible conditions, FAF pilots nevertheless managed to land significant blows against the Luftwaffe-far more than they are given credit for today. Slaughter traces this misconception to a largely collaborationist cover-up beginning with the Rion Trials in Vichy France that was then perpetuated by Cold War politics and popular mythology.  Rather than absence or incompetence, the FAF lost due to a series of complex internal conflicts within French leadership, both political and military, that set them up to fail. This work compares and examines six fundamental areas that affected the development of the FAF and the Luftwaffe: aircraft and equipment, the aircraft industries, intelligence, the experiences of the Spanish Civil War, doctrine and training, and politics and air power. It also offers new details about and insights into Pierre Cot, a controversial French politician largely unknown outside France. Airpower over the Rhine explains Cot's internal and external impact on the development of the French Air Force and details what is known about his apparent efforts to spy for the Soviet Union. Thoroughly researched and compellingly written, this book will appeal to anyone with an interest in World War II.

F/A-18 pilot combat veteran and lead Blue Angels Pilot Frank Weisser distills in this accessible volume the elemental lessons he's learned for facing challenges in life and work.“Pull your green ring! Pull your green ring!” That came through loud and clear over the radio despite all the other talking between the various jets and the controllers. It was my Division Leader, one of our Squadron’s most senior pilots, on a night flight during my first period flying off the aircraft carrier. I had unknowingly fallen victim to Hypoxia and was minutes, if not seconds, away from dying as I very much intended to softly land in a nearby swamp so I could get some much-needed rest. Moments later, having pulled the green ring resulting in pure oxygen being delivered instantly, I looked outside and said “Holy Sh*t. I’m flying. And it’s nighttime.” From the cockpit of an F/A-18 Hornet, U.S. Navy Commander Frank Weisser conveys the lessons he learned flying as the Lead Solo for the Blue Angels, on multiple combat deployments, and as stunt pilot for Top Gun: Maverick. So, how do you deal with adversity in your daily life? How do organizations and teams deal with it? Or develop trust? What happens the moment something goes wrong? Each chapter opens with a flight sequence, and describes a lesson, skill, or value that Weisser learned in the sky and that carried him through a life of service with the Navy: finding focus, developing trust, opening communication, overcoming adversity, facing failure, and recognizing courage within oneself. With a focus on the instructors, flight team members, and colleagues who taught and guided him, this short, accessible book contains wisdom for everyone on how to live thoughtfully, with courage, and well.

This comprehensive biography details the life of Rear Admiral John Lorimer Worden, who commanded the ironclad USS Monitor during the 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads and went on to co-found the U.S. Naval Institute.Throughout his 52-year career, Rear Adm. John Lorimer Worden was always the right officer for the job. The epitome of an innovative commander who helped move the U.S. Navy out of the age of sail and into the era of ironclad technology, Worden’s contributions extended beyond the Battle of Hampton Roads and shaped the future of the Navy. He demonstrated exceptional leadership in both combat and peacetime. Worden immediately proved himself a capable choice for key assignments, leading a successful rescue mission and capturing a prize ship during the Mexican-American War. Three tours at the U.S. Naval Observatory established him as a scientific officer. After delivering secret dispatches in 1861 that kept Fort Pickens in Florida for the Union, Worden attempted to return to Washington, D.C., and was arrested by Confederate authorities, thus becoming the first prisoner of war during the Civil War. After six months in captivity, he returned to command the USS Monitor—the “little ship that saved the nation”—at the historic Battle of Hampton Roads. There, he faced the Confederate CSS Virginia in the first-ever clash of ironclads, suffering severe wounds while fighting the battle to a standstill. Upon recovery, he returned to command the USS Montauk, where his unparalleled expertise in ironclad design and combat tactics continued to set him apart. From testing ships in battle to overseeing the innovative production of ironclads at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, he consistently refined his craft. Confronted with multiple ship design failures, he relentlessly drove improvements, pushing the boundaries of naval technology and securing lasting progress in the development of modern warships.  After the war, Worden became superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, where he trained the next generation of naval officers and co-founded the U.S. Naval Institute. His five-year tenure at the academy was not without controversy that tested his leadership. He deftly handled a nationally embarrassing hazing scandal, resulting in congressional authority for the superintendent to directly discipline and expel errant midshipmen. Worden also managed sensitive issues surrounding the appointment of the first African American midshipman and the first Japanese midshipman while he helmed the academy. Worden capped his career by ably serving as commander-in-chief of the European Squadron during a time of upheaval on that continent. Displaying courage, commitment, and diplomacy, Worden skillfully led U.S. European naval forces from 1875 to 1877. From Ironclads to Admiral’s thorough examination of Worden’s life and leadership emphasizes his strategic insights, innovative spirit, and dedication to service. Readers will uncover the profound impact of an officer of great achievement who inspired others to say, “Let Worden do it!”

In Destroyers at War Adm. James L. Holloway III, the twentieth Chief of Naval Operations, recalls his early life and service on destroyers during the final campaigns of the Pacific War in World War II. As the assistant gunnery officer in USS Ringgold (DD 500) and the gun boss on USS Bennion (DD 665), he took part in shore bombardment and anti-air radar picket missions during the assaults on Saipan, Tinian, Peleliu, and Leyte. He provides detailed explanations of how gunnery systems worked on small combatants as well as gripping accounts of combat events, including the climactic battle of Surigao Strait—the last battleship-vs-battleship clash in history—where a Bennion torpedo scored a fatal blow against the Japanese battleship Yamashiro.  This book also explores the relationship between Holloway and his father, James L. Holloway Jr.—the only father-son combination to serve on active duty as four-star admirals—and highlights the senior Holloway’s career as his son worked his way through the ranks. Holloway will be one of the last members of the Greatest Generation to publish a firsthand account of World War II.

How have navies contemplated possible enemies? How did they learn—or fail to learn—once operations began? How does this analysis inform today’s planning for future conflict? These questions guide the noted historians and naval strategists who contributed to Planning for War at Sea. A central theme is the regular failure of navies’ best-laid plans.Covering four centuries of naval warfare, the early chapters illustrate the challenges all navies faced when considering possible enemies. Even during the Age of Sail, ships were among the most expensive and long-term national endeavors. Navies thus planned well in advance for future wars, usually without knowing their adversaries or how they would fight them at sea. This strategy holds true today. Building a capable navy requires sustained investment in naval infrastructure long before the fighting starts.In the final chapters naval strategists expand on this historical analysis to address how effectively or ineffectively today’s three leading navies—Russia, China, and the United States—have configured themselves during the post–Cold War era in preparing for future great power conflict. This collection is an important work for strategists, scholars, and policymakers.

For more than half of its existence, members of the Marine Corps largely self-identified as soldiers. It did not yet mean something distinct to be a Marine, either to themselves or to the public at large. As neither a land-based organization like the Army nor an entirely sea-based one like the Navy, the Corps' missions overlapped with both institutions. This work argues that the Marine Corps could not and would not settle on a mission, and therefore it turned to an image to ensure its institutional survival. The process by which a maligned group of nineteenth-century naval policemen began to consider themselves to be elite warriors benefited from the active engagement of Marine officers with the Corps' historical record as justification for its very being. Rather than look forward and actively seek out a mission that could secure their existence, late nineteenth-century Marines looked backward and embraced the past. They began to justify their existence by invoking their institutional traditions, their many martial engagements, and their claim to be the nation's oldest and proudest military institution. This led them to celebrate themselves as superior to soldiers and sailors. Although there are countless works on this hallowed fighting force, How the Few Became the Proud is the first to explore how the Marine Corps crafted such powerful myths.

One of the most difficult security challenges of the post-Cold War era has been stabilizing failing states in an era of irregular warfare. A consistent component of the strategy to address this problem has been security force assistance where outside powers train and advise the host nation's military. Despite billions of dollars spent, the commitment of thousands of advisors, and innumerable casualties, the American efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq failed catastrophically. Nevertheless, among those colossal military disasters were pockets of success. The Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) held back the Islamic State in 2014 long enough to allow American and allied forces to flow back into the country, and many Afghan commando units fought to the bitter end as their country disintegrated around them. What made those units successful while the larger missions ended disastrously? Author Frank K. Sobchak explores security force assistance across five case studies, examining what factors were most critical for U.S. Special Forces units to build capable partners like the ISOF and the commandos. More specifically, the book assesses the impact of five components of Special Forces advisory missions: language training and cultural awareness of the advising force; the partner force-to-advisor ratio; the advisors' ability to organize host-nation forces; whether advisors are permitted to guide in combat; and the consistency in advisor pairing. Based on the experiences of U.S. Army Special Forces in El Salvador (1981-1991), Colombia (2002-2016), the Philippines (2001-2015), Iraq (2003-2011), and Afghanistan (2007-2021), Sobchak argues that the most crucial factors in producing combat-effective partners are consistency in advisor pairing and maintaining a partner force-to-advisor ratio of twelve special forces soldiers advising a company-sized force or smaller. Intriguingly, and counter to conventional wisdom, at first glance language training and cultural awareness do not seem to be critical factors, as most of the Green Berets that trained units in Iraq and Afghanistan lacked both capabilities. Despite an orthodoxy that argues the opposite, there is little evidence that combat advising is decisive in producing effective partners and there is conflicting evidence that language training and cultural awareness are important. Many of these findings, while focused on Special Forces operations and doctrine, could be used to improve the odds of success for larger security-force assistance missions as well.

This book is a unique combination of intellectual history, personal memoir, and military theory. When Conrad Crane retired from twenty six years of active duty to become a research professor at the Army War College, he never expected to become a modern Cassandra, fated to tell truth to power without being heeded. As he watched the world change after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, he warned the Army that it was not prepared for Phase IV stability operations, counterinsurgency, and eventually the reconstruction of Iraq. Eventually his work attracted the attention of Lieutenant General David Petraeus, who along with his Marine counterpart James Mattis, was launching a broad program to make the American military a learning organization better prepared for modern war. Crane soon found himself in charge of a team of Soldiers, Marines, and civilian academics with the mission to create the very counterinsurgency doctrine he had pleaded for. For the next year he wrestled with conflicting ideas, complex personalities, and bureaucratic inertia to create the groundbreaking Field Manual 3-24/ Marine Corps Warfighting Publication 3-33.5 Counterinsurgency. The process was long and tortuous, and much more complicated than the way it has been characterized so far in other narratives. The end result was a unique blend of traditional and modern theory, tempered by hard lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan. Its principles and paradoxes of counterinsurgency, focus on legitimacy, and concepts of operational campaign design have had immense influence on US and NATO doctrine. The new doctrine was not perfect, and had been rushed through production in record time, but the guidance it provided would be an essential element in the Surge in Iraq that secured breathing space for the nascent Iraqi government to solve its political differences. Crane found that out when General Petraeus asked him to come observe the Surge himself in late 2007. Traveling all around that embattled nation, Crane watched the greatest counterinsurgency force the world had ever seen adapting to the exigencies of modern counterinsurgency is a very complex environment. He describes in great detail the hard work of dedicated Soldiers, Marines, and civilians that were creating a mosaic peace out of a mosaic war, in places as disparate as Baghdad, Anbar Province, and the detention facilities at Bucca. There were still problem areas, such as in the British zone and Diyala Province, but the conflict was definitely trending in the right direction. Crane closes his book with an account of what went wrong in Iraq, as the mosaic peace unraveled with the Americandeparture, and also how the new counterinsurgency doctrine was never properly resourced or applied in Afghanistan. His final chapter covers the lessons be believes should be gleaned from the past decade and a half of global war. There have been many critics of the new doctrine, and Crane recounts their arguments and concedes that promises of counterinsurgency were oversold. But much of what has been labeled as counterinsurgency is really just modern warfare, and while the United States is understandably reluctant to engage in further irregular conflicts and nation building, they remain a growth industry in the rest of the world. The United States government, military and civilian agencies, must be prepared to do better next time. And Cassandra says, there will be a next time.

On 26 February 1991, cavalry troops of Cougar Squadron, the 2nd Squadron of the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, charged out of a sandstorm during Operation Desert Storm and caught Iraqs Republican Guard Corps in the open desert along the North-South grid line of a military map referred to as the 73 Easting. Taken by surprise, the defending Iraqi armor brigade was swept away in salvos of American tank and missile fire in what became the U.S. Armys largest tank battle since World War II. Douglas Macgregor, the man who trained and led Cougar Squadron into battle, recounts two stories. One is the inspiring tale of the valiant American soldiers, sergeants, lieutenants, and captains who fought and won the battle. The other is a story of failed generalship, one that explains why Iraqs Republican Guard escaped, ensuring that Saddam Husseins regime survived and Americas war with Iraq dragged on. Certain to provoke debate, this is the latest book from the controversial and influential military veteran whose two previous books, Breaking the Phalanx and Transformation Under Fire, are credited with influencing thinking and organization inside Americas ground forces and figure prominently in current discussions about military strategy and defense policies. Its fast-moving battle narrative, told from the vantage point of Macgregors Abrams tank, and its detailed portraits of American soldiers, along with vivid descriptions of the devastating technology of mounted warfare, will captivate anyone with a taste for adventure as well as an interest in contemporary military history.

How does one engage in the study of strategy? Strategy: Context and Adaptation from Archidamus to Airpower argues that strategy is not just concerned with amassing knowledge; it is also about recognizing our imperfect understanding of the environment and respecting the complex nature of adaptation to the unforeseen or unexpected. In essence, the strongest strategists are those who commit to an education that cultivates a more holistic and adaptive way of thinking. With that thought in mind, the contributors to Strategy, each a current or former professor at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, widely considered the Department of Defense's premier school of strategy, offer ways of thinking strategically about a variety of subject matters, from classical history to cyber power. Practitioners in the profession of arms, perhaps more than any other profession, must employ critical thinking where the application of power on land, at sea, in the air, and in space and cyberspace are concerned. Strategy examines various sub-disciplines regarding the use of power, and illuminates different approaches to thinking which have implications beyond the implementation of force.

Less than five years after naval aviation led the forces that defeated Imperial Japan that very organization was in serious trouble. The force had been drastically reduced and, despite the Korean War, growing sentiment supported by no less than the chairman of the Joint Chiefs argued that the new Air Force could do anything naval aviation might be required to do. Meanwhile, the naval aviation mishap rate soared. The very survival of naval aviation was at stake. It took fifty years to turn this around. Today, in spite of hot wars, cold wars, contingencies, and peacetime operations in support of friends and allies, the Navy and Marine Corps accident rate is at least as good as that of the Air Force, and it approaches that of commercial aviation. Gear Up, Mishaps Down explains that this accomplishment was achieved through dedicated and professional leadership, a focus on lessons learned from mishaps and near-mishaps, a willingness to learn from other enterprises, and by better leadership, training, maintenance, supply and more.

Fighting the Fleet recognizes that fleets conduct four distinct but interlocking tasks at the operational level of war-striking, screening, scouting, and basing-and that successful operational art is achieved when they are brought to bear in a cohesive, competitive scheme. In explaining these elements and how they are conjoined for advantage, a central theme emerges: despite the utility and importance of jointness among the armed forces, the effective employment of naval power requires a specialized language and understanding of naval concepts that is often diluted or completely lost when too much jointness is introduced. Woven into the fabric of the book are the fundamental principles of three of the most important naval theorists of the twentieth century: Rear Admiral Bradley Fiske, Rear Admiral J.C. Wylie, and Captain Wayne Hughes. While Cares and Cowden advocate the reinvigoration of combat theory and the appropriate use of operations research, they avoid over-theorizing and have produced a practical guide that empowers fleet planners to wield naval power appropriately and effectively in meeting today's operational and tactical challenges.

"The Pacific War remains a crucial topic for strategic discussion, especially as Japan's push for a broader conflict in 1941 still fascinates historians. That regional push grew into a wider world war with all the major maritime powers, as well as the Soviet Union, in a conflict that challenged the allied response in Asia and beyond. John T. Kuehn examines the Pacific War from the vantage point of strategy and the execution of that strategy. The allies entered an ongoing Sino-Japanese War in China which shaped the implementation of strategic decision making for the larger campaigns of the Pacific War"--

"Woodrow Wilson's presidential administration was marked not only by America's participation in World War I, but also by numerous armed interventions by the United States in other countries. Author Mark Benbow examines what these American policy decisions and military adventures reveal of Wilson as commander in chief, and the powers and duties of the office"--

"The Navy Staff Officer's Guide will equip naval leaders for success in the challenging professional environment of a Navy staff. Navy staffs build and equip the Navy, plan its future, and guide its current operations. During a staff tour, a savvy Navy leader can have positive reach beyond the lifelines of a single command, with impact across the fleet and years into the future. Staffs may not win the fight, but good staff work creates the conditions for victory before the fist shot is fired. This guide is the key to ensuring the success of Navy staffs and all those who serve them"--

"On October 17, 1965, Navy LTJG Porter Halyburton was shot down over North Vietnam on his 76th mission and listed as killed in action. One-and-a-half years later he was found to be alive and a prisoner of war. Halyburton was held captive for more than seven years. Reflections on Captivity is a collection of fifty short stories about this young naval officer's experiences as a POW in North Vietnam"--

"A Pitiful, Unholy Mess is a detailed combat narrative of the 7 December 1941 Japanese attacks on O'ahu's Wheeler, Bellows, and Haleiwa Fields. The work focuses on descriptions of actions in the air and on the ground at the deepest practical tactical level, from both the U.S. and Japanese perspectives. The interwoven nature of the narratives of both sides provides a deep understanding of the events that has been impossible to present heretofore"--

War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict provides insights for those involved in the design of military strategy, and the forces that must execute that strategy. Emphasizing the impacts of technology, new era strategic competition, demography, and climate change, Mick Ryan uses historical as well as contemporary anecdotes throughout the book to highlight key challenges faced by nations in a new era of great power rivalry. Just as previous industrial revolutions have advanced societies, the nascent fourth industrial revolution will have a similar impact on how humans fight, compete, and build military power in the twenty-first century. After reviewing the principle catalysts of change in the security environment, War Transformed seeks to provide a preview of the shape of war and competition in the twenty-first century. Ryan examines both the shifting character of war and its enduring nature. In doing so, he proposes important trends in warfare that will shape all aspects of human competition and conflict in the coming decades. The remainder of the book analyzes how military institutions must prepare for future competition and conflict. Competing and engaging in combat in this new era involves new and evolved strategies and warfighting concepts, as well as adapting our current military organizations. It will also demand building an intellectual edge in military personnel through evolved concepts of training, education, and development. As the competitive environment and potential battlefields continue to change, conceptions of combat, competition and conflict must also evolve. Mick Ryan makes the case for transforming how Western military institutions view war in this century.

USS Iowa BB-61, the first of four Iowa-class battleships built for the US Navy, was launched in 1942. Capable of thirty-three knots and armed with nine new fifty-caliber sixteen-inch guns, she was the pinnacle of battleship design for the US Navy during World War II. This book tells her story.

On a mission over central Afghanistan, Punk is hit - and taken captive by the Taliban. And after he escapes, the challenge is not over. Because now Punk must navigate the war-torn country not from the skies, but on the ground - seeing up close for the first time the world of resistance fighters, warlords, CIA undercover ops, and corrupt officers.

Part of a seven volume series that offers detailed descriptions of the evolution of all classes of the principal US combatant types. Each of the volumes is fully illustrated with deck plans, outboard profiles, sketches from major design studies, and numerous detailed photographs.

In the waning years of World War II, as the tragic plight of the Jews was coming to light in ever more horrific detail, a Jewish fighting force, known as the Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, was born as part of the British Eighth Army. Leslie Toliver eagerly joined for a chance to fight with his people against those who sought to murder them.

Provides the definitive overview of Russian and Soviet battleships, from the ironclad Petr Velikii of 1869 to Stalin's final projects. Meticulously researched, this work describes and illustrates the design histories, technical details, characteristics, and service histories of the forty battleships that served in the Russian and Soviet Navies.

On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines traces the history of the development of military staffs and ideas on the operational level of war and operational art from the Napoleonic Wars to today, viewing them through the lens of Prussia/Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. B. A. Friedman concludes that the operational level of war should be rejected as fundamentally flawed, but that operational art is an accurate description of the activities of the military staff, an organization developed to provide the brainpower necessary to manage the complexity of modern military operations. Rather than simply serve as an intercession between levels, the military staff exists as an enabler and supporting organization to tacticians and strategists alike. On Operations examines the organization of military staffs, which has changed little since Napoleon's time. Historical examinations of the functions staffs provided to commanders, and the disciplines of the staff officers themselves, leads to conclusions about how best to organize staffs in the future. Friedman demonstrates these ideas through case studies of historical campaigns based on the military discipline system developed.