Modern Problems Require Ancient Solutions: Lessons From Roman Competitive Posture

Introduction

At varying times and with varying validity, Byzantium, the Holy Roman Empire and Russia have all been compared to the Roman Empire or called its successor. The United States is the only modern comparison. Rome was a global power with a Parthian regional rival. The United States is a global power with Chinese and Russian regional rivals. Rome had client states. The United States has formal allies. Rome and the United States each controlled or control the most powerful and effective—though significantly, not the largest—military forces of their times.

ILW Paper: U.S. Should Study Competitors’ Logistics

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ILW Paper: U.S. Should Study Competitors’ Logistics

The logistical and maintenance approaches of armies at war can help explain why military organizations fight as well or as poorly as they do and uncover implications of a competitor’s operational strategies, according to a new paper published by the Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare.

ILW Focuses on Politics Behind Tactical Nukes

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ILW Focuses on Politics Behind Tactical Nukes

A new paper from the Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare looks at how politics in the 1950s influenced Army doctrine, particularly the shift to nuclear weapons.

Written by retired Army Lt. Col. David C. Rasmussen, an Afghanistan veteran and political scientist, the paper looks at the Eisenhower era when efforts were underway to reduce U.S. troop presence in Europe and cut defense spending by 30 percent, proposals resisted by then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. Matthew Ridgway.

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