Term 11-01
Defense and Strategic Studies
DS 345:
Military Innovation: Theory and
Practice in Modern Warfare
Course Overview
M
ilitary innovations have had a profound effect
on the outcome of modern war. Victory or
defeat on the battlefield has often times been
determined by a military’s success or failure at
innovation either during interwar periods or during
times of war. This interdisciplinary course examines
the subject of military innovation or transformation
from a theoretical, historical and policy oriented
perspective. Using the U.S. Army in the 20th century
as the primary object of inquiry, the course
addresses several key questions: Why do militaries
innovate? How does this process of innovation
occur? Why do attempts at military innovation
succeed or fail? Lastly, how should the U.S. Army
transform to meet the demands of the current
international security environment?
Course Goals




Understand multiple theoretical explanations for
systemic and organizational innovations in the
conduct and character of modern warfare.
Gain an historical understanding of the
importance of military innovation in the U.S.
Army during the 20th century.
Apply theories of innovation to selected historical
cases of U.S. Army transformation.
Analyze and assess divergent perspectives on
Army transformation using the theories
presented in the course and given an
understanding of the current security
environment and emerging technology.
Course Method and Organization
DS 345 consists of 40 lessons conducted in an
undergraduate seminar format. During class,
instructor comments will frame complex topics for
examination and focus class discussions based on
course readings. The course is divided into three
distinct blocks of literature. Block I explores
theoretical approaches to understanding
revolutionary military change and introduces
competing theoretical explanations that provide a
framework for understanding military innovation at
the systemic, state and organizational levels of
analysis. Block II of the course examines several
historical cases of Army transformation in the 20th
Century and their effect on the U.S. Army today. The
final course block analyzes the U.S. Army’s current
attempts at transformation. This block explores the
possibility of a recent revolution in military affairs and
considers the dilemmas of future U.S. Army
transformation given emerging technology, current
operational requirements and changes in the
international security environment.
Course Materials/Readings
Readings for the course are categorized as either
required or recommended. Required readings are
those that students are expected to read and come
prepared to discuss for each class meeting.
Recommended readings are intended to augment
and add breadth to the students understanding of a
specific course topic. They also give students
interested in a specific topic a place to begin further
research/inquiry. Required readings for the course
are either posted on Blackboard or are included in a
required course textbook. Students are required to
purchase the following textbooks for this course:



MacGregor Knox and Williamson Murray, The
Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300-2050 (New
York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2006).
Thomas K. Adams, The Army After Next: The First
Post-Industrial Army (Westport, CT: Praeger
Publishers, 2006).
Andrew F. Krepinevich, The Army and Vietnam
(Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press,
1986).
Student Requirements
Active class participation is expected of all students
in DS345. Graded requirements for this course
include two in-class WPRs and an end of course
TEE. Students are also required to write a 25003000 word research paper using one of the
theoretical frameworks presented in class to explain
an historical example of military innovation. Students
will present this paper in class during the last week of
the course.
2
DS 345: Military Innovation
Graded Requirements
WPR 1 (Lesson 9)
WPR 2 (Lesson 23)
Paper Proposal (23 Sep)
Final Paper (18 Nov)
Presentation (Lsn 38-40)
Term End Exam
Instructor Points
Total Points
= 150 pts
= 150 pts
= 50 pts
= 300 pts
= 50 pts
= 150 pts
= 150 pts
-----------= 1000 pts
Grading Standards
A+
A
A-
97.0-100
93.0-96.9
90.0-92.9
Outstanding performance. Work
exhibits academic excellence and is of
significantly higher quality than that
graded "B".
B+
B
B-
87.0-89.9
83.0-86.9
80.0-82.9
Commendable performance. Work
exceeds course standards for mastery
and is of significantly higher quality than
that graded "C".
C+
C
C-
77.0-79.9
73.0-76.9
70.0-72.9
Satisfactory performance. Work clearly
meets course standards for mastery.
D
67.0-69.9
Marginal performance. Work marginally
meets course standards for mastery
and credit is given.
F
<67.0
Unacceptable performance. Work fails
to meet course standards for mastery
and no credit is given.
Common problems with documentation include
insufficient documentation that fails to clearly identify
the above situation, incorrect documentation, and
plagiarism whether accidental or deliberate. Any of
these problems may result in a lower grade,
resubmission requirement, possible disciplinary
action or referral to the Cadet Honor System.
DSS courses require cadets to use a wide variety of
sources when completing course requirements such
as research papers and projects. These sources
include: books, scholarly journal articles, primary
source documents, newspaper articles, internet webpages, Army manuals and customized course
textbooks. All of these sources, and any additional
assistance cadets receive when completing course
requirements, must be properly documented in such
a manner that the course instructor clearly
understands what information the cadet is citing, and
from where that information came. Of particular
note, although information in Army manuals is
considered common knowledge for active and
reserve component soldiers, DSS requires cadets to
cite these sources when used in completion of a
course requirement.
Instructor Information
Jim Harbridge, MAJ, Infantry
Course Director, DS345 Military Innovation
Defense & Strategic Studies Program, DMI
Phone: (845) 938-6061
Email: james.harbridge@usma.edu
Office: Washington Hall, Rm 4133
Academic Integrity and
Documentation
Academic Integrity is an inherent responsibility of
each cadet and is an extension of the seven Army
values. Academic integrity ensures that each cadet is
graded against his/her own work. According to
guidance from DSS instructors, cadets may
collaborate with each other; however, the DSS
program requires that each cadet submit his/her own
work. In other words, cadets may discuss and share
ideas with one another, but each cadet must
physically type/write his/her own product.
According to the Dean’s Documentation of Written
Work (Aug 2007), documentation “identifies the
sources of ideas, words, and data obtained from
another person or the products of another person to
such a degree of specificity and accuracy that an
observer knows clearly what ideas, words, data, and
products to attribute to the authoring cadet and what
ideas, words, data, and products to attribute to
sources other than the authoring cadet.” (p. 3).
Course Syllabus
Block I: Theoretical Frameworks
Lesson 1 (17 August)
Topic: Introduction and Course Overview
Required Reading: None
Lesson 2 (19 August)
Topic: Revolutions in Military Affairs TheoryPatterns in History
Required Reading:


Alvin Toffler and Heidi Toffler, War and Anti-War:
Survival at the Dawn of the 21st Century (Boston, MA:
Little Brown, 1993), 29-43; 64-85.
Williamson Murray and MacGregor Knox, “Thinking
about revolutions in warfare,” in The Dynamics of
Military Revolution, 1300-2050, MacGregor Knox and
3
Williamson Murray eds. (New York, NY: Cambridge
University Press, 2001) 1-14.
Recommended Reading:
 Colin S. Gray, “RMA Anatomy: Patterns in History” in



Strategy for Chaos: Revolutions in Military Affairs and
the Evidence of History (London: Frank Cass
Publishers, 2002), 31-57.
Stephen Biddle, “The Past as Prologue: Assessing
Theories of Future Warfare,” Security Studies 8, no. 1
(Autumn 1998).
Jeffrey R. Cooper, Another View of the Revolution in
Military Affairs (Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic
Studies Institute, US Army War College, 15 July
1994).
Andrew Krepinevich, “Cavalry to Computer: The
Pattern of Military Revolutions,” The National Interest
37 (Fall 1994).
DS 345: Military Innovation
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Lesson 6 (31 August)
Topic: Military Innovation: The Cultural Model
*Guest Lecture – MAJ James Redding USMC *
Required Reading:

Lesson 3 (23 August)
Topic: Revolutions in Military Affairs TheoryCharacteristics of RMA
Required Reading:

Colin S. Gray, “RMA Dynamics” in Strategy for Chaos:
Revolutions in Military Affairs and the Evidence of
History (London: Frank Cass Publishers, 2002) 67-89.

Richard O. Hundley, “Characteristics of Past
Revolutions in Military Affairs,” Past Revolutions,
Future Transformations (Santa Monica, CA: RAND,
1999), 7-20.
Steven Metz and James Kievit, Strategy and the
Revolution in Military Affairs: From Theory to Policy
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, US
Army War College, 27 June 1995).
Terry Terriff, “‘Innovate or Die’: Organizational Culture
and the Origins of Manuever Warfare in the United
States Marine Corps,” The Journal of Strategic
Studies 29, no. 3 (June 2006): 475-503.
Recommended Reading:


Recommended Reading:

Jon F. Giese, Military Innovation: Sources of Change
for United States Special Operations Forces
(Monterey, CA: MA Thesis Naval Post Graduate
School, 1999).
W. Blair Haworth, The Bradley and How it Got That
Way: Technology, Institutions, and the Problem of
Mechanized Infantry in the United States Army
(Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999).

Theo Farrell and Terry Terriff eds., The Sources of
Military Change: Culture, Politics and Technology
(Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2002).
Jeffrey W. Legro, Cooperation Under Fire: AngeloGerman Restraint During World War II (Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University Press, 1995).
Elizabeth Kier, “Culture and military doctrine: France
between the wars,” International Security 19, no. 4
(Spring 1995).
Lesson 7 (2 September)
Topic: Research Drop/WPR Prep
Lesson 4 (25 August) *
Lesson 8 (7 September)
Topic: Military Innovation: The Civil-Military Model
Topic: Military Innovation: Institutional Learning
Model
Required Reading:
Required Reading:

Barry R. Posen, The Sources of Military Doctrine:
France, Britain, and Germany Between the World
Wars (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1984), 4180.
Recommended Reading:


Kimberly Zisk, Engaging the Enemy: Organization
Theory and Soviet Military Innovation (Princeton, NJ:
Princeton University Press, 1993).
Deborah D. Avant, Political Institutions and Military
Change: Lessons from the Peripheral Wars (Ithaca,
NY: Cornell University Press, 1994).
Lesson 5 (27 August)
Topic: Military Innovation: The Intraservice Model
Required Reading:

Stephen Peter Rosen, Innovation and the Modern
Military: Winning the Next War (Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Press, 1991), 1-53.
Recommended Reading:

Richard Duncan Downie, Learning From Conflict: The
U.S. Military in Vietnam, El Salvador and the Drug
War (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1998), 1-39.
Recommended Reading:

John A Nagl, Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife:
Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002), 1-14.
Lesson 9 (9 September): WPR 1
Block II: Selected Case Studies – Army
Transformation and Organizational
Change in the Twentieth Century
4
DS 345: Military Innovation
Sub-Block A: The Birth of Modern Warfare

Lesson 10 (13 September)
Recommended Reading:
Topic: World War I: Adapting to Firepower
Required Reading:

Jonathan B.A. Bailey, “The First World War and the
Birth of modern warfare,” in The Dynamics of Military
Revolution, 1300-2050, MacGregor Knox and
Williamson Murray eds. (New York, NY: Cambridge
University Press, 2001).


Andrew F. Krepinevich, The Army and Vietnam
(Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press,
1986), 3-7 & Chp 2.
Harry G. Summers, On Strategy: A Critical Analysis of
the Vietnam War (Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1982).
John A Nagl, Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife:
Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2002).
**Paper Proposals due NLT 23 September at 1700**
Recommended Reading:


Jonathan M. House, Combined Arms Warfare in the
Twentieth Century (Lawrence, KS: University of
Kansas Press, 2001), 15-63.
Timothy Lupfer, The Dynamics of Doctrine: Changes
in German Tactical Doctrine during the First World
War (Leavenworth Paper No. 4, Combat Studies
Institute, 1981), 37-54.
Lesson 11 (15 September)
Topic: The Interwar Period
Required Reading:

Williamson Murray, “Armored Warfare: The British,
French and German Experiences,” in Military
Innovation in the Interwar Period, eds. Williamson
Murray and Allan R. Millett (New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1996), 6-49.
Lesson 15 (27 September)
Topic: Vietnam: Into the Quagmire
Required Reading:

Krepinevich, The Army and Vietnam, Chp 3.
Lesson 16 (29 September)
Topic: Vietnam: Gearing up for Counterinsurgency
Required Reading:

Krepinevich, The Army and Vietnam, Chp 4.
Lesson 17 (1 October)
Topic: Vietnam: Counterinsurgency American Style
Required Reading:

Krepinevich, The Army and Vietnam, Chp 7.
Recommended Reading:


James S. Corum, The Roots of Blitzkrieg: Hons Von
Seeckt and German Military Reform (Lawrence, KS:
University of Kansas Press, 1992).
House, Combined Arms Warfare in the Twentieth
Century, 64-104.
Lesson 12 (17 September)
Topic: World War II: German Blitzkrieg
Required Reading:

Williamson Murray, “May 1940: Contingency and
fragility of the German RMA,” in The Dynamics of
Military Revolution, 1300-2050, MacGregor Knox and
Williamson Murray eds. (New York, NY: Cambridge
University Press, 2001) 154-174.
Lesson 18 (5 October)
Topic: Vietnam: Paths Untaken, Paths Forsaken
Required Reading:

Sub-Block C: The Army After Next Creating the Information Era Army
Lesson 19 (7 October)
Topic: The Roots of Revolution
Required Reading:

Recommended Reading:

House, Combined Arms Warfare in the Twentieth
Century, 107-109; 127-131; 136-153.
Lesson 13 (21 September) – Paper Drop
Thomas K. Adams, The Army After Next: The First
Post-Industrial Army (Westport, CT: Praeger
Publishers, 2006), Chp 1-2.
Recommended Reading:


Sub-Block B: The U.S. Army and
Organizational Change in the Vietnam War

Lesson 14 (23 September):

Topic: Vietnam: The Revolution that Failed
Required Reading:
Krepinevich, The Army and Vietnam, Chp 10.
Frederick W. Kagan, Finding the Target: The
Transformation of American Military Policy (New York:
Encounter Books, 2006), 3-66.
General Robert H. Scales, Certain Victory: The U.S.
Army in the Gulf War (Fort Leavenworth, KS: U.S.
Army Command and General Staff College Press,
1994).
John L. Romjue, From Active Defense to AirLand
Battle: The Development of Army Doctrine 1973-1982,
(Fort Monroe, VA: Historical Office, United States
Army Training and Doctrine Command, 1984).
John L. Romjue, The Army of Excellence: The
Development of the 1980s Army (Fort Monroe, VA:
5
Historical Office, United States Army Training and
Doctrine Command, 1997).
Lesson 20 (12 October)
Topic: Transforming to the Information Army
Required Reading:

Adams, The Army After Next: The First PostIndustrial Army, Chp 3-4.
Lesson 21 (14 October)
Topic: An Army Transformed
Required Reading:

Adams, The Army After Next: The First PostIndustrial Army, Chp 5.
Recommended Reading:


Department of the Army, The 2007 Army
Modernization Plan (Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 2007), 1-17.
Department of the Army, The 2006 Army
Transformation Roadmap (Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Government Printing Office, 2006).
Lesson 22 (18 October)
Topic: The Aftermath of War and Transformation
Required Reading:

Adams, The Army After Next: The First PostIndustrial Army, Chp 8.
Recommended Reading:

Noah Shachtman, “How Technology Almost Lost the
War: In Iraq, the Critical Networks Are Social- Not
Electronic,” Wired (November 27, 2007).
Lesson 23 (20 October): WPR 2
Block III: Contemporary Conflict and
Transformation - Creating the Army of
the Future
Sub-Block A: The Conduct and Character
of Future Warfare
Lesson 24 (22 October)
Topic: The Info RMA Concept
Required Reading:



William A. Owens, Lifting the Fog of War (New York:
Farrer Straus Giroux, 2000), Chp 3.
William A. Owens, “The American Revolution in
Military Affairs” Joint Forces Quarterly 10 (Winter
1995-96).
Arthur K. Cebrowski and John J. Garstka, “NetworkCentric Warfare: Its Origin and Future” Proceedings
(January 1998).
Recommended Reading:
DS 345: Military Innovation




William A. Owens, “The Once and Future Revolution
in Military Affairs” Joint Forces Quarterly (Summer
2002).
Andrew F. Krepinevich, “The Unfinished Revolution in
Military Affairs” Issues in Science and Technology 19,
no.4 (Summer 2003).
Eliot A. Cohen, “Change and Transformation in
Military Affairs” The Journal of Strategic Studies 27,
no. 3 (September 2004).
Max Boot, “The New American Way of War” Foreign
Affairs 82, no. 4 (July/August 2003).
Lesson 25 (26 October)
Topic: The Modern System of Battle – Explaining
Victory in Afghanistan
Required Reading:

Stephen Biddle, Afghanistan and the Future of
Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S.
Army War College, November 2002).
Recommended Reading:

Stephen Biddle, Military Power: Explaining Victory and
Defeat in Modern Battle (Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 2004).

Stephen Biddle, “Victory Misunderstood: What the
Gulf War Tells Us About the Future of Conflict,”
International Security 21, no.2 (Autumn, 1996).
Lesson 26 (28 October)
Topic: The Changing Nature of Warfare?
Required Reading:


Martin Van Crevald, The Transformation of War (New
York, NY: The Free Press, 1991), Chp 7, “Future
War.”
Thomas X. Hammes, “Insurgency: Modern Warfare
Evolves into a Fourth Generation” Strategic Forum no.
214 (January 2005).
Recommended Reading:



Thomas X. Hammes, The Sling and the Stone: On
War in the 21st Century (St. Paul, MN: Zenith Press,
2006).
William S. Lind, Keith Nightengale, John F. Schmitt,
Joseph W. Sutton, Gary I. Wilson, “The Changing
Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation,” Marine
Corps Gazette 85, no.11 (November 2001).
Antulio J. Echevarria II, Fourth Generation Warfare
and Other Myths (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies
Institute, U.S. Army War College, November 2005).
Lesson 27 (1 November)
Topic: The Counter RMA and Asymmetric Warfare
Required Reading:


Christopher M. Schnaubelt, “Whither the RMA?”
Parameters 37, no. 3 (Autumn 2007).
Ralph Peters, “The Counter-revolution in Military
Affairs” The Weekly Standard (February 6, 2006).
Lesson 28 (3 November): Paper Drop
6
DS 345: Military Innovation
Sub-Block B: The Role of the Army in the
New Strategic Environment
Lesson 33 (18 November)
Lesson 29 (5 November)

Topic: Transforming the Army for Stability Operations
Required Reading:
Steven Metz and Raymond Millen, “Intervention,
Stabilization and Transformation: The Role of Land
Power in the New Strategic Environment” Parameters
(Spring 2005).
Topic: Crusaders vs Conservatives – The Debate over
the Future of the Army
Reading:



Gian P. Gentile, “Let’s Build an Army to Win All Wars,”
Joint Forces Quarterly 52 (1st Quarter, 2009).
John A. Nagl, “Let’s Win the Wars We’re In,” Joint
Forces Quarterly 52 (1st Quarter, 2009).
Andrew J. Bacevich, “The Patraeus Doctrine” The
Atlantic (October, 2008).
Recommended Reading:


Lesson 30 (9 November)
Topic: Contractors in the New Strategic Environment
David Tucker, Confronting the Unconventional:
Intervention and Transformation in Military Affairs
(Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute,
U.S. Army War College, October 2006).
Brian G. Watson, Reshaping The Expeditionary
Army to Win Decisively: The Case for Greater
Stabilization Capacity in the Modular Force (Carlisle
Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army
War College, August 2005).
*Guest Lecture – Mr. J.R. Starch CEO, Hyperion
Legion, LLC *
Sub-Block C: The Details of Army
Transformation
Required Reading:
Lesson 34 (22 November)

Schaub, Gary and Volker Franke, Contractors as
Military Professional? Parameters, Winter 2009-10,
Carlisle. 88-104.
Recommended Reading:
 http://americancontractorsiniraq.com/

http://freerangeinternational.com/blog/?p=3644
Lesson 31 (12 November)
Topic: Global Joint Expeditionary Warfare
Reading:

Topic: Army Leadership in the Information Era
Required Reading:


Macgregor, Transformation Under Fire:
Revolutionizing How America Fights, Chp 9.
Robert Brown, “The Agile Leader Mind-Set:
Leveraging the Power of Modularity in Iraq” Military
Review (July-August 2007).
Recommended Reading:

Douglas A. Macgregor, Transformation Under Fire:
Revolutionizing How America Fights (Westport, CT:
Praeger Publishers, 2003), Chapters 1-2.
Paul Yingling, “A Failure in Generalship” Armed
Forces Journal (May 2007).
**Papers due NLT 1700 18 Nov**
Lesson 35 (24 November)
Lesson 32 (16 November)
Topic: Alternative Perspectives on Transformation
Required Reading:


John Gordon IV and Jerry Sollinger, “The Army’s
Dilemma” Parameters (Summer 2004).
Peter Chirarelli and Stephen Smith, “Learning From
Our Modern Wars: The Imperatives of Preparing for a
Dangerous Future,” Military Review (SeptemberOctober, 2007).
Recommended Reading:



Hans Binnendijk and Richard L. Kluger, “Adapting
Forces to a New Era: Ten Transforming Concepts,”
Defense Horizons, no. 5 (November 2001).
Kevin Reynolds, Defense Transformation: To What,
For What (Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies
Institute, U.S. Army War College, November 2006).
Huba Wass de Czege and Richard Hart Sinnreich,
“Conceptual Foundations of a Transformed U.S.
Army,” No. 40 Land Warfare Paper, Institute of Land
Warfare, March 2002.
Topic: Army Strategic Culture and Irregular Warfare
Required Reading:

Jeffrey Record, The American Way of War: Cultural
Barriers to Successful Counterinsurgency (CATO
Institute, Policy Analysis no. 577, September 2006).
Recommended Reading:



Colin S. Gray, Irregular Enemies and the Essence of
Strategy: Can the American Way of War Adapt?
(Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army
War College, March 2006).
Russell F. Weigley, The American Way of War: A
History of United States Military Strategy and Policy
(New York, NY: Macmillan, 1973).
Antulio J. Echevarria, Toward an American Way
of War (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute,
US Army War College, March 2004)
Lesson 36 (30 November):
Topic: Re-Organizing the Army in the New Strategic
Environment
Reading:
7


Andrew F. Krepinevich, An Army at the Crossroads,
Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments,
2008.
Andrew Krepinevich, Nadia Schadlow and Marin J.
Strmecki, “Stability, Security, Transition and
Reconstruction Operations: Meeting the Challenge”
Power Point Presentation, 7 March 2007.
Lesson 37 (2 December)
Topic: Re-Organizing the Army in the New Strategic
Environment (Cont.)
Required Reading:

Macgregor, Transformation Under Fire:
Revolutionizing How America Fights, Chp VI.
**Research Paper Presentations Begin**
Lesson 38 (6 December)
Topic: Research Paper Presentations
Lesson 39 (8 December)
Topic: Research Paper Presentations
Lesson 40 (10 December)
Topic: Research Paper Presentations
DS 345: Military Innovation