Defense Preparedness Research Articles

Strategies to enhance civic awareness for state defence in Indonesia: Measurement and benchmarking of the State Defence Index (SDI)

Countries employ various strategies to strengthen their soft power through education, public campaigns, mandatory service, and community involvement, essential for building a well-informed, prepared, and resilient citizenry. In Indonesia, the Civic Awareness for State Defence (CASD) program is designed to instil state defence awareness among citizens. This study introduces the Indonesia State Defence Index (SDI), a novel metric grounded in theoretical constructs such as national identity, nationalism, patriotism, and national pride. Differentiating from previous indices, our SDI employs advanced methodologies including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to enhance measurement accuracy. Unlike earlier approaches that used traditional aggregation methods, our use of PCA ensures the reduction of dimensions for each state defence indicator, thereby guaranteeing that only the intended dimensions are measured. Utilising data from the State Defence Survey conducted by the Indonesian Ministry of Defence from 1 March to 26 June 2024, we aim to measure and benchmark SDI values across Indonesian regions, thereby elucidating the civic awareness profile in the context of state defence. The refined SDI provides critical insights for policymakers, highlighting regions that require focused interventions to bolster state defence preparedness.

Dampak Polusi Udara terhadap Kesehatan dan Kesiapan Pertahanan Negara di Provinsi DKI Jakarta

Air pollution in DKI Jakarta Province has reached alarming levels, threatening the health and quality of life of millions of residents and damaging the integrity of national defense preparedness. As the capital and center of Indonesian government, Jakarta plays an important role in the country's defense and security structure. This research was conducted to understand and evaluate the complex impacts of air pollution, which relate not only to public health but also to defense readiness. Through empirical data analysis, interviews with stakeholders, and the application of geospatial intelligence from satellite imagery, this research found various variables that correlate between air pollution, public health, and defense readiness. One of the main findings is that high levels of air pollution have a significant impact on public health conditions, which in turn can disrupt the country's defense readiness. Therefore, these results demonstrate the need for comprehensive and coordinated mitigation actions between various parties, including the provincial government, central government, and the military. These policies and actions should focus on protecting public health, preserving critical military infrastructure, and preparing the country to face additional challenges that may arise, such as climate change. In an increasingly interconnected and complex global context, this research highlights the urgency for a more holistic approach to addressing the problem of air pollution and its multifaceted impacts

Preparedness among Reserve Officers' Training Corps Graduates on the Rigors of ROTC and Defense Security: Basis for Policy Enhancement

The Philippines Reserve Officers' Training Corps aims to provide military education and training for students to mobilize them for national defense preparedness. This study aimed to assess the rigor of the Philippine Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and defense and security preparedness among ROTC graduates in selected universities in the Philippines, and determined the significant difference in the perceived level of preparedness on the rigor of the Philippine RTOC among Military Science courses graduates in selected universities such as: physical organization of cadets, combat training of individual soldiers, regional annual administrative and tactical inspection, drill and ceremonies, infantry, rescue, field artillery, and; civil operation activities as assessed by the three groups of respondents. Moreover, the study also determined the significant difference in the perceived level of preparedness on defense and security such as: internal security operations, territorial defense, disaster response, international defense, security engagements, international humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping operations, and support to national development as assessed by the two (2) groups of respondents. This study utilized a descriptive correlational research design. The study covered 200 respondents; composed of 100 Military Science 42 Graduates, and 100 Military Science 43 graduates conducted during the School Year 2022 – 2023. Generally, the respondents were Highly Prepared for the rigor of the Reserved Officers Training Corps. On the other hand, the respondents were Highly Prepared on defense and security as embedded in the Reserved Officers Training Corps. Further studies may be conducted using empirical evidence to further the implementation of ROTC mandates, supplementation to an early career in AFP, and the impact of ROTC on both high school and college graduates in the Philippines.

Educating the Public for the Nuclear Reality: Understanding Likely Behaviors in the Aftermath of a Nuclear Detonation

Introduction:Amid the escalating nuclear arms race in the latter half of the 20th century, civil defense preparedness drills, commonly known as “Duck-and-Cover” drills, were practiced throughout classrooms in the United States. Since then, education and preparedness measures have been largely replaced by fire evacuation and active shooter drills. This study endeavored to understand the likely actions that members of the public may take in the event of a nuclear detonation in the 21st century.Method:Scenarios for 5 kiloton and 100 kiloton near-surface nuclear detonations were modeled using the Hazard Prediction Assessment and Capability (HPAC) software. A video was created animating the models with a voiceover that explained the initial effects of a nuclear detonation. Using the Qualtrics platform, a survey was created in which the order of behavior-based questions and the video was randomized. Lucid distributed the survey to a representative sample of the American public.Results:Among 3,087 participants, only 921 (30%) indicated their confidence in knowing what to do in the event of a nuclear detonation in their city. Participants were most likely to listen to the radio, hide in an interior room, and seal windows or doors. Two thirds indicated they would “duck and cover” (n = 2034, 66%), an action that ranked below helping others (n = 2183, 71%) and wearing a mask (n = 2174, 70%). Study participants who indicated their likely behaviors after watching the video were significantly more likely to listen to the radio (p = 0.044) than those who answered such questions before watching the video.Conclusion:The results of this study suggest there remains a need for emergency preparedness education for members of the public in the United States. As the threat of a nuclear detonation grows, educational methods such as video explanations may increase the preparedness of the American public.

Planetary Defense Preparedness: Identifying the Potential for Post-asteroid Impact Time Delayed and Geographically Displaced Hazards

Planetary Defense Preparedness: Identifying the Potential for Post-asteroid Impact Time Delayed and Geographically Displaced Hazards

National Security Concerns and India’s Expanding Naval Presence in the Indian Ocean

National security ensures the existence of the state through economic power, political power, diplomacy and military power. In the contemporary times military might and defense preparedness is just one aspect of national security and it surround a wide range of non-military variables such as economic security, energy security, environmental security etc. In this context each country has to devise means and methods to protect itself from internal and external threats. Military or defense preparedness however remain a foremost manifestation of national security. All the super powers, major or regional powers maintain security forces which protect country’s national interest and create deterrents to secure themselves. India is a large country of sub-continental dimensions and a major power of South Asia. Its borders touch Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Myanmar, and Pakistan. It has a long maritime boundary, territorial waters and resource rich continental shelf. Its presence into the Indian Ocean is bolstered by hundreds of islands such as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep Islands. India has a security environment around its borders and in the adjoining ocean which is full of challenges. The Indian Ocean, on which depends its maritime trade, its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from which it extracts bulk of its oil needs need to be protected. India faces the challenge of rising terrorism, Somalia born sea piracy, security of sea lanes of communications (SLOCS), protection of its valuable and coveted assets at sea and a plethora of other national security concerns. These challenges motivated India to build and develop a strong navy and show its naval presence throughout the length and breadth of the Indian Ocean. Over the years, India has expanded its naval outreach to become a leading naval power of the region. It has also made strategic use of its nave and used it as a diplomatic tool to build relationships with other major powers within and outside the region. After a strong and formidable build up, Indian Navy has emerged to become the fifth largest in the world. It is a potent force known for its professional competence. In this light the paper throws light on the expanding might of Indian Navy to protect Country’s national security. The paper is an attempt to understand and analyze the national security threats and contribution of its navy to stamp these threats and help India in its power projection in the Indian Ocean region.

The Effectiveness of Virtual State Defense Preparedness Learning during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Increasing the Nationalism of State Civil Apparatus (ASN) in Basic Education for CPNS Group III Batch 2 in Tanjabbar Regency in 2020

The covid-19 pandemic has brought big changes to the world, including Indonesia. The policies issued by the government to limit the spread of the coronavirus have an impact on various fields around the world, especially on education. Learning that should be done face-to-face turns into virtual learning, this very changing learning system has a big impact on the implementation of CPNS basic education training, virtual learning, especially on the first agenda, namely the Defense Preparedness course which aims to shape the character of CPNS to behave and act professionally, behave with quality performance, ethics based on national values, and high commitment to face changes in the strategic environment of work units/organizations as a real manifestation of the spirit of defending the State of a civil servant. This rationale makes state defence preparedness one of the most important training courses in CPNS basic training (Latsar). The characteristics of the effectiveness of the learning program are that they are successful in bringing participants to the learning objectives and indicators of success that have been determined and providing an attractive learning experience. In the state defence preparedness training, the author is interested in conducting an analysis related to the effectiveness of the implementation of learning in the State Defense Preparedness training in fostering a virtual sense of nationalism from the participant's point of view in receiving state defence preparedness learning to increase the sense of nationalism of CPNS Ditsar participants, especially CPNS Training Participants. Tanjabbar Force.2 in 2020 with a total of 34 people. This study used a survey method which was conducted online. The data was collected by distributing questionnaires online to 34 respondents as a sample. The results of the data obtained showed that the implementation of virtual learning was carried out effectively 70.6% of the implementation was effective.

The effectiveness of games learning method in national defense preparedness subject on basic training for civil servant candidates

The selection of suitable learning methods will determine the success of a learning process. In the state defense preparedness training program, games are one of the methods used to achieve learning objectives through the use of playful media. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of this learning method and the factors supporting the effectiveness. The study was conducted on participants in Basic Training for Civil Servants Candidates in 2019 in West Sumatra Province through the distribution of questionnaires online. The results showed that 98.8 % of respondents considered that this method was effective. 

Post humanism, virtual warfare, and the defence preparedness of nations : a case for Africa’s readiness

Post humanism, virtual warfare, and the defence preparedness of nations : a case for Africa’s readiness

The Concept of Defense Management in the 21st Century within Indonesia Maritime Security Framework

<p>Conflict of Maritime Security in the Asia Pacific region, especially South China Sea is a conflict that has long occurred and a problem that is often raised both in a regional and international level. Related to the conflict takes Strategy and Management of the State's defense to anticipate the impact of the conflict situations on defense and security of the region. The purpose of this study is to analyze the concept of Defence Management Indonesia in the 21st century in the context of Indonesian Maritime Security, Case Studies U.S Rebalancing in Asia Pacific and South China Sea conflict, as well as to determine the readiness of Defence Management capabilities in the face of threats. The method used is a qualitative method of data collection methods through in-depth interview to the informant. The results showed that in order to improve maritime security in Indonesia has not been implemented in a structured and comprehensive defense in accordance with the management perspective of the countries more advanced, especially on defense preparedness in logistics management as a managing and defense equipment avaible owned by Indonesia government. Based on these results it is suggested the need for socialization implementation of Defense Management in Asia Pacific by Indonesia government in the context of Maritime Security comprehensively.</p>

String of Pearls and China’s Emerging Strategic Culture

This research paper focuses on the strategic culture of China in the 21st century and establishes a link with the Chinese 'String of Pearls' strategy. The article explores the relevant literature and develops an empirical premise that China’s contemporary strategic culture is still defensive, in line with it past practices. However, after the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing’s strategic culture is more focused on its defence preparedness as 'String of Pearls' is aimed at establishing the maritime Silk Road along the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The paper also briefly discusses China’s importance on developing partnerships and economic relations with different regions like Asia, the Middle East, Europe and America to show its peaceful rise and defensive strategic culture.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Nation's First Superhighway at The State Museum of Pennsylvania

<i>The Pennsylvania Turnpike, the Nation's First Superhighway</i> at The State Museum of Pennsylvania

Defense Management concepts improving Indonesian Maritime Security

This study aimed to analyze the concept of Indonesian Defence Management in the 21st century in the context of Indonesian Maritime Security and to determine the readiness of defence management capabilities in facing threats. Research method used is descriptive qualitative with data collection methods through in-depth interview and documentation. The results showed that in order to improve maritime security in Indonesia has not been implemented in a structured and comprehensive defense in accordance with the management perspective of the countries more advanced, especially on defense preparedness in logistics management such as the management and alutsista availability owned Indonesia

Historical operational data analysis for defence preparedness planning

Preparedness is an important function of defence planning that involves developing defence capabilities to deal with emergent situations relating to national defence and security. Preparedness planning relies on a number of inputs, including requirement analysis, to identify critical capability gaps. Modern data analysis can play an important role in identifying such future requirements. To this end, this paper presents an analytical study, consisting of both descriptive as well as predictive analysis, of historical defence operational data. The descriptive analysis component of the methodology focuses on identifying useful features in the collected data for building a predictive model. The predictive analysis investigates existing patterns in the data, including spatial and temporal trends. An artificial neural network based time series forecasting model is developed to predict future operations based on the identified features. The proposed methodology is applied to a defence operational data set, built from a number of unclassified sources relating to the historical operational deployments of the Australian Defence Force between 1885 and 2012. Implications are also discussed.

South Korea’s Defense Posture against the North Korean Nuclear Threat: Dangerous Reluctance

This paper examines South Korea’s defense preparedness against a possible North Korean nuclear attack. It applies three options of nuclear defense: preemptive attack against North Korean nuclear weapons and facilities, interception of airborne North Korean nuclear missiles, and civil defense to reduce casualties from a nuclear explosion. North Korea may have succeeded in developing about 10 nuclear weapons and making them small and light enough to be delivered by its ballistic missiles. It is imperative for South Korea to prepare defenses against a nuclear attack in the case its diplomatic efforts and deterrence measures fail. South Korea needs to be able to conduct a preemptive strike when a North Korean nuclear attack is imminent. It should also build up its ballistic missile defense systems in order to intercept any North Korean nuclear missiles that may survive a preemptive strike. Moreover, South Korea should prepare for its civil defense by constructing blast and/or fallout shelters to help more people survive a possible nuclear explosion.

South Korea’s Defense Posture against the North Korean Nuclear Threat: Dangerous Reluctance

This paper examines South Korea’s defense preparedness against a possible North Korean nuclear attack. It applies three options of nuclear defense: preemptive attack against North Korean nuclear weapons and facilities, interception of airborne North Korean nuclear missiles, and civil defense to reduce casualties from a nuclear explosion. North Korea may have succeeded in developing about 10 nuclear weapons and making them small and light enough to be delivered by its ballistic missiles. It is imperative for South Korea to prepare defenses against a nuclear attack in the case its diplomatic efforts and deterrence measures fail. South Korea needs to be able to conduct a preemptive strike when a North Korean nuclear attack is imminent. It should also build up its ballistic missile defense systems in order to intercept any North Korean nuclear missiles that may survive a preemptive strike. Moreover, South Korea should prepare for its civil defense by constructing blast and/or fallout shelters to help more people survive a possible nuclear explosion.

Correspondence: Secrecy, Civil-Military Relations, and India's Nuclear Weapons Program

Correspondence: Secrecy, Civil-Military Relations, and India's Nuclear Weapons Program

Development of a Pseudomonas syringae–Eutrema salsugineum pathosystem to investigate disease resistance in a stress tolerant extremophile model plant

To improve the ability to understand how plants respond to multiple and/or concurrent stresses, disease resistance was investigated in Eutrema salsugineum, an extremophile model plant that is highly tolerant of abiotic stress. Compared to Arabidopsis (Col‐0), both Yukon and Shandong Eutrema accessions exhibit increased resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst) and pv. maculicola (Psm), with Shandong Eutrema exhibiting greater resistance to Pst than Yukon Eutrema. RT‐PCR of the EsPR1 (Pathogenesis‐related 1) defence marker gene confirmed RNA‐Seq data that healthy Shandong Eutrema constitutively expresses EsPR1. The data suggests that Shandong Eutrema exists in a highly primed state of defence preparedness, as it displays heightened resistance compared to defence‐primed natural accessions of Arabidopsis (Can‐0, Bur‐0). Pathogen‐triggered PR1 expression was delayed in Yukon Eutrema; however, these plants were resistant to Pst suggesting that Yukon Eutrema employs a PR1‐independent mechanism to resist Pst. This study demonstrates that Eutrema is an excellent model to investigate biotic stress tolerance. The Eutrema–P. syringae pathosystem will facilitate future studies to understand how this extremophile tolerates both abiotic and biotic stress, and will allow exploration of the interplay of these responses to inform efforts to improve stress tolerance in crops.

Ectomycorrhizas with Paxillus involutus enhance cadmium uptake and tolerance in Populus × canescens

Ectomycorrhizas (EMs), which are symbiotic organs formed between tree roots and certain fungi, can mediate cadmium (Cd) tolerance of host plants, but the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. To investigate EMs mediated Cd tolerance in woody plants, Populus × canescens was inoculated with Paxillus involutus (strain MAJ) to establish mycorrhizal roots. Mycorrhizal poplars and non-mycorrhizal controls were exposed to 0 or 50 μM CdSO4 . EMs displayed higher net Cd(2+) influx than non-mycorrhizal roots. Net Cd(2+) influx was coupled with net H(+) efflux and inactivation of plasma membrane (PM) H(+) -ATPases reduced Cd(2+) uptake of EMs less than of non-mycorrhizal roots. Consistent with higher Cd(2+) uptake in EMs, in most cases, transcript levels of genes involved in Cd(2+) uptake, transport and detoxification processes were increased in EMs compared to non-mycorrhizal roots. Higher CO2 assimilation, improved nutrient and carbohydrate status, and alleviated oxidative stress were found in mycorrhizal compared to non-mycorrhizal poplars despite higher Cd(2+) accumulation. These results indicate that mycorrhizas increase Cd(2+) uptake, probably by an enlarged root volume and overexpression of genes involved in Cd(2+) uptake and transport, and concurrently enhance Po. × canescens Cd tolerance by increased detoxification, improved nutrient and carbohydrate status and defence preparedness.

Employing integrated reference models to represent interdependency in a complex enterprise

Successful implementation of change in a complex enterprise requires a shared understanding of system interdependency. Otherwise, the architecture of those changes risk the emergence of otherwise unforeseen obstacles. A fundamental element is understanding how the system responds to stimuli. Given the complexity of that system, no single model would adequately represent the totality of the enterprise. As such, we have employed a structured approach based on soft systems methodology and reference models to develop common pictures. These heuristic models act as anchor points for achieving a shared understanding and as a basis for the development of more detailed models. The approach has been applied to defence preparedness; a system containing many levels of inter-dependency, contested by a range of differing viewpoints, multilayered with decisions and activity at a number of levels, and often seeking to rapidly transition to solutions. We present some examples of distinct but inter-related reference models for defence preparedness.