National Defence College Research Articles

The Swedish Symposium for English for Special Purposes

After a few years in which EAP/ESP teachers in Sweden failed to meet, a symposium was held at KTH, the Royal Institute of Technology, in Stockholm on October 22nd/23rd, 2007. The two-day event was attended by approximately 30 participants from higher education institutions ranging from CTH and KTH, the Schools of Business in both Stockholm and Gothenburg, the National Defence College and a number of universities spread around Sweden. Further afield, Oslo University College was also represented. Some fifteen short presentations were given on a variety of administrative, research, and teaching topics, including:

Japan's Defence: Today and Tomorrow

When the Pacific War was over, I was taking a training to become a commanding officer of the KORYLI (Seadragon), a five-man midget submarine, modified version of the two-man submarine which penetrated Pearl Harbor in 1941. Missions in these submarines were not suicidal, but very nearly so, because they were automatically forced to the surface after firing one torpedo out of two due to the loss of balance. They would float in
 front of the target for about twenty seconds, submerge to normal depth, fire the second torpedo and come up again. It was a "secret weapon" in the hands of the Japanese Imperial Navy before the end of the war. About 150 such submarines were ready to fight against the landing forces of the United States.
 I mention this to underline the difference between my feelings at that time, and my feelings now. I had no fear of death during the war. I was not afraid of fighting against a superior force for the sake of the nation. But I am much more afraid of death now. Although 1 have taught for a long time at the National Defence College (currently the National Institute for Defence Studies) about international security, my sentiments are very different from what they were in the prewar period.
 The difference in my feelings is also tied to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. I was in the Submarine School at Otake, 40 kilometers away from Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped, and saw the flash of the explosion and the mushroom cloud, and felt the shockwave. Two days later, I walked through Hiroshima for about two hours. I was told that if I had been there for five hours I would have been fatally affected, but fortunately I was not exposed to the radiation long enough for that. When I came back to Kure, which was near my home port at that time, my group and I got very drunk, to try and expunge the nightmare we had seen. The drinking helped save my life, flushing out the radiation. I do not know whether to believe that or not, but in any case I am still here.
 Only someone who had gone through the same experience, I think, could understand the anxieties I had after the war, especially when I was about to Hisao Iwashima have my first child. Even my wife did not really understand. At any rate, these feelings make up a part of my mentality. Frankly speaking, the Japanese "nuclear allergy" is something that ought to persist. It is unacceptable to use atomic weapons for any reason, under any reason, under any conditions. At the same time, I have to acknowledge the effectiveness of nuclear weapons as a deterrent. This is the dilemma I have to confront in my own thinking.

The Jeune École: The Strategy of the Weak (review)

Reviewed by: The Jeune École: The Strategy of the Weak Chalmers Hood The Jeune École: The Strategy of the Weak. By Arne Røksund . Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2007. ISBN 978-90-04-15723-1. Appendix. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. xviii, 242. $134.00. Jeune École: the only school of western naval strategy outside of the better known Mahan doctrine of world maritime supremacy. The huge fleet, the great battle, the control of the world's seas, said Mahan. But the current author, Admiral Arne Røksund, Commandant of the Norwegian National Defense College, comes from a maritime nation with no hopes of world domination and knows that the sea is not just for the [End Page 253] mightiest. So, he sought inspiration in the ideas coming out of France from the 1880s up to the appearance of the Dreadnought. Jeune École; the young school of the young turks. Jeune École; a navy built around small ships because the national coffers were empty after the Franco-Prussian War. Jeune École; a fleet of small ships perfectly suited for empire building which absorbed French maritime energies for fifty years. Sailors became explorers and trainers of colonial armies in hopes that their overseas regiments would make the difference on the Marne in the next struggle for the mastery of Europe. Jeune École; the perfect experimental doctrine in an era when ships were neither wood nor steel and were propelled neither by sail nor steam but rather were unsuccessful mixtures of all. Jeune École; the doctrine for a lesser maritime power still smarting from Trafalgar, dreaming of a comeback using small torpedo boats and fast commerce raiders. Jeune École; a doctrine which could sell as the most democratic form of national defense in an era when monarchist generals like Boulanger and anti-semitic scandals over Captain Dreyfus tarnished the image of France's armed forces. Jeune École; perfecting torpedoes on surface craft, while awaiting a functional submarine. The Jeune École was all of these things and interested parties could turn to any of the arguments to justify the investment in something other than ships of the line. This book provides the English language reader with the only up-to-date study of this curious development since the appearance of Theodore Ropp's dissertation-turned-book. Røksund has made some significant additions by using primary sources in the French Navy's archives which were closed to Ropp when he did his research in the 1930s. The result is a tight story which begins with the French Navy's surrender of her budget to finance the rebuilding of the Army after 1870 and ends with the emergence of the submarine as the first viable weapon to do what the Jeune École proposed-wage a guerre de course. In places, the footnotes are as important as the text, summarizing internal debates and secret conferences at the French Navy's war college. Admiral Røksund misses the political fight over the annual budgets for the Navy in these very lean years. As some officers admitted years later, there were politically correct speeches to make before revolving door cabinets which would guarantee a budget. Were the Jeune École enthusiasts misguided dreamers or simple pragmatists getting whatever they could? When the Dreadnought appeared and completely altered the concept of naval shipbuilding, the French admirals quickly adapted; but could they build fast enough to match their rivals? It is too bad that The Jeune École; The Strategy of the Weak is sold for a price which only research libraries and big navies can afford. One would hope that parts could be made available in more affordable form. Røksund's Jeune École is a book for the poor as well as the rich. Copyright © 2007 Society for Military History

Book Review: Abrahamsson, B., Egnell, R., and Ydén, K. (2006). Effects-Based Operations, Military Organization, and Professionalization. Stockholm, Sweden: Swedish National Defence College

Book Review: Abrahamsson, B., Egnell, R., and Ydén, K. (2006). Effects-Based Operations, Military Organization, and Professionalization. Stockholm, Sweden: Swedish National Defence College

Urban sustainability and public awareness: The role of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy in Canada

The author, Co-Chair, Urban Sustainability Task Force of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, and Special Advisor to the Mayor of the City of Ottawa, is a former senior public servant and international consultant with extensive experience in public administration, policy formulation and program management relating to economic and regional growth, infrastructure development, social development as well as urban planning and conservation. With degrees in International Affairs from Carleton College in Minnesota and Political Science and Economics from Columbia University, he also holds Certificates in Russian Studies from Columbia University and in Military and Strategic Studies from the National Defense College in Kingston, Ontario. Mr Aquilina had a long career in the federal public service which included appointments to the Civil Service Commission, the Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council Office. He served as Assistant-Deputy Minister in the Departments of Regional Economic Expansion, Secretary of State and Finance. He also occupied the positions of Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Board, General Manager of the National Capital Commission and Chair of the Task Force on Decentralization of Government Operations. As a consultant, he provided senior advice to the governmentof Lebanon on public service reform and headed a task force in Ethiopia on public finance reform. He was also a senior member of two missions from Canada to the governments of Benin and Haiti. The text that follows is an edited version of a paper presented at the international symposion on "The Natural City, " Toronto, 23-25 June, 2004, sponsored by the University of Toronto's Division of the Environment, Institute for Environmental Studies, and the World Society for Ekistics.

The Philippines - Philippines-USSR Relations: A Study in Foreign Policy Development. By F. Landa Jocano. Metro Manila: National Defense College of the Philippines Foundation, 1988. Pp. xii, 191. Notes, Bibliography, Index.

The Philippines - Philippines-USSR Relations: A Study in Foreign Policy Development. By F. Landa Jocano. Metro Manila: National Defense College of the Philippines Foundation, 1988. Pp. xii, 191. Notes, Bibliography, Index.

Pakistan's development: An overview

This is the text of two lectures given in the summer of 1980, one at the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad, and the other at the National Defense College, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The lectures attempted to identify some non-economic determinants of Pakistan's economic performance since the standard economic explanations are not very satisfactory for analysing the country's rather erratic performance over the last three decades. The lectures reviewed Pakistan's economic history from 1947, the time of independence, to 1977, when political power moved once again from a civilian government to a military regime. The lectures underscored the importance of the nature of external economic development, the extent of government commitment to development and the level of participation in economic management as important determinants of economic performance. One of the important conclusions reached was that the governments in the Third World must pay heed to these factors in planning for the difficult times that lie ahead.

LAND FORCES IN MODERN STRATEGY

Abstract : Lieutenant General DeWitt C. Smith, Jr., became the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel on 1 August of this year. Prior to his promotion and reassignment, he had been Commandant, US Army War College since July 1974. Having served briefly in the early days of World War II as a rifleman in the Canadian Essex Scottish Regiment, then Major General Smith was invited to present this lecture a the Canadian National Defence College in the spring of this year. Much in demand as both a writer and a speaker, General Smith has been a frequent contributor to Parameters. This article was adapted from an address delivered at the Canadian National Defense College, 14 April 1977.

The Management of Defence. Papers presented at the National Defence College, Latimer, in September 1974

The Management of Defence. Papers presented at the National Defence College, Latimer, in September 1974

Book Review: John C. Garnett (ed.), The Defence of Western Europe: Papers Presented at the National Defence College, Latimer, in September, 1972. (London: Macmillan, 1974. £4·95.) Alvin J. Cottrell and James D. Theberge (eds.), The Western Mediterranean: Its Political, Economic and Strategic Importance. (New York: Praeger, 1974. £7·75.)

Book Review: John C. Garnett (ed.), The Defence of Western Europe: Papers Presented at the National Defence College, Latimer, in September, 1972. (London: Macmillan, 1974. £4·95.) Alvin J. Cottrell and James D. Theberge (eds.), The Western Mediterranean: Its Political, Economic and Strategic Importance. (New York: Praeger, 1974. £7·75.)

Crisis in European Defence: The Next Ten Years, The Defence of Western Europe. Papers presented at the National Defence College, Latimer, in September 1972 and Force Reductions in Europe

Crisis in European Defence: The Next Ten Years, The Defence of Western Europe. Papers presented at the National Defence College, Latimer, in September 1972 and Force Reductions in Europe

Reviews of Books

Abstract Abstract Europe Leaves 1936–1954 By Howard M. Sachar, with an Introduction by William L. Langer (Allen Lane: Penguin Press) £8.00, 725 pages. Reviewed by John Stephenson. Moshe Dayan: The Soldier, the Man and the Legend By Shabtai Teveth (Quartet Books) 60p, 426 pages. Reviewed by A. J. Barker. Insight on the Middle East War By the Insight Team of The Sunday Times (Andre Deutsch) £2.25 in hardcover, 95p in paperback, 256 pages. Reviewed by David Bolton. Muscat and Oman: the end of an era By Ian Skeet (Faber and Faber) £3.95, 224 pages. Reviewed by H. M. Rose. Blarney: Controversial Soldier By John Hetherington (The Australian War Memorial and the Australian Government Publishing Service) $7.50, 414 pages. Reviewed by Ronald Lewin. Guerrilla Struggle in Africa By Kenneth W. Grundy (Grossman, New York) £2.40, 204 pages. Reviewed by Roger Sibley. Larrey: Surgeon to Napoleon's Imperial Guard By Robert G. Richardson (John Murray) £4.50, 266 pages. Reviewed by F. M. Richardson. The liberal autocrat: Alexander I: Tsar of War and Peace By Alan Palmer (Weidenfeld and Nicolson) £4.95, 487 pages. Reviewed by Suzannah Perry. The rise of the Rising Sun: The Short Victorious War: The Russo-Japanese Conflict 1904–5 By David Walder (Hutchinson) £4.00, 321 pages. Reviewed by P. H. Vigor. From Peter the Great to Gorshkov: A History of Russian and Soviet Sea Power By Donald W. Mitchell (Macmillan Publishing Co. Inc) $15.00, 657 pages. Reviewed by B. B. Schofield. Strategy for the West: American-Allied Relations in Transition Edited by Richard B. Foster, André Beaufre and Wynfred Joshua (Crane, Russak) $11.00, 251 pages. Reviewed by A. J. Trythall. The Western Mediterranean: Its Political, Economic, and Strategic Importance Edited by Alvin J. Cottrell and James D. Theberge (Praeger (US), Pall Mall Press (UK)) £7.75, 241 pages. Reviewed by A. J. Trythall. The Defence of Western Europe: Papers Presented at the National Defence College, Latimer, in September, 1972 Edited by John C. Garnett (Macmillan) £4.95, 143 pages. Reviewed by A. J. Trythall. LESSON FOR OUR TIME?: Crisis Convoy: The Story of HX 231 By Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Gretton (Peter Davies) £3.25, 182 pages. Reviewed by E. J. Grove. Closing the Open Door: American-Japanese Diplomatic Negotiations 1936–41 By James H. Herzog (Naval Institute Press) £5.95, 310 pages. Reviewed by P. A. Towle. Control of the Sea-Bed: A New International Issue By Evan Luard (Heinemann) £4.75, 309 pages. Reviewed by Lachlan Shackleton-Fergus Command, Control, Compromise James H. Carrington (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland) £5.95, 276 pages. Reviewed by Lieut.-Colonel R. Crossley. The Army of Frederick the Great By Christopher Duffy (David & Charles) £5.25, 272 pages. Reviewed by Roger Sibley. 6 June 1944: D-Day By Warren Tute with John Costello and Terry Hughes (Sidgwick and Jackson Ltd) £3.95, 256 pages. Foreword by Admiral of the Fleet the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, PC, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCVO, DSO, FRS. Reviewed by B. B. Schofield. Armoured warfare: Tank Battles of World War I: Armour in Action 3 By Bryan Cooper (Ian Allan) £2.50, 95 pages. Reviewed by E.J. Grove. An isolated incident: The Corfu Incident By Eric Leggett (Seeley Service) £3.75, 183 pages. Reviewed by B. B. Schofield. Log of the Centurion By Leo Heaps (Hart-Davis, Mac-Gibbon) £3.75, 264 pages. Reviewed by B. B. Schofield. The Maori Wars By Tom Gibson (Leo Cooper) £5.50, 272 pages. Reviewed by P. H. C. Hayward. The Soldier's Trade: British Military Developments, 1660–1914 By Frederick Myatt (Macdonald and Jane's) £3.75, 319 pages. Reviewed by I. F. W. Beckett. Fight for freedom: Crusade in Spain By Jason Gurney (Faber & Faber) £2.95, 189 pages. Reviewed by Roger Sibley.

Researches in Space Flight Technology

The Forty-Ninth Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture, “Researches in Space Flight Technology,” was given by Dr. Abe Silverstein, B.S., F.R.Ae.S., F.I.A.S., Director of Space Flight Programs, N.A.S.A., before a large and distinguished audience in the Lecture Theatre, 4 Hamilton Place, on 12th September 1961. Air Marshal Sir Owen Jones, K.B.E., C.B., A.F.C, B.A., D.I.C., F.R.Ae.S., M.I.Mech.E., R.A.F.(retd.), President of the Society, presided. The Lecture was given during the Eighth Anglo-American Aeronautical Conference, and the President was accompanied on the platform by Dr. H. Guyford Stever, President of the Institute of the Aerospace Sciences, and Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Air Commodore W. P. Gouin, R.C.A.F., a member of the Directing Staff of the National Defence College, Canada, and President of the Canadian Aeronautical Institute.As has become the custom, before the Lecture was delivered, the President presented the awards made by the Council for 1961 for outstanding contributions to aeronautics. The list of awards presented on this occasion was published in the June 1961 Journal (p. XXVII).Introducing the Lecturer, the President reminded the audience that the first Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture was given in 1913 by Horace Darwin. The list of Lecturers, as they would see in their programmes, contained the names of eminent scientists and engineers from America and from this country. They had with them on this occasion a number of those who had given the lecture, among them their very distinguished visitor, Dr. von Kármán.This lecture had been given alternately by a lecturer from this country and one from the United States, with one exception. On one occasion it had been given by the late Professor Ludwig Prandtl—a name well-known to them all.Now Dr. Abe Silverstein was to give the 49th Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture and had chosen as his subject “Researches in Space Flight Technology.” Dr. Silverstein was Director of Space Flight Programs at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration headquarters in Washington. Before the N.A.S.A. was established on 1st October 1958, Dr. Silverstein had been Associate Director of the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory, Cleveland, a research centre of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which formed a nucleus of the N.A.S.A. Dr. Silverstein joined the N.A.C.A. in 1929 and spent much time at the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory on wind tunnel design and high speed research until he was transferred to the Lewis Laboratory in 1943 to direct research at the Altitude Wind Tunnel. He had done pioneering work on large scale ram-jet engines and on the supersonic wind tunnels at Lewis.