Western Military Research Articles

Twenty-First Century Military Multilateralism: “Messy” and With Unintended Consequences

The current century has witnessed several high-profile Western military interventions in developing countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, and Mali/West Africa are well-known examples. All three were initiated unilaterally by the US or France but were soon supplemented with multilateral missions which operated in parallel with the unilateral intervention force, giving them a “messy” appearance. In the three cases, the foreign policy decision-makers in the US and France reacted mainly to domestic stimuli, most evidently in the case of the US, where revenge for 9/11 was a strong motive. Like-minded partners in NATO and troops from developing countries shared the burdens of the US and France and gave legitimacy to the military interventions. The consequences of the interventions were not that they contributed to stability. Rather they supported the incumbent elites, as they were able to avoid launching economic and political reform. The lack of reform undermined the prospects for stability.

Gendered gratitude: the civic subjectivity of israeli women soldiers

ABSTRACT Although most Western militaries include women, the military remains a hyper-masculine organization where women’s service is threatened and unstable. Since the military is a citizenship-conferring institution, we ask, what civic subjectivity do women soldiers develop considering their enduring experience of inequality? Based on 141 retrospective accounts by Israeli women soldiers, we argue that women’s civic subjectivity is based on a sense of gratitude for the opportunity to participate in a central state institution. As a moral sentiment, gratitude ties women to the nation in bonds of commitment and belonging, but at the same time ensures their acceptance of and compliance with the gendered military hierarchy. Women’s ‘civic subjectivity of gratitude’ is a byproduct and expression of structural gendered inequality and at the same time reproduces it. Nonetheless, cracks begin to appear in the women’s sense of gratitude when they encounter gendered devaluation, sexual harassment, or military acts of arbitrary violence. In these cases, the women become more critical, and gradually develop what we term ‘suspicious civic subjectivity’, which can sometimes serve as a source and catalyzer for developing and promoting gender equity policies.

Criteria for choosing the method of inter-hospital transportation of patients with severe trauma

Objective: substantiate the criteria for choosing a method for inter-hospital transportation of patients with severe trauma for the territorial system of medical support for the troops of the Western Military District.Materials and methods. We studied 121 cases of inter-hospital transportation of patients with severe trauma in the territorial system of medical support for the troops of the Western Military District for the period 2015–2020. The time of inter-hospital transportation of patients by an ambulance car of class C and by helicopter was studied at various distances between medical organizations: up to 70 km, from 70 to 200 km, more than 200 km.Results and discussion. At distances between medical organizations of more than 200 km, the average time of medical aviation evacuation of patients with severe injuries by helicopter was 176±35 minutes, and the average time of medical evacuation of patients in a class C ambulance was 290±43 minutes (p=0,04). When the distance between medical organizations is less than 200 km, the average time of medical aviation evacuation of patients with severe trauma by helicopter was 126±43 minutes, and the average time of medical evacuation of patients in a class C ambulance was 137±37 minutes (p=0,85).Conclusions. The main factor in choosing a method for carrying out inter-hospital transportation of patients with severe trauma in the territorial system of medical support for the troops of the Western Military District is the distance between medical organizations. It is advisable to plan medical aviation evacuation of patients with severe trauma by helicopter when the distance between medical organizations is more than 200 km.

The United States at the Center of the Action

The United States at the Center of the Action

Chinese Scholars on the Progress and Outcomes of the Military Reforms in Russia (from the 1990s till Present)

Since the early 1990s, Russia and China have come a long way in developing military cooperation. It began with an exchange of delegations, the reduction of troops along the border, the adoption of confidence-building measures, and, by now, has transformed into a strong partnership. Two countries annually conduct several joint military exercises and develop military training cooperation. In this regard, the Chinese assessments of the Russian military policy after the collapse of the USSR are of particular interest. The survey of specialized publications shows that Chinese scholars commenced studies on the Russian military reforms in the mid-1990s. The author notes that there was a spike of research activity on that matter in 2009 soon after the start of radical reforms of the Russian Armed Forces. Chinese scholars usually identify four waves in the Russian military reforms, each determined by a combination of domestic and external political and economic factors. Chinese military and academic experts assessed these reforms both in terms of their impact on the global balance of power in the military-political sphere and their potential relevance to similar reforms in China. The first two phases of the Russian military reforms (from 1992 to 1997 and from 1997 to 1999) are usually assessed negatively. The general failure of military reforms is attributed to the economic challenges, the lack of political will, and the absence of an adequate theoretical and methodological basis for such transformations. Subsequent reforms (from 2001 to 2004, and, particularly, after 2008) are generally assessed positively. In that regard, Chinese experts emphasize the importance of the processes of political power consolidation and economic recovery that took place in Russia in that period, as well as the role of lessons learned by the Russian military from local wars and armed conflicts. Nevertheless, according to Chinese assessments these reforms still have certain drawbacks, particularly, associated with hasty and misguided attempts to copy the Western military models at the turn of the 2000s — 2010s. In general, Chinese civilian and military experts conclude that throughout a long and difficult process of military reforms Russia has made a significant progress in rearmament and increasing the combat potential of its armed forces. Moreover, such reforms could serve as a valuable source of experience and an example for further development and modernization of the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA).

Influence of psychological characteristics of military services on the features of adaptation to the conditions of the Far North

The aim of the study: to consider the main personality types, indicators of personal and situational anxiety in military personnel of fixed-term and contractual service, depending on the duration of their stay in the Arctic region, and also to assess the influence of the psychological characteristics of military personnel on the processes of adaptation to the conditions of the Far North.Materials and methods. Psychological testing was carried out on 249 male servicemen aged 18-31 years (average age 21.5±4.8 years) who served in the Far North (158 people) and in the Western Military District (91 people). Testing was carried out at the beginning of the service, as well as 6 months after the start of service in various regions. To study personality typology, the Abbreviated Multifactorial Questionnaire for Personality Research (SMOL) and the Luscher test were used, and the Spielberger-Khanin test was used to assess personal and situational anxiety.Results and discussion. The survey showed predominantly asthenoneurotic and epileptoid-excitable personality types among conscripts, which was combined with high rates of personal and situational anxiety. The six-month period of service in the Far North for conscripts was not accompanied by a significant decrease in situational anxiety, which may indicate a low potential for psychological adaptation to the harsh conditions of service in the polar latitudes. And, on the contrary, among contract servicemen, a 6-month service in the Arctic led to an almost complete return of the indicators of situational anxiety to the values of a temperate climate. Thus, the preferential direction for service in the Arctic for contract servicemen will speed up the adaptation process. To assess the dynamics of situational anxiety during service in the Arctic region, it is justified to conduct psychological testing with a frequency of 6 months, which will identify servicemen with low adaptive potential.

Discretion and military frontline workers: investigating civil-military relations policies in Afghanistan

ABSTRACT This article explores how military ‘frontline workers’ use their discretion to interpret and then comply, breach or bypass policies that reach into the tactical level, and why. Based on extensive primary sources including in-depth interviews, end-of-tour reports and data from records, the case study explores the implementation of policies on civil-military relations by military commanders in the Norwegian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan in 2005–2012. This article finds that the commanders used their considerable discretion to implement policies that parted from national directives. In doing so, the Norwegian military strove to align their approach with close allies and NATO and became actual policy-makers. This article contributes to the debate on how western militaries behave at the tactical level by employing the concept of ‘discretion’.

The Debate of Post-human Ethics in the Implementation of Futuristic Automatons: The Case Study of Robotic Dogs in Utopian Western Military juxtaposed against the Real Abuse of Street Dogs in a Dystopian Global South

The Debate of Post-human Ethics in the Implementation of Futuristic Automatons: The Case Study of Robotic Dogs in Utopian Western Military juxtaposed against the Real Abuse of Street Dogs in a Dystopian Global South

ТЕОРЕТИЧНИЙ ОГЛЯД МОТИВАЦІЙНИХ АСПЕКТІВ ЗАНЯТЬ СПОРТОМ У СТУДЕНТІВ ЗВО

The article analyzes and summarizes the motivational factors of Higher Education Institution (ZVO) students to play sports. Based on the theoretical analysis, it is revealed that an essential factor in skipping physical education classes is the motivation and motivational factors of the individual. The main circumstances are laziness, low level of strong-willed potential, indifference and lack of awareness of responsibility for their health, insufficient knowledge about the benefits of physical activity, dissatisfaction with the professional level of teachers, lack of personal interest in sports in general. According to the study, the first positions of recreation for students of Western military districts are sitting at a computer and other gadgets, visiting cinemas, clubs, and not doing physical exercises. The lack of scientifically based curricula is an obstacle to improving physical education performance among students. Students are not satisfied with the monotony of classes. Students’ requests demand professional training of the future specialist and at the same time improvement of the process of educating students' physical culture.

ASKERİ PROFESYONELLİK KAVRAMININ NORMATİF VE TEKNİK YÖNDEN BİR DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

Abstract: In democratic regimes, military subordination to civilian rule is a vital requirement. The civil-military relations (CMR) field of political science has been created to achieve and maintain that purpose. Yet the question of what military professionalism is still does not have a universally accepted answer. After Samuel Huntington published his highly inspirational landmark work The Soldier and the State (Huntington, 1957), CMR scholars started heated debates to create a certain and comprehensive theory of professionalism that would be eligible for all case studies, but none of these attempts has been completely successful. In his influential theory, Huntington (1957) defined military professionalism as a moral code which would prevent officers from pursuing political interests and oblige them to obey civilian rule (p. 158). That approach has been a criterion and a so-called goal for the Western militaries to reach since the Cold War. Having said that, in several cases, professionalism could not deter militaries from praetorian acts (Huntington, 1957, pp. 60–61). Hence, this paper will make a general analysis of military professionalism in the CMR literature. While doing this analysis, the paper will look for the answers to certain questions. What is the relationship between military culture and military professionalism? What are the normative and technical dimensions of military professionalism? Technical Professionalism, Normative Professionalism, Military Culture, Civil–Military Relations

Sealing Technology Transfer Leaks

Recent global trends have brought questions of intellectual property (IP) theft to the fore. The fear is that stolen IP, whether gained through hacking, human intelligence or legal means, could threaten the technological edge of Western militaries. There are many nuanced attack vectors. Rebecca Lucas and Trevor Taylor argue that Western governments will have to adopt a whole-of-government approach, as well as collaborating with allies and partners, to effectively address this challenge.◼

Normalization of mercenary-like private military and security companies: the need for re-securitization of regulation

Sudden proliferation of contractors in armed conflict and post-conflict situations and severe incidents in the first decade of this century drove to securitization of their regulation. Accomplishments included establishment of international principles and national regulations that improved contracting processes of Western governments and the practices of these contractors. The appearance of Russian-affiliated mercenary-like entities and assertions of their moral equivalence to western private military and security companies (PMSCs) threaten the outcome of the securitization effort. Further, the Russian model of mercenary-like entities may proliferate, propping up totalitarian governments and destabilizing at-risk democracies. We argue that re-securitization is necessary to safeguard the current progress in limiting the internationally accepted governmental use of PMSCs in military operations. This re-securitization must include addressing vocabulary and reviewing existing legal obligations regarding combat provider companies to determine applicability of existing law and make recommendations for good practices to set ordinary regulatory processes back on track.

Digital solutions in the choice of surgical tactics in victims with severe trauma (injury)

Optimal conditions and the best results of treatment of victims (including military personnel) with polytrauma are achieved in level I trauma centers. The key factor in the success of treatment is the possibility of prompt medical evacuation of victims, even in an extremely serious condition, from trauma centers of levels III-II to central and district clinical hospitals, which are analogs of level I trauma centers. The area of medical responsibility of the chief medical specialists of the Western Military District includes 26 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the victims are primarily delivered to the medical organizations of the Ministry of Health. In this regard, the process of making managerial decisions to determine surgical tactics and carry out a medical evacuation of victims to trauma centers of military medical organizations of a higher level is complicated and time - consuming. The analysis of treatment and medical evacuation of 258 victims with severe trauma accompanied by shock and (or) coma in the Western Military District in 2015-2020, including 131 (89.9%) - with polytrauma (ISSі18). Medical evacuation was carried out in 232 cases (89.9%). Digital software solutions have been developed to optimize, accelerate the collection and transmission of objective information about the severity of the injury and the transportability of victims.

Application of new approaches in the organization and conduct of classes on combat and special training of military medical personnel

Abstract. Considers an example of organizing and conducting practice-oriented classes on providing emergency medical care for injuries with medical personnel of the military level, garrison and base military hospitals in the Western military district. In large garrisons of the military district in 2019, we conducted four rounds of field training on the organization of emergency medical care for major life-threatening conditions. The format of classes included master classes and blitz lectures on various topics: cardiopulmonary resuscitation, stopping ongoing external bleeding, eliminating asphyxia and pneumothorax, transport immobilization, and features of the use of modern means of emergency medical care. An important practical part of the training was training with surgeons of military and hospital units on living biological objects. At the beginning and end of the course, primary and control tests of the level of knowledge were conducted. During the initial testing, the percentage of correct answers in the groups averaged: surgeons (n=20) 53,9%, doctors of other specialties (n=25) 56,5%, average medical staff (n=34) 52,8%, health instructors (n=52) 52,6%. During the control testing, the following results were obtained: 71,5; 83,5; 84,3 and 83,9% respectively. The format of classes reliably (p˂0,05) showed their high efficiency in all groups. Thus, the need to actively introduce a practice-oriented form of training in the form of demonstration classes, including the use of biological models and simulators, into the combat and special training of military medical personnel is obvious and beyond doubt.

Etiological characteristics of acute respiratory diseases in servicemen of the Western military district in 2014-2019

The species affiliation of respiratory pathogens isolated from patients and carriers in the military units of the Western Military District in 2014-2019 was studied. The analysis of long-term and seasonal dynamics of their circulation is carried out. It was found that S. pneumoniae and adenoviruses are more often detected in acute respiratory diseases in conscripts. The genetic material of adenoviruses was found in 31,9% of samples, influenza viruses in 13,3%, rhinoviruses in 11,2%, respiratory syncytial viruses in 1,7%, metapneumoviruses in 0,9%, parainfluenza viruses 0,7%, bocaviruses0,5%, coronaviruses 0,1%, S. pneumoniae 33,9%, H. influenzae 13%, M. pneumoniae 9%, C. pneumoniae - in 3,3%, N. meningitidis - in 16%. Comparison of the results of work with studies carried out by domestic research groups among the civilian population in the same period showed that the circulation of various respiratory viruses depends on the year, season, and is also influenced by socio-demographic factors. A direct high functional correlation was found between the dynamics of circulation of adenovirus and S. pneumoniae in different years and epidemic seasons. Evidence has been obtained of the active implementation of the process of self-maintenance of the reservoir of infections and the multifactorial nature of the overall environmental sustainability of the system in organized military teams. In the etiological structure of respiratory infections, the proportion of pathogens varies depending on the season in different years, the characteristics of the formation and composition of organized groups, as well as epidemic periods.

Аналіз стратегічних заходів щодо престижу ЗВО провідних університетів Західної Європи

The main content of the study is a comparative analysis of strategies for positioning the leading higher educational institutions of Western Europe in the international information space, namely: Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester and Bristol universities for the global indicator «prestige of HEI among consumers of educational services or users of educational products», which is based on the indicators of the index of academic reputation; the index of the reputation of the HEI among employers; brand recognition. The author determined the indicators of the index of academic reputation and the index of the reputation of higher education institutions among employers according to the world ranking QS World University Rankings. The article explores the characteristic features, basic methods, and means of positioning leading UK universities. These include stories, conversations, presentations, and the referral method. All of these techniques are widely used during the public talk; on the official websites of the Western Military District; in advertisements of establishments, in social networks. Almost all leading universities use the method of concluding cooperation agreements with various companies and organizations, contributes to the popularization of HEIs and the successful employment of their graduates. The author also notes that the main feature of the positioning of leading universities in the international information space is the promotion of their brands. The researcher concludes that all five universities, with their scientific research, make a significant contribution to the development of the economy and society. Scientists and students have constant financial support for their development. Prizes and awards of scientists are an essential aspect of motivation for scientific discoveries. All universities have personal websites and are in touch with the media, publishing their news on scientific achievements.

The role of Muslim identity in predicting violent behavioural intentions to defend Muslims

A sense of shared Muslim suffering seems to play a key role in uniting Muslims around the world. Therefore, in the current paper we hypothesized that the social psychological underpinnings of Islamist extremism would be similar for Muslims living in the West and Muslims living in countries with prolonged and ongoing exposure to Western-led military interventions. Across 4 studies among Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan ( Ns = 425, 402, and 127) and Muslims living in 20 Western countries ( N = 366), we examined a path model in which group-based anger mediated the link between Muslim identification, perceived injustice of Western military and foreign policy, and violent behaviour intentions. Our results indicate that regardless of whether Muslims live in places with prolonged and ongoing experience of Western military interventions or not, the social psychological factors predicting violent Islamist extremism appear to be similar. We discuss implications for future theory and research.

Kingdom of Heaven: The One State Solution and Western Military Intervention in the Holy Land

In this article I argue that in Kingdom of Heaven Ridley Scott creates historical analogies between Saladin's taking of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade, on the one hand, and the Israeli-Palestinian question and American-led ‘War on Terror’, on the other hand. I maintain that Scott pictures the one-state solution in which both the Israelis and the Palestinians can coexist peacefully as a feasible settlement. By presenting the idea of a shared Jerusalem under the Crusaders' rule in the past, Scott wittingly promotes through a contrived historical analogy to contemporary Western interventionism in the Middle East. Crucially, Scott goes beyond Samuel Huntington's essentialist views of Muslims. He provides variable representations of Muslim characters, fluctuating between characters that are superstitious, on the one hand, and characters that are capable of rational thinking, on the other hand. Nevertheless, Scott seems to be highly convinced about the myth of religious violence, as suggested by William Cavanaugh. This myth suggests that secular violence is rational and useful whereas religious violence is irrational and dangerous. Moreover, Scott proves to be swayed by the idea of the ‘just war’ according to which the use of force can be legitimate. In Kingdom of Heaven, Scott pictures the ongoing ‘War on Terror’ as an incarnation of earlier centuries' European (colonial) ‘civilising missions’ towards the ‘less-civilised’ nations.

Anthony King. Command: The Twenty-First-Century General.

Even to experienced soldiers, the organization of military units can be confusing, and few civilians know the difference between a platoon and a battalion or a brigade and a division. But the distinctions among these units are essential to understanding military history and operations. Anthony King has written a trilogy on the contemporary transformation of Western military units. The Transformation of Europe’s Armed Forces: From the Rhine to Afghanistan (2011) analyzed the concentration of military forces. The Combat Soldier: Infantry Tactics and Cohesion in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries (2013) focused on the infantry platoon, which has between twenty and fifty soldiers in it. In his latest, Command: The Twenty-First-Century General, King explores the history, organization, leadership, and transformation of the Western military division, which typically has between ten thousand and twenty thousand soldiers, is commanded by a two-star major general, and bridges the tactical and operational levels of war.

Conceptualising the quiet revolution: the post-Fordist revolution in western military logistics

ABSTRACT There is growing evidence that simultaneous to the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA), a less obvious, but equally profound, Revolution in Military Logistics (RML) has occurred that shapes and underpins western military effectiveness. However, there has been no conceptualisation of this RML nor its wider effect on Western force structures. This article addresses this gap in the security literature. Using an interdisciplinary literature review and case studies, it makes two central contributions: first, it details how western military logistics systems and practises have transformed following post-Fordist principles in the last two decades. In doing so, second, it contributes a major new conceptual framework to the military logistics and security studies literature. Finally, the implications of these processes for military effectiveness are examined, with the conclusion asserting that the cumulative effect of this post-Fordist RML has potentially increased western militaries’ strategic vulnerability.