The US Army War College Quarterly – Parameters (Summer 2025 Issue)

Mission Statement

The US Army War College has published The US Army War College Quarterly – Parameters, a refereed journal for contributions concerning contemporary strategy and Landpower, since 1971. Parameters is a product line of the US Army War College Press, which publishes and disseminates strategic-level analysis to inform US military and civilian decisionmakers as well as PME faculty and students. The US Army War College Press supports the research and educational missions of the US Army War College by publishing expert strategic analysis via multiple product lines and platforms on topics such as grand strategy, military and defense strategy, strategic leadership, military ethics, and the military profession.

From the Editor in Chief, Antulio J. Echevarria II:

Welcome to the Summer 2025 issue of Parameters. This issue consists of an In Focus special commentary, three forums (Indo-Pacific Challenges, Russia-Ukraine Issues, and Historical Studies).

Features

In Focus

The Next National Defense Strategy: Mission-Based Force Planning By Frank G. Hoffman
©2025 Frank G. Hoffman

• • • • The Pentagon needs to embrace a new methodology called mission-based planning to size and shape the defense enterprise properly. This article critiques several proposals for reestablishing the long-standing two major theater war construct in the face of ongoing shifts in the strategic environment, including the nation’s $36 trillion debt and prospects of annual interest payments beyond $1 trillion. It presents a mission priority alternative focused on strategic prioritization based on the authors’ four decades of experience in strategy/force planning at the service, the department, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense levels. Strategic-level service planners and students of Joint professional military education / top-level schools will better understand the strategic context and key parameters of the internal debate at the Pentagon about the upcoming National Defense Strategy.
      • Keywords: defense planning, National Defense Strategy, China, Russia, budget

Indo-Pacific Challenges

China’s Role in a Future Korean War By Jake Rinaldi

• • • • This article argues that China’s intervention in a Korean conflict will hinge more on North Korea’s ability to hold territory than on bilateral ties. Rather than treat Chinese intervention as a yes-or-no proposition, this study models three scenarios—full intervention, sustained support, and limited support—based on North Korean resilience. Using Chinese-language sources and scenario-based analysis, it assesses how each model would shape key functional areas such as ISR, cyber, materiel, and force posture. The findings offer US defense planners a framework for anticipating variable People’s Liberation Army involvement in a future Korea contingency.
      • Keywords: China, North Korea, weapons of mass destruction, Korean Peninsula, cyber

Strategic Narratives to Counter Global Threats By Jerry E. Landrum, Chase Metcalf, and Michael M. Posey

• • • • This article argues that the current National Security Strategy lacks the necessary coherence and fidelity to mobilize collective action against the emerging Russia-China axis. It merges multiple theoretical concepts to assert that the “rules-based order” theme is insufficient for mobilizing public support. Using textual analysis of the strategy compared with publicly available polling to determine levels of popular resonance, the authors find that the “rules-based order emphasis” does not resonate. This study’s conclusions will assist practitioners as they develop an updated National Security Strategy in the new presidential administration.
      • Keywords: strategic narrative, mobilization, Russia, China, public opinion

Russia-Ukraine Issues

A More Perfect Peace: Can the Russia-Ukraine War End Justly? By Nathaniel B. Davis and Marlon A. Thomas ©2025 Nathaniel B. Davis and Marlon A. Thomas

• • • • This article argues that thinking creatively about war termination, both philosophically and politically, utilizing jus post bellum principles and counterintuitive political trade-offs, reveals an opportunity to achieve a sustainable peace that approximates justice. The article surveys how war aims among belligerents have changed, indicating that further change is possible, particularly at the point of war termination. Next, the article examines jus post bellum principles and their application to the Russia-Ukraine War. Finally, the article contends that Ukraine relinquishing Crimea and the Donbas in exchange for NATO membership might be the key to achieving a durable peace that addresses long-term security.
      • Keywords: Ukraine, war termination, just war, jus post bellum, Russia, NATO

What the Russia-Ukraine Conflict Tells Us about Educational Resilience By Jason Jabbari
©2025 Jason Jabbari

• • • • Education, which can operate as a source of vulnerability or resiliency across multiple domains before, during, and after armed conflicts, is often only examined within a single domain, limiting the use and effectiveness of civil-affairs operations. This article outlines a novel conceptual framework of the primary mechanisms across seven unique domains by which education can serve as a key area of resiliency or vulnerability. A case study of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine illustrates how vulnerabilities can manifest in the seven domains and what military planners can do to build resiliency. The article concludes with a discussion of the costs, benefits, and potential role military civil affairs can play in a post-conflict scenario.
      • Keywords: education, armed conflict, human rights, civil affairs, vulnerabilities and resiliencies

Historical Studies

The Enduring Lessons of Vietnam: Implications for US Strategy and Policy By Martin G. Clemis ©2025 Martin G. Clemis

• • • • This article argues that the Vietnam War is a useful case study for assessing an enduring flaw in America’s approach to war. The United States suffered defeat in Vietnam because it privileged military strength and the pursuit of victory on the battlefield over other elements of national power. As in Vietnam, the wars America will likely face in the future will blend conventional and unconventional methods and use a carefully calibrated mixture of military and non-military means. The United States must situate its demonstrated strengths in conventional war fighting within a holistic framework or face similar strategic outcomes.
      • Keywords: strategy, Vietnam Revolutionary War, hybrid warfare, gray-zone conflict

Restoring the Primacy of Army Mobilization Planning: Lessons from the Interwar Period (1919–41) By Tim Devine ©2025 Tim Devine

• • • • This article argues that the US Army must restore the primacy of mobilization planning to prepare for the growing likelihood of a protracted large-scale war involving the United States. While the Army’s transformation initiatives have emphasized important tactical matters, this piece calls attention to critical strategic vulnerabilities associated with mobilization—one of the Army’s enduring core functions. The article identifies insights, challenges, and recommendations for contemporary leaders and practitioners by analyzing the body of thought on mobilization planning during the interwar period (1919–41) and drawing connections to the present day.
      • Keywords: mobilization, strategic planning, large-scale war, readiness, Interwar Period

Book Reviews

Strategy

The War for Ukraine: Strategy and Adaptation under Fire by Mick Ryan

• • • • Reviewed by Dr. Jonathan P. Klug (colonel, US Army, retired), course integrator, Theater Army Staff Course, Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College
      • Keywords: Russia-Ukraine War, World War I, World War II, NATO, Russia

How to Fight a War by Mike Martin

• • • • Reviewed by Chase Metcalf (US Army), assistant professor, Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations, US Army War College
      • Keywords: Joint war-fighting concept, strategy, warfare, logistics, training, morale

Dr. Seuss and the Art of War: Secret Military Lessons edited by Montgomery McFate

• • • • Reviewed by John Erickson, senior engineer, Axiom Technologies
        ©2025 John Erickson
      • Keywords: Dr. Seuss, Theodore Seuss Geisel, strategy, post-traumatic stress disorder, warfare

Military History

Origins of the Just War: Military Ethics and Culture in the Ancient Near East by Rory Cox

• • • • Reviewed by Dr. Pauline Shanks Kaurin, Stockdale Chair in Professional Military Ethics and professor, College of Leadership and Ethics, US Naval War College ©2025 Pauline Shanks Kaurin
      • Keywords: jus ad bellum, jus in bello, just war, military ethics, religion

Into the Void: Special Operations Forces after the War on Terror edited by James D. Kiras and Martijn Kitzen

• • • • Reviewed by Eric Robinson, special operations researcher, RAND Corporation
      • Keywords: special operations forces, war on terrorism, elite, Indo-Pacific, World War II