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If you do not know what JCIDS is consider yourself very lucky (sometimes ignorance is actually bliss). In a rare occasion where Inside the Pentagon publishes outside their subscribers-only site they bring us this timely and newsworthy item - Cartwright Seeks Independent Look At Acquisition Requirements Process by Christopher J. Castelli.

President Obama to Award Medal of Honor

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 31, 2011

ADVISORY: President Obama to Award Medal of Honor

On July 12th, President Barack Obama will award Sergeant First Class Leroy Arthur Petry, U.S. Army, the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry. Sergeant First Class Petry will receive the Medal of Honor for his courageous actions during combat operations against an armed enemy in Paktya, Afghanistan in May, 2008. He will be the second living, active duty service member to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. Sergeant First Class Petry's wife, Ashley, and other family members will join the President at the White House to commemorate his example of selfless service.

PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

Leroy Arthur Petry was born on July 29, 1979. He is a native of Santé Fe, New Mexico and enlisted in the United States Army in September 1999. He attended Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Sergeant First Class Petry is currently assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment and attached to Special Operations Command (SOCOM) with duty at Joint Base Lewis McChord as a liaison for the SOCOM Care Coalition where he tracks and monitors injured Rangers returning from the Theater of Operations to the initial place of care to home station care.

Sergeant First Class Petry has completed multiple combat tours to Afghanistan and Iraq totaling 28 months of deployment.

His military decorations include: two Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart, three Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, National Defense Service Medal, three Army Good Conduct Medals, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Combat Star, Iraq Campaign Medal with Combat Star, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, to name a few.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

THE MEDAL OF HONOR:

The Medal of Honor is awarded to members of the Armed Forces who distinguish themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while:

* engaged in an action against an enemy of the United States;

* engaged in military operations involving conflict with an opposing foreign force; or

* serving with friendly foreign forces engaged in an armed conflict against an opposing armed force in which the United States is not a belligerent party.

The meritorious conduct must involve great personal bravery or self-sacrifice so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the individual above his or her comrades and must have involved risk of life. There must be incontestable proof of the performance of the meritorious conduct, and each recommendation for the award must be considered on the standard of extraordinary merit.

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More: Army Ranger to be Awarded Medal of Honor - Army News Service

Maritime Strategy in an Age of Blood and Belief

Maritime Strategy in an Age of Blood and Belief by (then) Vice Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, U.S. Navy. The U.S. Naval Institute has posted this 2088 Proceedings article by the next Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

While the United States keeps a watchful eye on potential global trouble spots, it cannot lose sight of the changing security complexion in Europe, Eurasia, and Africa.

As the 20-year fog of the post-Cold War transition lifts, a 21st-century pattern of international affairs is coming into sharp focus. The classic ideological feud between capitalism and socialism has given way to new dynamics that are remaking the international system: rising ethno-nationalism, violent religious extremism, globalization, scarcity of energy and food resources, and concerns over immigration and climate change.

Nowhere is this more true than Europe, Eurasia, and Africa, where these factors are widespread and intensifying, with increasingly disruptive effects. Although China, Korea, and Iran crisis scenarios exert the strongest influence over mid-term security strategies—including force structure, presence, and capability decisions—Europe and Africa are rising again on the ladder of America's vital security interests, with important long-term implications for how our nation's maritime forces are shaped and operated...

Read the full article Maritime Strategy in an Age of Blood and Belief at USNI.

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Book Review: Identity in Algerian Politics: The Legacy of Colonial Rule

Book Review: Identity in Algerian Politics: The Legacy of Colonial Rule

by J.N.C. Hill.

Published by Lynne Reinner Publishers, London, United Kingdom and Boulder, Colorado. 2009, 209 pages.

Reviewed by Commander Youssef Aboul-Enein, MSC, USN

With recent and rapid changes gripping the Middle East, it is vital to go beyond the headlines and read a few books to understand nuance and context. Jonathan. N. C. Hill is a lecturer in the Defense Studies Department at King's College in London. His most recent book is an in-depth look into the complex political history of Algeria with a focus on the impact of colonialism on this nation that has seen more than its share of political violence. Algeria is home to al-Qaida in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and therefore is of special interest in America's global counter-terrorism effort. The introduction offers an excellent essay on the betrayal of the French reason for colonizing Algeria in 1832, that the French has a civilizing mission. Yet no aspect of French liberty ever make to the Arab Algerian populace. What evolved, according to the book, are a series of laws and privileges that gave increasing civil liberties and outright power to the pied-nior (French settlers in Algeria). One ubiquitous law passed by the French, was the consideration of granting French citizenship to Muslim Algerians, only if they renounce their faith. The book does a marvelous job in laying out the imbalance of rights between the French settlers and the native Algerians. A zero-sum game developed in which any granting of rights to Algerians was perceived by French settlers of Algeria as an erosion of their privileges.

The book devotes an entire chapter to the evolution of the National Liberation Front (FLN), an organization created by nine men. Although the guerilla movement acquired independence from the French in 1962, the different founders of the FLN would digress into violent internal struggles, culminating with the take-over by Houari Boumidiene. The book discusses how Islam, Arab identity, and Socialism would be the slogans Boumidiene used to establish an Algerian identity, which was severely marginalized by French authorities. He would rule from 1965 to 1978, and would oversee disastrous economic policies that would be compounded by his predecessors leading partly to the rise of the Islamist option starting in 1987. The book discusses the rise of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), its leaders, and the differences within other Islamist groups. With the electoral dominance of the FIS in general elections, the Army would nullify the election in 1992 and declare a military junta. This led to the decade long civil war that claimed between 125,000 and 200,000 lives. A chapter takes us deep into the insurgency, and the increasing militancy of Islamist groups. The Islamic Army Group (GIA) would splinter into the Salafist Group for Propagation and Combat (GSPC), this would splinter into AQIM. This is a scholarly and deep dive into Algerian political history and personalities, it is highly recommended for counter-terrorism professionals, those interested in counter-insurgency, and North African affairs.

Editor's Note: Commander Aboul-Enein is author of "Militant Islamist Ideology: Understanding the Global Threat," published by Naval Institute Press (2010). He is Adjunct Chair of Islamic Studies at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Commander Aboul-Enein wishes to thank the National Defense University Library for providing the book and quiet place to read and write this review. In addition, the quality of this review was enhanced by the edits of YN1 Gavin Irby, USN currently serving with an aviation squadron at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia.

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With Dempsey, Obama focuses on today's problems

A month ago, who thought Gen. Martin Dempsey would be the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff? Gen. James Cartwright, the erstwhile frontrunner, was well-known and apparently admired by President Obama. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus had supposedly cleared up a controversy involving a former Cartwright staffer. Now Cartwright is headed for retirement and Dempsey is headed for the top job.

It is clear that Obama and his team are focused most intensely on the present, namely a clean ending in Iraq, no screw-ups with the drawdown in Afghanistan, and starting at the top rather than the bottom of the learning curve regarding other problems that could flare up in the Middle East. If those are the priorities where the administration wants to take the smallest risks, Dempsey is a strong choice for chairman.

Dempsey's personal experience with counterinsurgency in Iraq directly transfers to both the final endgame there and to advising the President on the fight in Afghanistan. Of even greater importance is Dempsey's experience with security force assistance both in Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The biggest problem the United States has in Afghanistan is not with suppressing the Taliban; the Taliban, or something like them, will always be there and will always be fighting somebody. The biggest problem lies with standing up useful Afghan security forces. In Dempsey, Obama and Leon Panetta will have someone who can give them experienced advice on this issue. Perhaps equally important will be Dempsey's personal knowledge of Saudi Arabia's security forces, both regarding Saudi internal security and Saudi Arabia's ability to fend off a challenge from Iran.

One storyline out of the Obama administration is its professed eagerness to extract itself from the Middle East and Central Asia in order to focus on East Asia and the Pacific. If that was the most urgent priority and the place where Obama wanted to minimize risk, perhaps Adm. James Stavridis would be the next chairman (think you can't have admirals as back-to-back chairmen? President Clinton had soldiers for chairmen, back-to-back-to-back.).

Of course, just because a soldier will be chairman does not mean that the development of the Air-Sea Battle Concept will stop for the next two or four years. Dempsey is very smart (something I have observed first-hand), has experience in joint billets, and has his picture next to the word "adaptable" in the dictionary. As a hedge, Obama has selected Adm. James Winnefeld, a former carrier strike group commander, as the next vice chairman. As vice chairman, Winnefeld will chair the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and co-chair the Defense Acquisition Board, two critical posts regarding the capabilities needed for the Air-Sea Battle Concept.

With his national security appointments over the past two months, Obama revealed some surprises. But the logic is clear: minimize risks to operations in the Middle East and Central Asia by appointing those with the most experience in those areas. East Asia, the Pacific, and Adm. Stavridis will apparently have to wait before they get the same level of attention.