MODERN WAR INSTITUTE AT WEST POINT USA

We support and sponsor Modern war Institute. The Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point is a national resource within the Department of Military Instruction that studies recent and on-going conflicts to prepare present and future leaders to win in a complex world. Leveraging the intellectual capital unique to West Point, the MWI faculty use a research, educate, and integrate model to remain academically grounded, operationally connected to the force, and fully engaged with cadets and the military program curriculum. As such, the MWI directly enhances the quality of cadet military education and training through scholarship, multi-disciplinary contemporary battlefield assessments, symposia, curriculum update and relevancy, academy outreach, and strategic communications.A Pressing Need:While unmatched as a conventional force, the U.S. Army has often struggled to adapt when confronted with a non-traditional enemy such as the Vietcong or a change in the nature of a conflict such as the transition of Iraq and Afghanistan into counterinsurgencies. When we consider the trends of globalization and the emergence of threats such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or Russian aggression in the Ukraine, it becomes clear West Point needs a long term and forward thinking platform to rigorously study modern war and warfare, move the boundaries of current military and academic knowledge, and continually update all components of the military curriculum to reflect the dynamic and uncertain nature of the current operational environment. Constant change in warfare requires the persistent study for persistent conflict. West Point is the seed of the intellectual capabilities that will arm the leaders of the future to win in a complex world. In December of 2014, the Superintendent approved the MWI concept as a margin of excellence program critical to achieving the military program vision of being the preeminent landpower military program.Impact:The results of MWI’s rigorous study of war and warfare will create the intellectual capital required to educate, train, and inspire USMA graduates in the foundational military competencies necessary to win in a complex world. It will also greatly contribute to the body of knowledge for the study of war and warfare in the Army profession.Capabilities:Scholarship – The core capability of the MWI is scholarship. The institute leverages the unique intellectual capital resident in the Corps of Cadets and the staff and faculty of West Point to develop and conduct rigorous research on modern warfare and military problems relevant to the cadets and Army. Cadets value and actively seek venues for the study of contemporary war and warfare. For example, the Defense and Strategic Studies program is consistently one of the Academy’s most selected humanities majors. As a broader and more enduring initiative within the Department of Military Instruction, the MWI has far greater potential to systematically improve the military program for all cadets and provide invaluable scholarship to the Army. Publications will become the center piece of the institute’s world-class reputation and they will contribute greatly to the body of knowledge within the study of war and warfare.Contemporary Battlefield Assessments – One specific form of research that the MWI enables is multi-disciplinary contemporary battlefield assessments through which cadets and faculty conduct field research on recent conflicts around the world. The institute matches cadets with faculty from within the institute and across the Academy to conduct research that informs the military program, enhances each cadet’s West Point experience, and provides meaningful findings back to the force. For example, this summer a group of cadets and faculty are conducting an assessment in Bosnia, focused on the Siege of Sarajevo. Future assessments will include, but not limited to, the Philippines, Mali, Israel, Sri Lanka, and eventually locations such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Somalia.Curriculum update and relevancy – The MWI serves as an integrating body, ensuring the knowledge gained through the institute’s research directly contributes to Military Science and Defense and Strategic Studies courses so that cadets continue to receive world class military instruction. It also ensures military education and training techniques remain relevant. For example, the knowledge gained from the institute’s research will be used in Military Science courses and Cadet Summer Training as vignettes, tactical decision exercises, and field training exercise scenarios.Symposia – The MWI also provides the Department of Military Instruction with a unique convening power, expanding the military program’s access to distinguished visitors and symposia more common in larger academic departments. There is no shortage of senior military, policy, or academic leaders and institutions who want to contribute to the cadet experience at West Point; however, the Department of Military Instruction has not historically had the systems in place to attract or organize events to promote the study of current warfare or military problems. For example, the MWI will hold a Conference of Military Academies following the annual Sandhurst Military Competition.Outreach – The MWI significantly enhances Academy outreach, making the Department of Military Instruction the hub for an active network of stakeholders interested in the study of warfare such as sister officer commissioning sources, peer academic institutions, think tanks, the institutional Army, Combatant Commands, and international and multinational forces and institutions.Strategic communication – MWI provides a consistent and enduring strategic communications capability including a large scale and targeted on-line presence so that both internal and external audiences understand the roles, functions, and magnitude of the USMA military program’s world class capabilities. As a scalable proof of concept for the MondernWarInsitute.org website, a website highlighting a Department of Military instruction extra-curricular program to discuss warfare topics, WarCouncil.org, reached over 150,000 unique visitors in 10 months as a part-time venture.