The famous Confederate General Stonewall Jackson noted that "To move
swiftly, strike vigorously, and secure all the fruits of the victory is
the secret of successful war." This observation is at the very heart of
the current discussion and experimentation on how the transformed joint
services of the United States should employ force in the 21st century.
The services are exploring concepts such as Effects Based Operations and
Rapid Decisive Operations to move swiftly and strike vigorously to
secure victory in the coming decades. At the same time the nation and
its armed forces are developing new concepts of homeland security to
defend the country in the war on terrorism. The following chapters
represent some of the thinking by students at the U.S. Army War College,
considering the nature and direction of transformation concepts that
deal with these issues.