Naval War College

The government of Mexico is grappling with vicious cartels, global economic recession, a substantial decline in the country's known oil reserves, and significant environmental issues. If the situation continues to deteriorate, the United States may be asked to assist in a variety of roles. Personnel assigned to work in Mexico will be exposed to a complex and wide array of environmental hazards that will require robust counter measures. Based on the experience of the U.S. military, history shows that unintended exposures to environmental hazards continue to occur despite best efforts. Although great progress has been made to improve deployment health activities, there are opportunities for improvement. The U.S. must strengthen its risk mitigation strategy for environmental hazards before sending personnel to assist Mexico.The types of environmental hazards in Mexico and the potential health impact are discussed. Examples from past U.S. military exposures and insights on emerging issues are provided to illustrate why an effective risk mitigation strategy for Mexico's environmental hazards is essential. A technique for strengthening the risk mitigation process is proposed.

Before the video-teleconference came into use, operational level commanders often relied on personal observations in order to make decisions. Commanders personally observed their subordinates' actions and were able to gain a "feel" for the battlefield.Advanced information technology has changed the way operational commanders communicate with subordinates. Face-to-face meetings and personal observations have largely been replaced by video-teleconferences (VTC). While in use for many years, Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) ushered in the first widespread use of the VTC as a Command and Control (C2) system. Many strategic and operational commanders have come to rely heavily on VTCs, almost to the exclusion of other forms of communication. Operation Anaconda conducted in OEF provides a good illustration of a breakdown in communication between two critical components due to an over-reliance on VTCs.VTCs, while offering significant capabilities, have inherent limitations as a command and control (C2) system that must be appreciated by operational commanders in order to ensure success. The over-reliance on VTCs in Operation Anaconda at the expense of personal face-to-face interaction degraded General Franks' ability to gage his subordinates' level of understanding. Component staffs came to rely solely on VTCs for coordination to the exclusion of message traffic. As a result, components developed different perspectives concerning Anaconda. Additionally, component commanders relied heavily on their staffs for coordination and did not communicate personally with each other. These communication breakdowns contributed to many of the problems in the operation. The enemy in Operation Anaconda lacked the ability to exploit mistakes resulting from poor coordination. Nonetheless, these types of mistakes may prove to be disastrous against a formidable opponent in the future.

A commander's ability to leverage operational intelligence remains a cornerstone for managing the uncertainty, fog, and friction of war in this era of seemingly endless advances in battlefield awareness and information dominance. Operational intelligence, properly understood and utilized, can become a force multiplier maximizing traditional operational art factors. The goal is information superiority thereby increasing the speed at which decisions are made, while preempting enemy choices and courses of action. The challenge for the intelligence practitioner is not new. Indeed, WWI provides insights into how contemporary military commanders resemble their counterparts from nearly a century ago. The Battle of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes, Russia's 1914 thrust into east Prussia as an opening salvo of WWI, was a disastrous defeat for Moscow due to German masterful leveraging of operational intelligence. German exploitation of intelligence from Signals, Human, and Imagery vis- -vis aircraft observation, enabled them to crush the Czar's forces. The story of Tannenberg is a showcase of German successes to gain intelligence about the enemy while denying the Russians the same opportunity. Moreover, German commanders remained receptive and flexible, rapidly incorporating operational intelligence into tactical decision making. The reverse was true for the Russians. Operational intelligence, and the courage and flexibility to incorporate it into tactical and strategic plans, can help commanders manage the enigmatics of war. It worked for the German army in 1914 and can work on today's technologically advanced battlefield.

This book examines the U.S. law regarding use of the U.S. Armed Forces in domestic affairs. A brief scenario involving a terrorist attack using a weapon of mass destruction introduces an example of the dangers inherent in the use of military forces to regain or maintain public law and order. The discussion of U.S. law begins with the history of Posse Comitatus and proceeds through the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The Department of Homeland Security was created by this law and a subsequent action of establishing a unified commander with geographic responsibilities for the North American continent have been questioned as a breach of this law and a threat to civil liberties of American citizens.Upon examination of written law of the land and U.S. tradition, missions and functions of USNORTHCOM are consistent with U.S law and the constitutional duty of the federal government. Despite compliance with the law, involvement of military forces within our borders is contrary to U.S. tradition raising public concerns with the application and involvement of military forces. Concerns for USNORTHCOM are addressed at the operational and national-strategic level regarding the interaction of military forces with the civilian populations and public relations. Public perception driven by operations conducted within our borders will be a serious and continuing public relations challenge unique to the Commander of USNORTHCOM.