Five experts describe the technological, environmental, and other
disruptions that are changing the way the US armed forces manage
conflicts and pursue peace initiatives.
Particularly since the end of the Cold War, US armed forces have addressed a wide range of security concerns, some of which fall into noncombat categories—for instance, helping to manage the emerging effects of the Ebola virus in Liberia, or assisting in rescue and recovery efforts after hurricanes in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico.
How has the US military adapted to this diversification in assignments, while still preparing for and conducting traditional combat operations? What critical strategic and technological questions do the US Department of Defense and other government agencies and leaders need to address? How can they introduce new ways of working within existing infrastructures?
This summer, a group of experts on military and strategic issues shared their perspectives on the factors that are reshaping the global security environment, as part of McKinsey’s Imagine Get-Together event—a recurring forum led by McKinsey’s Navjot Singh. For this edition of the forum, Singh was assisted by McKinsey experts Tucker Bailey and Heather Ichord. The speakers included several longtime leaders in the US Navy, a professor of conflict-resolution studies who has worked with US government agencies as well as international and local NGOs, and the leader of a government organization that aims to bring innovative technologies to the military quickly.
The presenters explored the following:
Admiral Eric Olson, US Navy (retired), former commander, US Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base:
During my last year in command, I was struck by an image that many of you have seen: the composite satellite imagery of the world taken at night. It shows where the lights are on and where they are off. Certainly, up until the 9/11 terror attacks, our intuitive military thinking was that the most strategically important places on Earth must be where the lights are on at night—along a relatively narrow band of the mid-Northern Hemisphere. That’s where people live, societies develop, goods are produced, and money traverses networks. Then on 9/11, we were struck from a dark place; we were woefully unprepared to deal with and against people who live where the lights aren’t on at night.
Particularly since the end of the Cold War, US armed forces have addressed a wide range of security concerns, some of which fall into noncombat categories—for instance, helping to manage the emerging effects of the Ebola virus in Liberia, or assisting in rescue and recovery efforts after hurricanes in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico.
How has the US military adapted to this diversification in assignments, while still preparing for and conducting traditional combat operations? What critical strategic and technological questions do the US Department of Defense and other government agencies and leaders need to address? How can they introduce new ways of working within existing infrastructures?
This summer, a group of experts on military and strategic issues shared their perspectives on the factors that are reshaping the global security environment, as part of McKinsey’s Imagine Get-Together event—a recurring forum led by McKinsey’s Navjot Singh. For this edition of the forum, Singh was assisted by McKinsey experts Tucker Bailey and Heather Ichord. The speakers included several longtime leaders in the US Navy, a professor of conflict-resolution studies who has worked with US government agencies as well as international and local NGOs, and the leader of a government organization that aims to bring innovative technologies to the military quickly.
The presenters explored the following:
- the continued complexities of the hard and soft tasks the US military is now being charged with, and how to find the balance between both in a resource- and time-constrained environment
- conditions for peace and the importance of negotiation skills among today’s military leaders on the ground
- the navy of the future and what it might look like
- technological changes in today’s military
- the opportunities emerging from industry–military partnerships
Admiral Eric Olson, US Navy (retired), former commander, US Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base:
During my last year in command, I was struck by an image that many of you have seen: the composite satellite imagery of the world taken at night. It shows where the lights are on and where they are off. Certainly, up until the 9/11 terror attacks, our intuitive military thinking was that the most strategically important places on Earth must be where the lights are on at night—along a relatively narrow band of the mid-Northern Hemisphere. That’s where people live, societies develop, goods are produced, and money traverses networks. Then on 9/11, we were struck from a dark place; we were woefully unprepared to deal with and against people who live where the lights aren’t on at night.
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