Heart of the Nation traces America's volunteer tradition-the golden thread of American democracy-and how Presidents from Washington to Obama have called on citizens to serve neighbor and nation. From the bunker below the White House on 9/11 to villages in Africa, John Bridgeland shares his own experiences inside and outside of government to spark more Americans to volunteer to meet urgent needs. He compellingly argues that such service is fundamental to our own happiness and to what the Founding Fathers envisioned when they talked about the "pursuit of Happiness" in the Declaration of Independence. Bridgeland helps the reader discover their own volunteer service mission and issues a rallying cry to the nation to heal our partisan divisions by joining together across party lines to address our toughest challenges.

The retired four-star general and and bestselling author of" My Share of the Task" shares a powerful new leadership model
Former General Stanley McChrystal held a key position for much of the War on Terror, as head of the Joint Special Operations Command. In Iraq, he found that despite the vastly superior resources, manpower, and training of the U.S. military, Al Qaeda had an advantage because of its structure as a loose network of small, independent cells. Those cells wreaked havoc by always staying one step ahead, sharing knowledge with each other via high-tech communications.
To defeat such an agile enemy, JSOC had to change its focus from efficiency to adaptability. McChrystal led the transformation of his forces into a network that combined robust centralized communication ("shared consciousness") with decentralized managerial authority ("empowered execution").
Now he shows not only how the military made that transition, but also how similar shifts are possible in all kinds of organizations, from large companies to startups to charities to government agencies. In a world of rapid change, the best organizations think and act like a team of teams, embracing small groups that combine the freedom to experiment with a relentless drive to share what they've learned.
McChrystal and his colleagues explain their process for helping organizations embrace this model. They also share fascinating research and examples from settings as diverse as emergency rooms and NASA's mission control center.

In U.S. Military Operations: Law, Policy, and Practice, a distinguished group of military experts comprehensively analyze how the law is applied during military operations on and off the battlefield. Subject matter experts offer a unique insiders perspective on how the law is actually implemented in a wide swath of military activities, such as how the law of war applies in the context of multi-state coalition forces, and whether non-governmental organizations involved in quasi-military operations are subject to the same law. The book goes on to consider whether U.S. Constitutional 4th Amendment protections apply to the military's cyber-defense measures, how the law guides targeting decisions, and whether United Nations mandates constitute binding rules of international humanitarian law. Other areas of focus include how the United States interacts with the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding its international legal obligations, and how courts should approach civil claims based on war-related torts. This book also answers questions regarding how the law of armed conflict applies to such extra-conflict acts as intercepting pirates and providing humanitarian relief to civilians in occupied territory.

In U.S. Military Operations: Law, Policy, and Practice, a distinguished group of military experts comprehensively analyze how the law is applied during military operations on and off the battlefield. Subject matter experts offer a unique insiders perspective on how the law is actually implemented in a wide swath of military activities, such as how the law of war applies in the context of multi-state coalition forces, and whether non-governmental organizations involved in quasi-military operations are subject to the same law. The book goes on to consider whether U.S. Constitutional 4th Amendment protections apply to the military's cyber-defense measures, how the law guides targeting decisions, and whether United Nations mandates constitute binding rules of international humanitarian law. Other areas of focus include how the United States interacts with the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding its international legal obligations, and how courts should approach civil claims based on war-related torts. This book also answers questions regarding how the law of armed conflict applies to such extra-conflict acts as intercepting pirates and providing humanitarian relief to civilians in occupied territory.

Joint meteorological and oceanographic (METOC) operations are critical to a commander's awareness of the operational environment and his ability to exploit that awareness to gain an advantage across the range of military operations. METOC forces must work cooperatively within the Department of Defense (DOD) community and across interagency and multinational lines and boundaries to share and obtain information to provide timely, accurate, relevant, and consistent METOC support to the joint force commander (JFC). METOC is a term used to convey all meteorological, oceanographic, and space environmental factors as provided by the Services, support agencies, and other sources. The principles of accuracy, consistency, relevancy, and timeliness are the cornerstone of joint METOC operations. Joint METOC operations focus on two primary functions: characterization of the environment and exploitation of environmental information to gain an operational advantage by integrating this information into the commander's decision-making cycle and command and control systems. By applying the principles of accuracy, consistency, relevancy, and timeliness, METOC forces are better prepared to support planning and decision making. When characterizing the environment, the principles of accuracy and consistency are paramount to collection, analysis, and prediction processes. The guiding principles of relevancy and timeliness are critical in tailoring and integrating METOC products for the commander. METOC operations depend on continuous characterization of the environment. METOC data are collected and then analyzed to develop a coherent depiction of the natural environment, which is used to provide operational battlespace awareness and to predict the future state of the natural environment. The combatant commander (CCDR) is ultimately responsible for the direction of METOC assets within their area of responsibility. The JFC should direct and coordinate the activities of the METOC assets under the JFC's operational control to ensure unity of effort. Each CCDR should designate a senior METOC officer (SMO) to coordinate all METOC operations within the area of responsibility or functional responsibility. During joint operation planning, METOC support includes integrating global, regional, and locally produced METOC products as well as data and products received from supporting agencies and reliable indigenous sources. The SMO incorporates this assessment into a comprehensive METOC support normally begins well prior to force deployment and often ends after redeployment of the joint force is complete. METOC forces, databases, products, and equipment must be responsive to the requirements of the JFC and should be maintained to a degree of readiness that ensures immediate employment capability. The JMCC is the cornerstone of METOC operations support. Under the JMO's guidance, the JMCC combines multiple source METOC information with operational information to generate the joint operations area forecast (JOAF). The JOAF is the official baseline forecast for operational planning and mission execution within the joint operations area. This publication sets forth the joint doctrine for the planning and execution of meteorological and oceanographic operations in support of joint operations throughout the range of military operations.

Joint shipboard helicopter operations (JSHO) rank among the most challenging types of joint operations. JSHO require US Army, US Air Force, and special operations personnel operate alongside US Navy (USN), US Marine Corps (USMC), and US Coast Guard (USCG) personnel in unfamiliar work and living spaces, with equipment not specifically designed for shipboard capability, and in an operating environment which is characterized by tightly constrained space and an unforgiving nature. It is incumbent every soldier or airman embarked understand their responsibilities during the many evolutions that transpire during each ship's daily routine and the challenges those evolutions present to their unit's daily operations. Unlike some joint operations where the Services are assigned operational areas and interact with each other on the margins (via communications channels, across boundary lines, etc.), JSHO require continuous interaction, coordination, and teamwork to accomplish the simplest of tasks. When planning JSHO, joint force commanders (JFCs) must consider a number of factors, the foremost of which are the impact such operations may have on the overall joint operation. Among these considerations are the mission tradeoffs associated with the displacement of naval aircraft; the removal of the ship from its place in the expeditionary ship and/or embarked unit mission capabilities resulting from emission control or hazards of electromagnetic radiation to ordnance requirements, wind limitations, and/or location requirements. While the mission tradeoff impact of embarking other Service helicopters on small air-capable ships is rather straightforward, JSHO aboard an aircraft carrier or amphibious aviation assault ship is more difficult to assess because these ships are complex, multi-mission platforms. Further, the choreography required for high deck density operations necessitates meticulous planning. This publication provides doctrine for planning, coordinating, and conducting joint shipboard helicopter operations from US ships with flight decks.

Whilst geopolitics, economics, religion and ethnicity all play crucial roles in starting and sustaining conflict this book advances the idea that it will be people s behaviour, and the West s ability to understand, interpret and influence that behaviour which will become the defining characteristic of resolving future armed disputes. This seminal study draws directly on the authors operational experiences in Sierra Leone, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan. Includes a chapter by behavioural scientist Dr. Lee Rowland and an introduction by the BBC Radio 4 More or Less presenter Tim Harford. The foreword is by former ISAF commander General (ret.) Stanley McChrystal. This book argues that future conflicts will be best resolved by focusing attention on altering the behaviours of others, either in advance and therefore deterring conflict or as a coupled component in the process of combat and post-combat operations. They also argue that Western Armies have learnt too many lessons the hard way and been found wanting too easily. "Behavioural Conflct" argues for a fundamental rethink of the way that the West s militaries are organised, educated, trained and deployed.