Protection Warfighting Function Professional Media List
By The Protection Staff
Article published on: January 1st, 2024 in the Annual Issue of Protection Journal
Read Time: < 8 mins
This list is an important reference for the professional development of all protection leaders in the Army. Continuous self-development is one of the ways that we can maintain and improve our skills, challenge and refine our beliefs, and reach our full potential in an ever-changing world. These resources will improve our understanding of the protection warfighting function and its role in the diverse myriads of Army missions. These resources are intended to complement our professional military education and serve as a means of continuing education between professional military education courses. Suggestions and recommendations are welcome and can be sent to FFIDProtectionMSCOE@army.mil
Protection
Breaking Doctrine Podcast, Episode 66: “Protection in Operations,” Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel A. Rice, Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 1 October 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QVucyA8jEE&list=PL0TzP7-LyFol1J5SgIWdzfOFWRiUa84Y&index=1. This podcast, which features Major General Christopher G. Beck, Commanding General of the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Colonel Richard D. Creed (Retired), Director, Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, discusses the evolution of protection and the urgency of the protection warfighting function in large-scale combat operations. It emphasizes the importance of protection to every Soldier on today’s battlefield.
Doctrine Digest, “Take 10: ADP 3-37 Protection,” Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel A. Rice, Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 1 October 2024, https://youtu.be/Mh9AlM7BzFs?si=wCHyF98EZL7mXHhC. As a result of the recent update to Army Doctrine Publication (ADP) 3-37, Protection, this episode of Doctrine Digest reintroduces the critical protection warfighting function. Lieutenant Colonel Rice describes protection and the associated tasks, explains how to determine risk and vulnerability, and presents best practices for the military decision-making process.
“Protection of Critical Infrastructure in Support of the Deployment of U.S. Forces During Multidomain Operations,” Mark O’Brian, Homeland Defense & Security Information Analysis Center, 20 June 2024, https://hdiac.org/articles/protection-of-critical-infrastructure-in-support-of-the-deployment-of-u-s-forces-during-multidomain-operations/. This article contains a strategic-level discussion of critical infrastructure protection as our Nation transitions to war, which is valuable in establishing a common framework for critical discussions and future planning.
Homeland Defense and the Future Warfighting Challenges Arising from the People’s Republic of China Activities in the Western Hemisphere, Homeland Defense & Security Information Analysis Center, 11 January 2024, https://hdiac.org/webinars/homeland-defense-and-future-warfighting-challenges-arising-from-the-peoples-republic-of-china-activities-in-the-western-hemisphere/ . This podcast discusses the range of U.S. vulnerabilities stemming from the growing activities of the People’s Republic of China; Chinese companies, military, and security agencies; and other agents in the Western Hemisphere in peacetime and in the context of a possible future military conflict with the People’s Republic of China and will be of interest to strategic and operational protection planners.
AUSA 2023: Homeland Defense Seminar: The Future of Homeland Defense—Setting the Theater for Multi-Domain Operations, Army Multimedia and Visual Information Division, 10 October 2023, https://www.dvidshub.net/video/899919/ausa-2023-homeland-defense-seminar-future-homeland-defense-setting -theater-multi-domain-operations. Major General James E. Bonner chairs a high-level panel discussing power projection from the homeland, with an emphasis on protection. Protection-focused opening remarks are delivered by General Glen D. VanHerck, commander of the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
Next War: Reimagining How We Fight, John Antal, Casemate, 28 September 2023, ISBN 978-1-63624-335-1. This book examines the nine disruptors that are changing current methods of war through the lens of fictional but—based on current events and ongoing conflicts—plausible near-future conflicts. It is essential reading for protection professionals and planners.
Protection (Strategic Land power IRP PT 3), Jennifer Hunt et al., U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 23 June 2023, https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/23slirp-3/. This podcast explores the potential role of the National Guard in strengthening cybersecurity defenses as a result of the rising prevalence of cyber threats. It also addresses the complexities of air and missile defense, which necessitate advanced technologies, strategic planning, and international cooperation. It concludes by highlighting the role of solid defense mechanisms in deterring potential aggressors, thereby preserving peace.
United States Bomb Data Center (USBDC) Explosives Incident Report (EIR): 2022, U.S. Bomb Data Center, Huntsville, Alabama, 2023, https://www.atf.gov/file/181946/download. This short booklet reviews the 18,088 explosive-related incidents that occurred in the United States in 2023 and discusses bombing data for the last 5 years.
Nuclear Weapons Effects Simulation, Luis Palacios, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, 9 November 2022, https://www.dvidshub.net/video/863746/nuclear-weapons-effect-simulation. This is a Research and Development Nuclear Technologies Department, Defense Threat Reduction Agency-developed visualization video of the simulated effects of a 10-kiloton nuclear detonation against military units at various distances from ground zero. The video is intended only as a simulation to better aid warfighters in understanding what types of effects to expect after a low-yield nuclear detonation.
7 Seconds to Die: A Military Analysis of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, John Antal, Casemate, 2022, ISBN 978-1-63624-123-4. The Nagorno-Karabakh War was the first war in history to be won primarily by robotic systems, and its impact on the protection warfighting function cannot be overstated.
Critical Infrastructure Protection: Assessing the Risk in the Post Pandemic, Home land Defense & Security Information Analysis Center, 15 September 2021, https://hdiac.org/webinars /critical-infrastructure-protection-assessing-the-risk-in-the-post-pandemic/. This webinar examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has posed new challenges for critical infrastructure protection, including the identification of decision makers and organizational responses to incidents. Many institutions are facing emerging threats and hazards as they return to regular operations, and this session reviews traditional and emerging risks and discusses the steps needed to safely manage the overall change in risk paradigm.
“The Maneuver Enhancement Brigade is the Support Area Command Post,” Military Review Online Exclusive, Colonel Patrick E. Proctor et al., U.S. Army, October 2018, https://www.armyupress.army .mil/Portals/7/Army-Press-Online-Journal/documents/Proctor-Barber.pdf .The authors of this article underscore the significance of cybersecurity in modern defense architectures, asserting that as warfare increasingly shifts to the digital realm, robust cyberdefense measures are integral to ensuring national security. They advocate for continual innovation and upgrades of cybersecurity systems to counter evolving digital threats, effectively reinforcing defense mechanisms.
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, St. Martin’s Press, 20 October 2015, ISBN 978-1-25006-705-0. Detailing the mindset and principles that enable sea, air, and land (SEAL) units to accomplish the most difficult missions in combat, this book explains how to apply them to any team, family, or organization. Each chapter focuses on a specific topic, such as cover and movement, decentralized command, and leading up the chain, explaining what they are, why they are important, and how to implement them in any leadership environment.
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (2d edition), Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Random House, 2010, ISBN 978-0-81297381-5. This update of the 2007 classic discusses risk, future planning, and the role of an almost infinite number of highly unlikely and unforeseen events— “a must read” for the protection planner.
The Character of Harms: Operational Challenges in Control, Malcolm K. Sparrow, Cambridge University Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0521872102. This book is dedicated to the science and art of creating coherent, overarching protection programs for federal, state, and local governments and organizations faced with dozens of unrelated and sometimes highly technical protections, risk reduction, response, and safety responsibilities and efforts.
History
The Bay of Pigs, Howard Jones, Oxford University Press, 2008, ISBN 9780199743810. This is a dramatic account of the disastrous attempt to overthrow the prime minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, in April 1961. Drawing on recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency documents, Jones deftly examines the train of self-deceptions and missteps that led to the invasion of U.S.-trained exiles at the Bay of Pigs. Ignoring warnings from the ambassador to Cuba, the Dwight D. Eisenhower presidential administration put in motion an operation that proved nearly unstoppable, even after the inauguration of John F. Kennedy. Meanwhile, both the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon had voiced confidence in the outcome of the invasion.
Delaware’s Ghost Towers: The Coast Artillery’s Forgotten Last Stand During the Darkest Days of World War II (2d edition), William C. Grayson, Author House, 2005, ISBN 978-0-7414-4906-1. This short book explores how, when faced with depressed economic conditions prior to World War II, our Army responded to a new and revolutionary threat and goes on to describe how we protected a key section of our coastline throughout the war.
Saratoga: Turning Point of America’s Revolutionary War, Richard M. Ketchum, Holt and Company, 1997, ISBN 978-0-712665025. In the summer of 1777, under General John Burgoyne, the British launched an invasion of America from Canada. It was the campaign that was supposed to crush the rebellion, but instead resulted in a series of battles that changed America’s history and the history of the world.
Fiction
Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War, P.W. Singer and August Cole, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015, ISBN 978-0-544-70505-0. This very popular protection-heavy fictional novel has aged extremely well and is worth a reread, given today’s latest international climate and developments.