THE EVOLVING MILITARY BALANCE IN THE KOREAN PENINSULA AND NORTHEAST ASIA, VOL. III: MISSILE, DPRK AND ROK NUCLEAR FORCES, AND EXTERNAL NUCLEAR FORCES (CSIS Reports) by Anthony H. Cordesman and Ashley Hess (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic & International Studies, 2013, 186 pages; available online at
http://csis.org/ publication/evolving-military-balance-korean-peninsula-and-northeast-asia)
Te analysis in this third volume of “Te Evolving Military Balance in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia” series from Cordesman, who holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, and Hess, who worked with Cordesman as a research intern, shows how tensions between the Koreas—the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea—create a nearly open-ended spectrum of possible conflicts that could also include the People’s Republic of China, Japan and the United States. Tese range from posturing and threats, to a major conventional conflict on the Korean Peninsula, to intervention by outside powers such as the United States and China, to the extreme of nuclear conflict. Te authors also raise the possibility of conflicts that could extend far beyond the boundaries of the Koreas.
WEAPONS ACQUISITION REFORM: REFORM ACT IS HELPING DOD ACQUISITION PROGRAMS REDUCE RISK, BUT IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES REMAIN by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013, 48 pages; available online at
http://www.gao.gov/products/ GAO-13-103)
Tis third GAO analysis of 11 weapon acquisition programs shows that the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009 (WSARA) has reinforced early attention to requirements, cost and schedule estimates, testing and reliability. For example, before starting development, an independent review team raised concerns about the Ground Combat Vehicle program’s requirements and the risks associated with its seven-year schedule. Te Army then reduced the requirements by about 25 percent and prioritized them, giving contractors more flexibility in designing solutions. In addition, the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Developmental Test and Evaluation—created by WSARA— used test results to help the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program develop a more realistic reliability goal and a better approach. Still, DOD faces five challenges—organizational capability constraints, the need for additional guidance on cost estimating and WSARA implementation, uncertainty about the sufficiency of systems engineering and devel- opmental testing resources, limited dissemination of lessons learned, and cultural barriers between the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military services—that limit its ability to broaden WSARA’s influence.
CARBON NANOTUBES: SELECT ARMY RESEARCH LABORATORY STUDIES Edited by Percy Szalkowski (Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers Inc., 2013, 72 pages)
Tis book delves into the science of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as explored by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory. CNTs, rolled-up sheets of graphite with very high mechanical strength and novel electronic properties, have poten- tial applications in materials science, such as the structural dynamics of helicopter rotor blades. Topics in this book include increasing the capacitance of CNT- or graphene-based supercapacitors by adding pseudocapacitive manga- nese oxide nanoparticles; electrochemical double layer capacitors fabricated using CNT/paper flexible electrodes; improving microbolometric response using CNTs; and the performance of CNTs in extreme conditions and in the presence of microwaves.
A wealth of suggested reading titles is in GEN Odierno’s professional reading list, online at
http://www.history.army. mil/html/books/105/105-1-1/
index.html. Is there a book you’d like to recommend for this column? Send us an email at
armyalt@gmail.com. Please include your name and daytime contact information.
ASC.ARMY.MIL 191
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