A Revolution in Military Adaptation

This work analyzes processes of adaptation undertaken by the US army in Iraq with the general focus on adaptation at the operational level. Serena (RAND Corporation) argues that the army, strongly oriented towards conventional military threats as a result of prior policy, faced a major unconventional challenge in Iraq that forced it to make substantial institutional and organizational changes and to reexamine strategic priorities and military capabilities. He evaluates these processes of change and provides recommendations on how to minimize the need for on-the-fly adaptation in future conflicts by expanding adaptive capabilities in the present. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Chad C. Serena works at the RAND Corporation, where he analyzes national security issues with a focus on US Army strategy and doctrine. He received his PhD from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. He previously served in the US Army as a military intelligence officer, a signals intelligence officer, and in various information operations positions in the Second Stryker brigade at Fort Lewis, Washington.