The Warrior Ethos, and More Military Doctrine

“Modern combat is chaotic, intense, and shockingly destructive. In your first battle, you will experience the confusing and often terrifying sights, sounds, smells, and dangers of the battlefield–but you must learn to survive and win despite them…. You must keep faith with your fellow Soldiers, remember your training, and do your duty to the best of your ability. If you do, and you uphold your Warrior Ethos, you can win and return home with honor.”

So begins the Introduction to a newly updated US Army Training Circular on The Warrior Ethos and Soldier Combat Skills (TC 3-21.75, August 2013, very large PDF file), which aims to communicate and instill core military values.

Another newly updated Pentagon publication presents joint doctrine on Homeland Defense (HD). It “defines and clarifies the domestic use of rules of engagement and rules for the use of force in HD operations.”  And it “Clarifies and elaborates thoroughly the role of planning for cyberspace operations and the duties involved.”

The document also provides lots of incidental details of interest, such as a reference to a previously unheard-of Presidential Policy Directive 10 on US Ballistic Missile Defenses.  “PPD-10 acknowledges that ballistic missile systems present an increasingly important challenge and threat to the security of the US, its deployed forces, and its allies and partners. PPD-10 provides policy and guidelines for the development and deployment of US BMDs.” See Joint Publication 3-27, Homeland Defense, July 29, 2013.

The Navy has issued new guidance to combat the Insider Threat, as the Army did last month.

The insider threat program places unauthorized disclosures (or “leaks”) on a par with espionage or terrorism, and prior to either of them in the official definition.  Thus an insider threat, as defined by the Department of Defense, is “a person with authorized access, who uses that access, wittingly or unwittingly, to harm national security interests or national security through unauthorized disclosure, data modification, espionage, terrorism, or kinetic actions resulting in loss or degradation of resources or capabilities.”  See Department of the Navy Insider Threat Program, SECNAV Instruction 5510.37, August 8, 2013.