Policing, pandemic and the American racial divide

Over the past month the United States has experienced the greatest civil unrest since 1968. Demonstrations have occurred in more in 1700 towns and cities in all 50 states. Outrage over the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, caught on video, drew people into the streets to protest racial injustice. To understand why this single incident provoked such a response Thomas Mockaitis, Professor of History, DePaul University, examines the confluence of three factors: systemic racism, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the nature of American policing

The Effects of Exercise on Mental Cognition

Like many other Kinesiology experiments, the relationship between exercise and mental clarity has been researched in many different settings. However, few researches have been conducted on determining a specific type of exercise, anaerobic or aerobic exercises, that shows the best positive increase on mental clarity. This series of manuscripts dives into the ins and outs of exercise as it relates to mental clarity to best narrow down exercises that show the most improvements. Three manuscripts are written on different subjects that all relate to each other in an overarching theme, mental clarity. These manuscripts were broken down to reveal the most important aspects of each type of exercise, anaerobic and aerobic exercise, while also linking the direct effect of exercise on mental clarity. The types of exercises were measured using their biological effects on the brain and the body. Further research was done in the exercise and mental clarity abstract to determine the correlation between the biological effects on the brain and mental improvement in certain brain areas. These manuscripts support the feasibility to conduct further research in this field and what important areas to focus on. Because there is substantial research supporting the theory that exercise improves mental clarity, new topics such as specific exercises is important to discover. This new research can shed a new light on ways to improve mental clarity for children and adults of all ages

Sustainable Fitness Centers

The world is in the midst of an energy crisis and it is only going to get worse. World energy consumption rates are increasing by the day; meanwhile, the amount of available natural resources to generate energy is decreasing at impressive rates. In addition, humans are becoming more aware and educated about the vast impact that their daily lives have on the environment. Scientists have discovered that the earth has been gradually warming over the past few decades. Natural cycles within the earth’s climate, at this time, cannot fully explain the relatively large increases in surface temperature in such a short amount of time. Therefore, the United States and the rest of the world are changing their attitude toward the environment. Instead of a use and abuse policy that we once had as humans, we are changing into a reuse, recycle, and renew society. In an attempt to incorporate sustainability within the daily lives of humans, as a solution to the energy and global warming crises, I have developed a prototype for a system that coverts kinetic energy or “human energy” to useful electrical energy. The prototype produces clean, renewable energy by harnessing the energy spent by a gym user on an upright exercise bicycle. The electrical energy will then be incorporated into the gym’s electrical grid and used immediately to power low voltage circuitry such as televisions, fans and lights within a closed loop system

The crisis of American democracy

In the BICC-Webinar "After the storm of the Capitol: How endangered is democracy?" Thomas Mockaitis, Professor of History, DePaul University, explained about the drivers (such as "echo chambers" and alternative facts”) and perpetrators (such as white supremacists and Christian nationalists) of the outbreak of violence on 6 January 2021 in Washington, DC. In his recent commentary, he reflects upon how deeply the democratic consensus in the United States is endangered

The Phoenix of Counterinsurgency

For the last three decades of the twentieth century, soldiers and academics confidently proclaimed the death of counterinsurgency (COIN) as a major form of warfare. They asserted that the vast majority of COIN campaigns occurred at the end of the colonial era as nationalist insurgents ushered European powers out of Africa and Asia. The passing of empires meant the end of this most vexing form of warfare, so the reasoning went. The United States, in particular, turned its back on unconventional conflict, embittered by the experience of Vietnam and committed to the defense of Western Europe and South Korea. The end of the Cold War had little impact on this mindset, especially when the first Gulf War seemed to vindicate faith in conventional arms. The complex humanitarian missions of the 1990s bore a striking resemblance to COIN for those who wished to look beneath the surface differences. The Somalia debacle, however, reinforced the conviction that irregular operations should be avoided, not studied. Only the inescapable realities of Afghanistan and Iraq have forced the rediscovery of effective COIN methods and then only after much blood and treasure had been wasted. This article traces the evolution of COIN and argues that it will remain a prevalent form of warfare for the foreseeable future

Civil-Military Cooperation in Peace Operations: The Case of Kosovo

The humanitarian intervention in Kosovo provides an excellent case study of civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) in peace operations. The intervention required 40,000 heavily armed combat troops from NATO and Partnership for Peace countries to provide security and coordinate relief efforts with the UN, the OSCE, and over 500 humanitarian organizations. CIMIC provided the mechanism for such cooperation and support. Like any concept employed in coalition warfare, CIMIC varied widely in the quality of its application. This study examines the effectiveness of CIMIC within each brigade area and throughout the province as a whole. It identifies best practices and common mistakes to derive lessons that might inform the conduct of future missions, such as those currently underway in Iraq and Afghanistan.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1763/thumbnail.jp

The COIN Conundrum: The Future of Counterinsurgency and U.S. Land Power

Counterinsurgency (COIN) continues to be a controversial subject among military leaders. Critics argue that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have made the U.S. military, particularly the Army, COIN-centric. They maintain that equipping U.S. forces to combat insurgency has eroded their conventional war fighting capabilities. Those committed to preserving and even enhancing COIN capabilities, on the other hand, insist that doing so need not compromise the ability of the military to perform other tasks. They also point out that the likelihood of even a mid-level conventional war remains low while the probability of unconventional engagements is high. This monograph reviews the COIN debate, analyzes current force structure, and concludes that contrary to the more extreme positions taken by critics and proponents, the U.S. military has achieved a healthy balance between COIN and other capabilities.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1417/thumbnail.jp

Soldiers of Misfortune?

In examining the role of security contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, the author draws broad lessons from which he provides concrete recommendations to improve the conduct of further missions. Rather than do away with contractors altogether, the author recommends limiting their roles, providing better oversight of their activities, and improving legal accountability for their wrong doing. This monograph will be of interest to soldiers and policymakers engaged in the difficult task of planning and conducting contingency operations.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1498/thumbnail.jp