NATO was quickly drawn into Operation Unified Protector, the air-heavy campaign in Libya. Without planning time, people at all echelons from many participating countries made the difference. Particularly vital was the leadership of the Combined Force Air Component commander as he and his team executed civilian policy. NATO and partner nation personnel of all ranks arrived prepared to serve, but skills and capabilities did not always match needs. Roles shifted and quick fixes were called for as cultural, organizational, and technical issues arose. Esprit developed fast, so many who finished stints orchestrated ways to return. It is vital that leaders set that tone, showing that unity is the center of gravity in multinational operations relying on unified chains of command

Modern means of transport alone cannot eliminate the strategic significance of terrain, environment, and vast distance, and the challenge is compounded by the twin tyrannies of time and cost. The ability to engage globally and decisively in a timely manner depends on the mobility and transportation assets U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) coordinates and synchronizes. The command works closely with the components, the Defense Logistics Agency, and commercial partners to overcome geographical constraints and rapidly project power through global mobility, assured access, a viable Global Distribution Network, and global synchronization of distribution.

Sun Tzu permeates modern Chinese strategy, influencing everything from deception to espionage while downplaying civilian control in favor of a general’s on-site decisions and pushing “initiative, resulting in a Chinese Air Force inclination to take this initiative through offensive operations and raising the specter of Beijing developing a preemptive strategy despite protestations that the national defense policy is “purely defensive in nature.” Countering Chinese strategy calls for using Sun Tzu against Beijing. For example the general enshrined moral influence to bring the people in line with their leaders’ vision. That can be undermined through an exposé of the leaders’ real lives versus the fable and other discrepancies between public posturing and private actuality