One of the enduring images from World War II is a 1939 public awareness campaign poster developed by the British Ministry of Information in anticipation of inevitable German bombing raids. It boldly stated, “Keep Calm and Carry On.” More than two million of these posters were printed and made ready for use, but they were never publicly distributed. Why? After the Ministry of Information showed the poster to a number of test groups, it learned something quite interesting: the British public did not think that they needed reminding of their need to be resilient. Even after the German raids came some 10 months after the posters were made, they were still not used. In 2000, a shopkeeper found one in a box, and eventually a company placed them in the public consciousness worldwide. Today, they seem to be everywhere, even in parody on various Web sites. But the message has some weight in these seemingly difficult times.

As we all know, life is a gift that we frequently take for granted. When tragedy strikes, we are always caught off guard and left to wonder why. As this edition goes to press, we are learning of the loss of life and property in Moore, Oklahoma, from a devastating tornado. Having begun my career as a member of the Air Force’s Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft crew force based nearby at Tinker Air Force Base, my family and I have lasting memories of the power of tornadoes and their accompanying thunderstorms. As devastating as the losses were, it seems at this early time many were as prepared as they could have been and the responses to the disaster were well organized and effective.

At the National Defense University, we are just beginning to accept the loss of a pair of leaders, mentors, friends, and truly great people, Major General Joe and Sue Brown. Their stars shone brightly here at NDU as they led the Eisenhower School team. In a manner that Joe and Sue would have expected, the faculty, staff, and students at the Eisenhower School and all of the NDU community paused and then continued the mission toward graduation this spring. We learn how close we really are and what we mean to each other in such times. We do indeed keep calm and carry on.

This edition’s Forum offers five valuable perspectives from the experiences of the last decade-plus of combat and supporting operations. In an article that should enliven the ongoing debate on insurgencies and how militaries deal with them, Robert Egnell provides another important view of the last 12 years of coalition efforts in Afghanistan with a different critique of counterinsurgency operations and their implications for future conflicts and military force structure. As combat-experienced doctors who have seen the results of these conflicts on both our own troops and local populations, David Kauvar and Tucker Drury next offer their views on how best to position and take advantage of medical units in counterinsurgency operations. Human Terrain Teams deployed to combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan have been both praised and assailed for a range of reasons in the media. But the question remains as how best to fill the gap between the military instrument’s limitations and the local social problems it faces in a conflict area. A team of research fellows from the Institute for National Strategic Studies here at NDU, led by Christopher Lamb, provides us a summary of his team’s detailed study of this program. Another significant issue facing deployed forces and the host nation is how well the joint force concerns itself with the environmental impacts of operations. LeeAnn Racz and her graduate students from the Air Force Institute of Technology describe the important considerations for both military planners and deployed commanders on how to include being good stewards of the area they operate in. Finally, Nicole Finch and Peter Garretson describe a growing (and actually traditional) means of helping nations build air arms in their security forces through the use of air advisors.

This issue’s Commentary continues several discussions that have been ongoing in JFQ, and in the wider media, to include how the United States and other nations hunt for their enemies, the effects of reduced national budgets on defense, the role of women in combat, the rebalancing of U.S. military forces to the Pacific, and how the diplomatic corps views the aftermath of the first loss of an Ambassador in several decades. Benjamin Runkle first takes us through more than a century of efforts to find, fix, and target those individuals who seek to affect the strategic level of international relations through the lens of the battle of Tora Bora. Internationally recognized historian Richard Kohn discusses the “so what?” and “now what?” questions as we look to where the military will be after the sequester ends. Ellen Haring reports on an important symposium held at the height of the recent debate on removing the remaining combat exclusions in the Services barring women from specific combat specialties. Adding to Admiral Samuel Locklear’s comments on his area of operations in U.S. Pacific Command (see JFQ 69), James Keagle, Richard Fisher, and Brian Johnson wrestle with the twin problems of a lack of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization–style alliance in the region and the desire to manage China’s behavior. A career diplomat with service as a teaching faculty member at National Defense University, Alan Greeley Misenheimer offers important thoughts from a Foreign Service Officer’s point of view on the tragic events that took the lives of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who was a graduate of the National War College in 2010.

Cyber, military creativity, maritime operations, and energy provide a great deal to consider in our Features section. Kyle Genaro Phillips helps us understand the relationship between the Law of Armed Conflict and cyber warfare. Many have predicted a catastrophic cyber event just over the horizon. Clifford Magee strongly advocates for the Department of Defense to take responsibility for defending the Nation from this threat, to include defending all aspects of our computer infrastructure. JFQ readers and many professional military education students among them have been the benefactors of the many significant contributions of Milan Vego to this journal and beyond. Professor Vego returns with a thoughtful article on military creativity that should be required reading as we all seek to find new ways to do more with what we have. Next, focusing on the operational level of war, Rear Admiral James Foggo III, USN, and Lieutenant Michael Beer, USN, offer an important look into how the maritime forces of the coalition operated effectively during the 2011 Libyan campaign. Adding to our frequent discussions on Africa and its strategic implications for the joint force in the future, Albert Kendagor and Richard Prevost offer an important review of the energy situation in Kenya, a key state in the U.S. Africa Command area ofresponsibility.

In Recall, Phillip Meilinger, another longtime contributor to JFQ, offers a significant case study with modern implications to consider—the problem of opening operations on two simultaneous fronts in combat. Our Book Reviews section once again brings the reader three important books and four reviews, each with an insightful look. In Joint Doctrine, Naval War College professors Derek Reveron and James Cook offer an excellent discussion of theater strategy that will be useful in joint professional military education classrooms and for those on the geographic combatant command staffs.

On May 16–17, 2013, NDU Press hosted the 7th Secretary of Defense and 32nd Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Essay Competitions here at NDU. As a first, many of our judges, unable to travel due to fiscal constrains, participated online. The event was a success, and the winners of these important contests will be formally announced in the next edition of JFQ. My thanks to all who entered the contests, to the judges who reviewed the dozens of entries and selected the winners, and most of all to our NDU Press team led by Joey Seich who most impressively organized and executed a world-class event on a shoestring budget and computer. Even in these difficult times, we carry on to bring you the best ideas from the joint force. JFQ

—William T. Eliason, Editor

In Memoriam

The Joint Force and the National Defense University community lost a truly exceptional pair of leaders on April 19, 2013, in a tragic plane crash that took their lives: Major General Joseph Daniel Brown IV, USAF, and his wife, 
Sue Stanger Brown.

General Brown was born February 8, 1959, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Sue was born September 14, 1960, in Washington, DC. The couple met while Joe was a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, and Sue was a student at the College of William and Mary. They were married June 26, 1982, at Fort Myer Post Chapel in Arlington, Virginia.

General Brown was Commandant of the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at NDU. After being commissioned in 1980 as a distinguished graduate of the ROTC program at VMI with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, he went on to earn a Master of Science degree in business administration from Central Michigan University. General Brown was also a distinguished graduate of the National War College, class of 1997. Sue Stanger Brown was President of the Air Force Officers’ Wives’ Club of Washington, DC. Sue graduated with honors from the College of William and Mary in 1982 with a Bachelor’s degree in business administration. She also earned a Master of Science degree in administration from Central Michigan University.

Beyond leadership and academic accolades, both were accomplished in a variety of ways. General Brown was a 32-year Air Force veteran and decorated aviator. A command pilot with more than 4,300 hours primarily in bombers, he flew sorties over Iraq and Afghanistan for which he was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross with “V” device. His other medals and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, and Air Medal. Sue was a gifted musician and the principal cellist for the William and Mary Symphony Orchestra, and she played in various symphonies and string quartets, including the Fairfax Symphony, throughout her life.

Together, Joe and Sue led and cared for all under his command at the 28th Bomb Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base and the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, and continued to do so for the students, staff, and faculty at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, which was renamed the Eisenhower School during their tour.

In all, the Browns touched thousands of lives during their 18 military assignments. Survivors include their son, Daniel Craig Brown, and daughter, Emily Allison Brown.

The NDU Foundation has organized a memorial fund in their honor.