Science, Technology, and U.S. National Security Strategy

Rapid scientific and technological (S&T) advancements have placed a strain on our nation’s warfighters and strategic thinkers in recent years. Developments can take place in a matter of months that shift our national security strategy and leave us racing to address new threats and opportunities. The education of our armed forces’ future leaders needs to keep pace with ever-changing strategic and technological realities. The senior war colleges would be enhanced by developing instruction methods that better prepare our future military minds to grasp the strategic impacts of emerging sciences and advanced technologies. As emphasized in the 2015 National Military Strategy, such enhancements would lead strategists to better understand that the “diffusion of technology is challenging competitive advantages long held by the United States such as early warning and precision strike” and that a grasp of strategic innovation is a critical skill for those who will lead on the battlefield of the future.