Background:
Divergent Options is a non-politically aligned non-revenue generating national security website that, in 1,000 words or less, provides unbiased, dispassionate, candid articles that assess a national security situation, present multiple options to address the situation, and articulate the risk and gain of each option. Please note that while we assess a national security situation and may provide options, we never recommend a specific option.
Below you will see a Call for Papers. If you are not interested in writing on this topic, we always welcome individual articles on virtually any national security situation an author is passionate about. Please do not let our call for papers cause you to hesitate to send us your idea. We look forward to hearing from you!
Call for Papers:
Divergent Options is calling for national security papers assessing situations or discussing options related to organizing for large scale combat operations.
To inspire potential writers, we provide the below prompts:
– Assess how the People’s Republic of China is organizing to conduct large scale combat operations.
– Assess how the U.S. is organizing to conduct large scale combat operations.
– What options do smaller or less militarily capable countries have to counter larger countries when the larger country conducts a large scale combat operation?
– Assess whether Country X’s people, and / or their political leaders, have the will to endure the casualties that will be incurred during a large scale combat operation.
– The last time Country X maneuvered a Corps or larger in either training or combat was decades ago, what options exist for Country X to prepare to do this in a war?
– Assess the viability of the U.S. Army conducting a Louisiana Maneuvers-like exercise today.
– Where and how would the U.S. Army conduct a Louisiana Maneuvers-like exercise today? Provide options.
– Assess the viability of the U.S. Navy conducting Fleet Problems-like exercises today.
– Where and how would the U.S. Navy conduct Fleet Problems-like exercises today? Provide options.
More information on the Louisiana Maneuvers can be found on the amazing twitter feed of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, more specifically here, here, here, and here. Many thinks to Mother_of_Tanks for drawing our attention to this tweet series!
More information on U.S. Navy Fleet Problems can be found in the June 2017 U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings article “Bring Back Fleet Battle Problems” by Captain Dale Rielage, U.S. Navy, and in the book “Testing American Sea Power: U.S. Navy Strategic Exercises, 1923–1940” by Craig Felker which can be found here.
Please limit your article to 1,000 words and write using our Options Paper or Assessment Paper templates which are designed for ease of use by both writers and readers alike.
Please send your article to submissions@divergentoptions.org by April 16, 2021.
