Preparing for great power conflict : how experience shapes U.S. and Chinese military training / Mark Cozad [and 6 others].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cozad, Mark R., author.

Contributor:

United States. Department of Defense. Director of Net Assessment.

National Defense Research Institute (U.S.). Forces and Resources Policy Center.

Rand Corporation.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Geopolitics--Forecasting.

Geopolitics.

Great powers.

China--Foreign relations--United States.

China.

United States--Foreign relations--China.

United States.

China--Military policy.

United States--Military policy.

Other Title:

Preparing for Great Power Conflict

Place of Publication:

RAND Corporation 2023

Summary:

The U.S. and Chinese militaries have been shaped by a distinct set of direct and indirect experiences. The U.S. military has focused its energy and resources on combating terrorism and performing counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even in 2023, U.S. emphasis on major power competition contends with other national security priorities, including current crises and continued deployments around the globe. The People's Liberation Army (PLA), on the other hand, has largely focused its military modernization and restructuring to prepare for a regional conflict that would likely involve U.S. military intervention. Despite having no combat experience since the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War, the PLA has conducted an in-depth study of all aspects of the U.S. military's technological and operational capabilities — including its organization, command and control, logistics, joint operations, and concepts of operation — since the 1990s. The dichotomy presented by the experiences of both militaries raises several questions about how they are preparing for the possibility of a major power conflict. Since 2001, the U.S. military has gained significant direct combat experience, but has done so against technologically inferior, nonpeer adversaries. In contrast, the PLA had no direct combat experience. Even though its concepts of operation are designed to fight a major power, these concepts are largely derived from indirect observations and lessons from U.S. operations since 1991. The ways that each side gains and processes experience and incorporates it into training will heavily affect readiness for and performance in a future war.

Contents:

Chapter One: Introduction

Chapter Two: Historical Lessons: Experience, Training, and Change

Chapter Three: Operational Models and Military Training

Chapter Four: Factors Influencing Decisions on Training

Chapter Five: Defining and Categorizing Experience

Chapter Six: U.S. Experience and Training

Chapter Seven

China's Experience and Training

Chapter Eight: The Effect of Experience and Other Factors on Training

Chapter Nine: Conclusions and Implications