U.S. Army War College Key Strategic Issues List 2018-2020: Joint Force Multi-Domain Operations, Defending Homeland, Effect of Social, Cultural, Political, Demographic and Economic Changes on Army

This report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. The Key Strategic Issues List (KSIL), developed by the U.S. Army War College, in collaboration with many other organizations and institutions, helps the Army bring to bear our considerable research and analysis capabilities on the most important challenges to the defense of our nation. The KSIL presents over 200 key and strategic issues to guide our research and analysis efforts. I strongly encourage those conducting research through our Senior Service Colleges and Fellows experiences, as well as other researchers, to take-on the difficult issues listed in the KSIL.

This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community.

Theme 1: How can the U.S. Army better integrate into the Joint Force to prepare for and conduct Multi-Domain Operations (MDO)? * Theme 2: How can the U.S. Army be more effective in complex operational environments? * Theme 3: What is the best use of the Army to promote U.S. interests globally and in the various geographic regions? * Theme 4: What is the best use of the Army to help defend the U.S. homeland and North America? * Theme 5: How will major trends in the strategic environment, defense strategy or priorities, society, political authority, demographics, and technology affect the employment of Army forces? * Theme 6: How will social, cultural, political, demographic, and economic changes affect the U.S. Army? * Theme 7: To what extent can the Army improve defense management to facilitate resource prioritization, decision making, and adaptation? * Theme 8: To what extent does the Army optimize its effectiveness at the individual, organizational, and societal levels of the human dimension?

For over a decade, the USAWC has published the Key Strategic Issues List (KSIL) to inform students, faculty, and external research associates of strategic topics requiring research and analysis. A subset of these topics, designated as Chief of Staff of the Army special interest topics, consists of those which demand special attention. The USAWC will address these as Integrated Research Projects and other research efforts. The USAWC in coordination with Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA), major commands throughout the Army, and the joint and interagency community have developed the remaining Army Priorities for Strategic Analysis. The KSIL will help prioritize strategic research and analysis that USAWC students and faculty, USAWC Fellows, and external researchers conduct to link their research efforts and results more effectively to the Army's highest priority topics.