MANEUVER WARFARE: INNOVATION AND THE ELASTIC MINDSET
Description
One of the many diverse educational opportunities at the U.S. Army War College are specialized seminars that deep-dive into specific areas of interest. Kurt McDowell and Mike Smith participated in the AY25 Futures Seminar, and they're in the studio with host Darrell Driver to discuss their findings. Sponsored by the J-7, Lieutenant General Anderson, the seminar was tasked with exploring innovation for maneuver warfare in 2040. , McDowell, Smith and the team advocate for an "elastic mindset" and "effectual logic," a means-based approach that focuses on what's available, rather than a traditional causal, end-state approach. They contrast this with the military's current high-certainty planning scenarios, which are often based on specific threats like Russia and China.