General Officer Education and Generalship: Communication

Wiegand, Krista E., and David L. Paletz. Armed Forces and Society 27, no. 2 (Winter 2001): 183-204.

Crosbie, Thomas. Media, War & Conflict 8, no. 1 (April 2015): 100-119.

Episode of “Thank You for Your Service,” a podcast from the Center for Strategic and International Study. December 4, 2020. Streaming audio. 33:07.

Dunlap, Charles J., Jr. Strategic Studies Quarterly 3, no. 2 (Summer 2009): 3-10.

Mahoney-Norris, Kathleen A, and Charles J. Dunlap, Jr. Strategic Studies Quarterly 3, no. 2 (Summer 2009): 150-152.

Galvin, Thomas P. (Carlisle Barracks, PA: US Army War College Press, 2019).
“Traditional approaches to strategic communication have focused on a single leader's ability to influence stakeholders and other audiences through exceptional communication skills. But there is much more to it. What about the content of the message? How well does the message permeate the organization, allowing it to speak and act as one with the leader? Is it necessary to change minds, or is it sufficient to discredit opposing messages? Using a broad base of literature from organizational studies and the author's experiences, this monograph offers a thought process for building communication campaigns that focus both internally and externally to the organization. Includes a Foreword by Mari K. Eder, U.S. Army Major General Retired and author of ‘Leading the Narrative: The Case for Strategic Communication.’”

Crane, Conrad C. (Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S. Army War College Press, 2018).
“Americans have always been uniquely attracted to airpower, a fact that has been successfully exploited by generations of U.S. Air Force leaders in information campaigns. But as a result, the nation has often entered conflicts with exorbitant expectations about what airpower could actually accomplish, creating unique challenges in strategic communications when promises did not match reality, especially in recent conflicts. Adaptive enemies have also become very adept at using their own carefully crafted information campaigns to counter what is America’s greatest asymmetric advantage on the battlefield.”

McNitt, Allyson. Military Review 101, no. 1 (January-February 2021): 121-128.

Boyd, John “Jay.” Military Review 101, no. 1 (January-February 2021): 108-120.

Marcellino, William M. Joint Force Quarterly, no. 76 (2015): 52-57.

Jurkowsky, Tom. (Maxwell Air Force Base, AL: Air Command and Staff College, 2020).
“Admiral Jurkowsky's distinguished military career culminated in service as the Navy's Chief of Information, and he worked on a variety of events, from the Tailhook Scandal to various incidents at the Naval Academy. His book highlights the importance of honesty, clear messaging, and a positive relationship with the press in order to effectively manage strategic communications. The goal of ‘The Secret Sauce for Organizational Success’ is for both communication practitioners and their leaders to learn from the author’s experiences and motivate both, in tandem, so that they always do the ‘right thing.’”

Eder, Mari K. Military Review 87, no. 4 (July-August 2007): 61-70.

Galvin, Thomas P. (Carlisle Barracks, PA: US Army War College Press, 2019).
“Strategic communication has come to be a popular term to describe the process by which U.S. military organizations managed and unified their planned communications efforts. Unfortunately, joint doctrine leaves many of the words associated with strategic communication undefined, including themes and messages, and "strategic communication" has long suffered from definitional problems. While many commentators and experts have criticized the shortcomings of U.S. communication efforts, especially in operational environments, very little attention has been given to documenting success stories that suggest tools that leaders can use to design and implement campaigns. This book details two case studies of successful strategic communication campaigns—the Multi-Year Roadmap in Stabilization Force-Bosnia and the creation of the U.S. Africa Command. Both campaigns began in environments unfavorable to the commanders and their organizations but, in both cases, the campaign helped turn perceptions of the command into a more favorable light. The book concludes by drawing on the facts of the two cases to present a general architecture for communication campaigns applicable in both enterprise and operational contexts.”

Hersman, Rebecca. Texas National Security Review. 3, no. 2 (Summer 2020).

Urben, Heidi A. (Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 2017).
“Past research contends that with the exception of voting in presidential elections, military officers’ political participation is fairly muted. Moreover, most allegations of political outspokenness tend to be levied at retired officers, not those on active duty. Department of Defense directives provide guidelines on permissible but traditional forms of political expression for active duty members of the military, but largely neglect social media as a forum for political activity. Through a survey of more than 500 military elites attending the United States Military Academy and National Defense University, this project seeks to establish the nature and extent of political expression by members of the military throughout social media and whether or not such expression is in keeping with the norm of nonpartisanship.”

Rasak, Michael J. Military Review 101, no. 1 (January-February 2021): 48-57.

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