Objects in Mirror are Closer Than They Appear: Population Growth and the U.S. Army.

Abstract

This monograph examines the influence of population growth in the developing world on the U.S. Army's mission within the national security strategy. The U.S. military in general and the U.S. Army in particular will not be the only, or even the most important, component of the U.S. response to the population problem. However, there will be certain aspects of the strategic threats posed by population growth that will require a military response. This monograph first examines the demographic environment to determine why population growth is a national security issue. Second, the military component of the population growth issue is investigated. Third, this monograph examines whether the U.S. Army is prepared, and if not, why not. Next, changes in organization and training are considered. Finally, this monograph shows that the demographic environment of the world in the first decades of the twenty-first century is likely to have as great an impact on how Americans perceive their lives as any threat on the strategic horizon. The U.S. Army's relevancy to Americans may have little to do with destroying enemy formations or seizing ground. Instead, the U.S. Army's relevancy to Americans may have a lot to do with stemming the flow of migrants at their point of origin and preventing a disrupting number of economic migrants from reaching the United States.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1996
Accession Number
ADA314867

Entities

People

  • Marion L. Miles Jr

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Africa
  • Central America
  • Civil Affairs
  • Doctrine
  • Governments
  • Human Population
  • Information Systems
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Psychological Operations
  • Special Forces
  • Special Operations Forces
  • Training
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies