USMA Athena
USMA Athena is a secure digital service managed by the United States Military Academy Library to make the work of USMA scholars freely available, while also ensuring these resources are organized to preserve the legacy of USMA scholarship. The mission of USMA Athena is to showcase the academic impact and intellectual capital that has become synonymous with the celebrated heritage of educational prowess attributed to the Long Gray Line. Scholarship submitted to USMA Athena benefits from added visibility and discoverability via Google Scholar in addition to the use of persistent URLs that will provide enduring access to the work over time.
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Recent Submissions
The Strategic Imperative: USASOC's Role in Advancing Civil Resistance Movements during Irregular Warfare
(Military Review, 2024-11-22) Eerhart, Daniel
As the Army transitions toward prioritizing large-scale combat operations and multidomain operations (MDO), the threshold for entering conventional military conflict rises and calls into question the efficacy of conventional military approaches, particularly in addressing nonstate actors and asymmetric threats. U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) has emerged as the Army’s most pivotal actor in countering complex threats in a dynamic operational environment.
By leveraging USASOC’s unique skills and capabilities, the Army can impose costs upon adversaries below the threshold of armed conflict. However, as USASOC trains to remain proficient in its core activities, a capability gap exists within the unconventional warfare enterprise. While Special Forces soldiers are experts in advising guerilla military forces to conduct armed resistance movements, the persistent rise in civil resistance movements to challenge oppressive authority is a domain USASOC cannot ignore. This article advocates for USASOC to integrate a mission to advise civil resistance movements as part of the unconventional warfare strategy.
As part of the irregular warfare mission set, unconventional warfare requires high flexibility and ingenuity to achieve mission success. Following the Arab Spring uprisings in the early 2010s, the ubiquitous nature of technology has lowered the bar for entry to challenge authoritarian regimes. Resistance movements no longer require guerilla militias to operate as the decisive force for overthrowing regimes. On the contrary, according to academic researchers, civil resistance movements are four times more effective than armed resistance movements and create a more sustainable replacement government.1 This article first contextualizes the problem by demonstrating the capability gap. Then, it explains civil resistance movements and crucial operating concepts such as the mechanisms for change, civil resistance planning structures, tactics, and the Spectrum of Allies. Finally, it identifies the organizations best suited for developing expertise in civil resistance movements, thereby providing a framework to assume the mission set in a manner that supports and enables unconventional warfare.
Deployed to the Hill: Military Experience and Legislative Behavior in Congress
(SAGE Publications, 2024-11-15) Amoroso, Joseph G.
Congress is more polarized than ever. At the same time, there are fewer military veterans serving in Congress than ever before. Candidates with military experience, along with their supporters, argue that electing more veterans could help reduce dysfunction and gridlock. They claim that military values, such as duty and teamwork, translate into differences in legislative behavior. But are veteran lawmakers more effective than those without military experience? Are they more bipartisan? Using House data from the 104th to 116th Congresses (1995–2021), I examine the extent to which military experience influences a lawmaker’s ability to legislate and engage in bipartisan behavior. I find that veteran lawmakers are more effective at advancing consequential legislation. Additionally, veterans appear more willing to collaborate with members of the opposite party, especially in recent Congresses. These effects are particularly evident among those who served on active duty. I conclude by considering the implications of these findings for maintaining healthy civil-military relations in America.
Artificial Intelligence and Military Libraries
(Special Libraries Association Conference, 2024-07-14) Rollins, Stephanie; Corrado, Edward; Dodd, Lauren; Braungard, Greta; Reels, Kimberly
Panel discussion on ethics, teaching, policies, and roadblocks to the implementation of artificial intelligence in military libraries.
From Service Records to Special Collections: General and Specialized Military Resources
(McFarland & Company, 2023) Seminelli, Heather; Dodd, Lauren B.
The U.S. Military Academy Library, Archives, and Special Collections supports the staff, faculty, and cadets of the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) and maintains Record Group 404, which are the official records of the USMA, maintained on behalf of the National Archives. Our collection is particularly strong in the areas of military history and the history and story of USMA, West Point, and our graduates. However, that does not always make us the best source for all military-related history, and we receive daily requests that are redirected to other excellent government resources. Over the years, we have gathered a multitude of external resources that are better suited for military-related research. These include federal agencies, state and federal museums or historical sites, libraries and archives that support all services, private and nonprofit organizations, and databases. Military data sources are useful for a variety of topics of interest for users such as genealogical information, military history, awards, historical sites, military leadership, veteran’s history projects, oral histories, and many other subjects. These sources can help users find information that will assist in getting copies of their services records, find out when and where family members served, research military vehicles, or learn about the fort that used to be nearby. There are also a multitude of publications created by the military that may be of general interest. These resources are excellent additions to any librarian’s toolkit. These resources are divided into specific categories such as service records, genealogical information, and Army resources. We have also shared the specific resources USMA publicly provides to support military-related research.
Measuring Biomethane Potential of Food Scrap Waste Anaerobically Co-Digested with Waste-Activated Sludge Using Respirometry
(JoVE, 2024-04-26) Krueger, Brett; Shetty, Anand; Esqueda, David; Bentley, Leah; Hooper, Jonathan; Zumbuhl, Amelia; Butkus, Michael; Pfluger, Andrew
The use of respirometry to study the biokinetics of microbiota treating wastewater or digesting wastewater sludges has become more prevalent over the last few decades. The use of respirometry to examine the biokinetics of anaerobic microbiota co-digesting organic waste streams such as wastewater sludge and food scrap is an area of active research. To date, no visualized protocol has been published on the topic. Accordingly, in this protocol, we configured a respirometer to measure methane production and flow rate over time using three different food-to-microorganism (F:M) ratios and food scrap waste and waste-activated sludge as substrates. The resulting data, coupled with substrate utilization measurements, provides the basis for understanding how different substrate concentrations influence the rate at which anaerobic microbiota produce methane. Additionally, this protocol presents a method to develop biokinetic parameters (e.g., methane production rate constant and yield). Others can use this respirometry protocol to examine organic degradation under anaerobic conditions and develop microbial parameters.