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
Academic Library Outreach: Unleashing Student Potential
(N/A, 2024-11-07) Chess, Jennifer; Gomez, Lisa; Mullooly, Lori
This presentation showcased how three academic librarians - the Exhibition Librarian, the Events and Programming Librarian, and the Communications and Marketing and Librarian - successfully harnessed the interests and strengths of their students to create greater engagement and increase scholarly output. From working with students as "clients" on academic projects, to empowering student clubs to lead programming initiatives, to tapping into the specialized knowledge of students for curating exhibits, this presentation outlined ways to rethink student involvement in academic libraries.
A Celebration of West Point Scholars and Creators July 2023 - June 2024
(USMA Library, 2024) Maroney, Barbara J.
We celebrate the 137 works of scholarship produced at the Academy between July 2023 - June 2024.
The presentations will highlight the theme of innovation, technology, and the future of national defense.
Iatrogenic Influence in Information Operations: Lessons from the Global War on Terror
(Foreign Policy Research Institute, 2025-02-18) Eerhart, Daniel
The concept of “iatrogenic influence” highlights how information operations can unintentionally produce harmful outcomes, counteracting the influence objectives the operations sought to achieve. Case studies from the Global War on Terror, including Camp X-Ray detainee photos, soccer balls with religious symbols, and culturally insensitive leaflets, demonstrate how misaligned messaging strategies led to unintended backlash and further fueled adversary narratives. Key indicators of iatrogenic influence are identifiable during operational planning, and the included table is a reference. Some of the most common indicators include targeting broad audiences, using inconsistent delivery methods, failing to account for cultural differences, and lacking feedback mechanisms. Mitigating the risks of iatrogenic influence requires implementing culturally informed message development, narrowing audience focus, establishing real-time feedback mechanisms, and emphasizing ethical integrity to ensure that information operations are effective and culturally sensitive.
Operation Observant Compass and the Hunt for Joseph Kony: The Use of Special Operations Forces in Humanitarian Interventions
(Scientia Militaria, 2024-12-10) Moriarty, Daniel
Operation Observant Compass, the United States 2011–2017 military intervention in Central Africa to defeat Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army, offers several lessons for students and practitioners of military geography. As opposed to previous humanitarian interventions, Operation Observant Compass featured a notably small force of roughly 100 special operations forces and support personnel. This special operations forces element, deployed to the tri-border region between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic, confronted an elusive enemy force in an operational area roughly 200 000 square kilometres in size. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study, on which this article is based, argued that Operation Observant Compass resulted in a net positive humanitarian outcome despite failing to kill or capture Kony. First, using datasets on Lord’s Resistance Army attacks and Operation Observant Compass troop positions, this article presents a geospatial analysis of potential deterrence effects created by the deployment of special operations forces, such as the United States Special Forces or “Green Berets”. Second, using primary research conducted by the former psychological operations commander of Operation Observant Compass and the Ugandan People’s Defence Force counterpart, analysis is presented on the efficacy of psychological operations campaigns that sought to weaken the Lord’s Resistance Army through defections to regional security forces. The study also considered ancillary effects received through United States military medical personnel deployed in support of special operations forces, as well as a counterfactual argument in which United States forces were not directly deployed into the tri-border region. This article contributes to the existing literature by expanding understanding of a little-studied chapter in foreign military deployments in sub-Saharan Africa, considering the nexus between use of special operations forces and humanitarian interventions. Methodologically, the use of a geographic information system argues for a consideration of geographical proximity between forces in creating a deterrent effect in “low-intensity” or irregular conflicts.
REVIEW OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY, REMOTE SENSING, AND GEOSPATIAL SCIENCES REQUIREMENTS BY VARIOUS ACCREDITATION BODIES
(Copernicus GmbH, 2023-06-24) Bolkas, D.; Parisi, E. I.; Detchev, I.; O’Banion, Matthew S.; Gramlich, Victoria A.
Technological advancements in the fields of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, and Geospatial Sciences continuously alter the way we collect, process, and interpret datasets. Accreditation bodies and institutions often need to respond to those changes and make timely modifications to stay current with technology changes and industry needs. However, it can be generally stated that the industry can adapt and adopt technological changes faster than accreditation organizations and institutions, because the process of modernizing curricula can be time consuming and slow based on organization / university / college policies. In addition to industry demands, institutions must adhere to and follow accreditation requirements. This paper reviews several accreditation requirements related to Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, and Geospatial Sciences. The accreditation bodies that are reviewed focus on organizations in Northern America and Europe due to ease of access to information. The review provides insights about their curricula criteria, their level of detail, if they can be considered current based on industry needs, and if they provide enough flexibility for modernizing curricula without violation of accreditation policies and criteria.