Foreword

The winners of this 20th annual Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Strategy Essay Competition join an impressive line of gifted men and women who have made significant academic contributions to U.S. national security. Each year the competition challenges students attending professional military education institutions to analyze key elements of defense strategy and recommend areas in which changes or improvements are needed. As in past years, the winning essays are remarkable for their insight and wisdom. Each author provides fresh ideas and thought-provoking suggestions that will stimulate the ongoing debate over defense strategy and priorities during this year of the Quadrennial Defense Review.

In a time of renewal and change for the Armed Forces, the voices of our bright men and women in uniform provide the key ingredients of transformation efforts. The essay competition supports our objectives to maintain the American military's competitive edge as the greatest fighting force in the world.

The first place in this year's event went to an entry on legal requirements for governing cyberspace. Second place was awarded to an essay on U.S. retaliatory policy vis-à-vis chemical and biological attacks. Of the two entries that placed third, one dealt with the need to reevaluate the military professional's perspective on international relations in light of globalization, and the other made some recommendations on strengthening U.S. nuclear nonproliferation policy through enforcement of existing agreements with China.

As you read these four essays, challenge yourself to think of ways to translate the ideas advanced by the authors into strategies and tactics to fight and win in tomorrow's battlespace.

HENRY H. SHELTON

Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Table of Contents I Chapter One