Military Effectiveness since 1945
April 10-11, 2026
The effectiveness of military organizations is dependent on a number of components, among them organization, doctrine, training, weapons technology, leadership, morale, discipline and cohesion, endurance, and the ability to adapt to volatile and uncertain combat environments. Underlying these factors is organizational culture, a vital wellspring of the effectiveness of armies, navies, and air forces throughout history.
Organized by Peter R. Mansoor, the Gen. Raymond E. Mason Jr. Chair of Military History at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies, the Military Effectiveness since 1945 conference will explore the development of effective military organizations and therefore its impact on security from 1945 to the present. It will take place Friday, April 10, through Saturday, Saturday, April 11, at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies.
Participants include:
- Craig Stockings, University of New South Wales Sydney
- Xiao-Bing Li, University of Central Oklahoma
- Olivier Schmitt, University of Southern Denmark
- Peter Roberts, RUSI
- Arjun Subramaniam, India National Defence College
- Steven R. Ward, former CIA military analyst and LTC, USAR (ret).
- Katelyn Tietzen, US Army Center of Military History
- Jonathan Roll, Barry and Teri Volpert Family Postdoctoral Fellow at the Hoover Institution's History Lab
- Bruce Bechtol Jr., Angelo State University
- Michael Kofman, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- David Stone, Naval War College
- Allan Millett, University of New Orleans
- Peter Mansoor, The Ohio State University
This is a working conference designed to produce an edited volume that serves military officers, national security policy makers, military historians, political scientists, sociologists, and others interested in how military organizational culture impacts the use of force and security in the world throughout history and today. The edited volume will also be of value in the curricula of professional military educational organizations, such as the service and national war colleges.