THERE’S MORE TO LIFE THAN LETHALITY

When you're more focused on lethality you're less likely to look at ways the military can act to support things that will maybe avoid war in the first place During his tenure as the Secretary of Defense, James N. Mattis frequently used the term lethality in describing all aspects of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was described as a desired endstate for all acquisitions, it was the subject of criticism in the world of joint Professional Military Education, and service secretaries and chief were given carte blanche to eliminate or restructure anything that hindered or didn't contribute to lethality. Andrew Diederich joins Editor-In-Chief Jacqueline Whitt to discuss the shortcomings of that thinking in the strategic realm. If all the DoD concerns itself with is lethality, what roles, what options, what contributions is it at worst ignoring, at best, allowing to deteriorate?     LTC Andrew Diederich is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College AY19 Resident Class and currently assigned to Northern Command. Jacqueline E. Whitt is Professor of Strategy at the U.S. Army War College and the Editor-in-Chief of WAR ROOM. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense. Photo Description: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. – Cpl. Matthew Teutsch (left) and Cpl. Brett Norman, both combat videographers with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, participate in hand-to-hand and close quarters combat during martial arts training at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Oct. 2, 2018. The Marines worked on offensive and defensive techniques utilizing different weapons systems focusing on the motto of the Martial Arts Program: “One Mind, Any Weapon.” Photo Credit:  U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Donald Holbert