The first duty of any government is to ensure the safety of its citizens, and therefore it is the first duty of any army to be ready to fight and win the nation's wars. It would be both naive and irresponsible to assume that anyone can accurately predict the nature, scale or timing of emerging security challenges, and war has (fortunately) been far removed from the capitals of Western bureaucracy. Economic circumstances, combined with social demands, have meant that fewer and fewer resources have been allocated to nations' security preparations. But there are too many signs and warnings that can no longer be ignored. So what is being done to prepare for the coming storm? Storm Proofing offers the collective thoughts of fifteen experts recognised practitioners and academics from the United Kingdom, the United States and Europe. They explore what is being done, whether it is enough, and how we might differently shape our preparations for 21st-century warfare on land. This book is not about troop numbers and equipment, but about the human component. It is about how we approach war, how armies can structure themselves and adapt to modern contexts, how soldiers should think and feel, and how all these very human things relate to the advance of technology and artificial intelligence.
