Chapter Two: How to Build Strategic Competence

Published June 3, 2020

There are several ways to regain strategic competence and confidence. We must think of challengers on their terms and maintain a strategic focus instead of getting lost in tactical details. It is essential to be collaborative and have long-term goals with explicit assumptions that can be challenged. Additionally, strategic competency requires the integration of national power and a flexible strategy.

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Discussion Questions

1. What is the impact of climate change on national security?
2. How do nations perceive one another’s interests, goals, intentions, and capabilities?

Additional Resources

•  In “H. R. McMaster: Battlegrounds—Competitions That Will Determine American Security, Prosperity, and Influence in a New Era,” H. R. McMaster discusses how to restore America’s strategic competence. Available here.
• Read “Competence and Confidence” by H. R. McMaster. Available here.