As a former Strategic War Planner for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, student at the United States Army War College, and Professor of Strategy at the National War College, I spent my formative years on active duty reading and analyzing both the theory and practice of some of the world’s theorists and practitioners of the art of warfare. Among them were Sun Tzu the great Chinese general and strategist whose seminal work “The Art of War” has endured from its inception 600 BC until today and Carl Von Clausewitz a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the psychological and political aspects of waging war in his “On War” in which contains his maxim “war is the continuation of politics by other means.”

Although they practiced their craft thousands of years apart and the technology of waging war differed greatly one concept remains constant – before embarking on any armed conflict one must not only specify but also have a consensus as to what exactly is the end state of the conflict. Although the conflict in Ukraine has been raging since February 24, 2022, neither have President Biden of Trump articulated a strategy to the American people of how Ukraine will “win” the conflict, but perhaps more importantly neither have articulated to the participants (Russia, Ukraine, NATO) and the American public what must be achieved before a lasting peace can be attained.

Yes, I am a staunch supporter of President Trump, but his campaign promise to “end the war in 48 hours” once elected has long since passed and yet the conflict rages on expending the lives of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. In addition, it appears due to the recent pause in the supply air defense missiles, the United States may be expending precious war stocks of missiles that would be utilized in a future conflict (almost inevitable) with the Peoples Republic of China in the straits of Taiwan. Unfortunately, for many reasons the industrial base that supported the “Arsenal of Democracy” that enabled the United States to rapidly mobilize in World War II no longer exists.

I suspect any future conflict will be fought per the concept of former SECDEF Rumsfeld “with what you bring to war, “in any conflict, you must utilize the resources and capabilities you currently possess, rather than relying on what you wish you had. So again “what is the end state in Ukraine?” Until it is articulated, I unfortunately suspect Ukraine, the United States and NATO will continue to expend precious blood and capital over a conflict without an end state that has been articulated to the defenders of the free world.

About the Author:

CAPT Ros Poplar (Ret.) is a career Surface Warfare Officer. Most recently served as the Deputy Branch Head (GS-15) Shipbuilding Conversion Navy (N805B) on the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV N805B) Staff where he supported the development, presentation, and defense of the Report to Congress on the Annual Long–Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels commonly referred to as the “Thirty-Year Ship Building Plan.” In this capacity he provided critical shipbuilding programming and budgeting information to both the Secretary of the Navy (SecNav) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) enabling them to define and inform Congress of strategic Navy shipbuilding decisions encompassing a $85B Future Years Defense Planning (FYDP) investment portfolio across multiple ship classes and lead a team of GS, active duty, and contractor personnel. You can follow Ros at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ros-poplar-86a930164/