Future Conflict (Minor)

Militaries that assess changes in the character of war, anticipate emerging challenges, and align force design and strategy accordingly are best positioned to succeed in future conflict. Achieving these aims requires officers who combine substantive knowledge with rigorous foresight, strategic and critical thinking, and the audacity to innovate. The interdisciplinary Future Conflict Minor develops these essential capabilities, preparing cadets to adapt and lead across the full spectrum of future operational environments.

As geopolitics, threats, and Department of War priorities evolve, particularly amid rapid technological change and open innovation, the minor emphasizes continual assessment of the strategic environment, adversaries, and U.S. capabilities. Through a structured sequence of courses, cadets examine the U.S. approach to strategic competition, adversary doctrine and strategy, and analytical methods for envisioning future conflict, culminating in a classified practicum that integrates classroom learning with real-world application.

Elective courses allow cadets to deepen their understanding of strategic drivers or gain technical insight into emerging technologies and weapon systems. Grounded in national strategy and future conflict trends, the program fosters prudence, adaptability and strategic judgment in future officers.

Upon completion of the Future Conflict Minor curriculum, cadets will be equipped to:

• Responsibly analyze the changing character of war and its impact on operational environments and concepts.
• Leverage standing knowledge of adversary doctrine and strategy to construe how others think and act, possessing the mental flexibility to incisively red-team into the future.
• Critique and prescribe U.S. strategies for competition and conflict across the full spectrum of conflict and instruments of power.
• Integrate knowledge and skills to solve tangible, wicked-hard problems as determined by Department of War and Air Force sponsors.
• Compellingly communicate innovative courses of action into corridors of decision-making and action through written and oral means.

Potential Job Assignments

Sample Courses

Strategic Competition
Adversary Doctrine
Fiction and Future Conflict
AI Hardware Applications
Leading Innovation
History of Unconventional Warfare
American Foreign and National Security Policy

Suggested Course Sequence

Track 1: Technology, Tactics and Tools

Track 2: Critical Thinking

Track 3: Changing Character of War

Track 4: National Security and Strategy

CONTACT US

Dr. Paul Bezerra
Deputy Head for Academics
paul.bezerra@afacademy.af.edu
(719) 333-9433