Ben Connable is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University, where he teaches a course on human behavior in war. He holds a doctorate in war studies from King’s College London and is the author of "Russia's Limit of Advance" (RAND Corporation, 2020), "Will to Fight: Analyzing, Modeling, and Simulating the Will to Fight of Military Units" (RAND Corporation, 2018), and “Iraqi Army Will to Fight: A Will-to-Fight Case Study With Lessons for Western Security Force Assistance” (RAND Corporation, 2022).
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The Russian military's prioritization of dramatic public displays over exercises that simulate combat have left it ill-prepared for the war in Ukraine. But U.S. security force assistance programs often incentivize similar, superficial demonstrations.
Identifying and assessing the factors that motivate soldiers on the battlefield help explain the conflict so far and how the contest of wills could shift over time.
Iraq needs a reliable military, but that will require training that fosters leadership, adaptability and esprit de corps.