JFQ 99, 4
th
Quarter 2020 Gaetke 101
Mobilization in the 21
st
Century
Asking the Right Question
By Matthew C. Gaetke
A
renewed focus on Great Power
competition means major wars
are getting attention again,
and these kinds of wars consume a
lot of resources. Historically, big wars
required wartime industrial mobiliza-
tion to produce all those resources.
War mobilization conjures black and
white images of tanks, planes, and
ships pouring out of American facto-
ries during World War II. But does
bringing these pictures to life reflect
the realities of major war in the 21
st
century? Can we even make all those
things? More important, is planning for
this kind of industrial overhaul a high
priority in preparing for a major war
with a peer competitor? Is this even the
right question?
Colonel Matthew C. Gaetke, USAF, is Special Assistant to the Director and Air Force Operational Liaison
at the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency.
Workers assemble B-25 bombers at North
American Aviation, Kansas City, Kansas, October
1942 (Library of Congress/Alfred T. Palmer)
