As part of his innovative approach to communication in combat, Professor J. Michael Waller assisted the US Army's 159th Combat Aviation Brigade to predeploy for a mission to Afghanistan. His job was to help officers build a frame of reference on information operations. The 159th conducts air assault operations for the 101st Airborne Division. From September 16-19 Waller participated in a program at the 101st Airborne's home base at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The program was sponsored by the Leadership Development and Education for Sustained Peace Residence Program (LDESP).

Waller was one of 12 lecturers and seminar leaders. Students consisted of about 150 noncommissioned and commissioned officers attached to the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, other units of the the 101st Airborne Division and the 82nd Airborne Division. All are about to be deployed to Afghanistan. The professor visited Afghanistan in 2007.

The task and purpose of the LDESP is to deliver a graduate level educational seminar for units deploying to Afghanistan. The program provides the educational foundation to help senior leadership develop a frame of reference which facilitates the understanding of the implications of the complex, ambiguous and rapidly changing environment in Afghanistan, enabling them to predict second and third order effects and identify linkages. The end state of LDESP is that leaders and units will be better prepared to support those agencies and authorities responsible for stability and peacekeeping operations. The LDESP is located at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Professor Waller is a member of the LDESP faculty.