"Monday Musings” are designed to get quick, insightful thoughts based around three questions from those interested in strategy, from the most experienced and lauded, to our newest thinkers/writers.
Maintaining An Innovative Edge: The (Abbreviated) Case For U.S. Air Force Warrant Officers
The debate surrounding warrant officers in the Air Force is bigger than simply money and prestige, both for individuals and for within the force. Today’s Air Force risks both bleeding talent from within based on the current force structure, and its education and training programs for internally growing talent is unlikely to adapt fast enough to keep pace with significant changes in the digital battlespace modern airmen confront. Flexibility is the key to airpower, and the prospect of reintroducing warrant officers on the terms the Air Force needs today are critical to that flexibility.
#Reviewing Here, Bullet: Turner’s Trinity of Love, Death, and Poems
Mere description cannot approach the inner essence of the experience of war, but poetry can...Rather than attempting to bridge this insurmountable gap, Turner leads us to the edge, pushing us there without pushing us off. Turner later contends, “I have no words to speak of war.” Instead, he translates bullets, moving from Bismarck’s blood and iron to ink and lead. What follows is a collection of poems infused with “the language of blood,” endowed with experience, taking us to edge, showing us what otherwise cannot be seen, and leaving us there to reflect.
Yemen at a Crossroads: Four Scenarios
Historically a commercial crossroad, Yemen sits at the junction of three continents—Europe, Asia, and Africa—and three major maritime expanses—the Indian Ocean, as well as the Red and Mediterranean Seas. Previously, it was a zone for exchange and mobility, channeling international trade, financial transactions, and human migration. Recognized by Roman geographers as Arabia Felix, Yemen was once known for its waterfalls, fruitful land, trade, and civilization. In the past few decades, Yemen has been increasingly recognized as a fragile state on the brink of failure. While the recent war has brought Yemen closer to failure, the divided country is resiliently ahead of total collapse, but remains plagued by a nexus of economic, political, and security challenges.
Call for Topics on The Strategy Bridge
The coming months are filled with moments to recall, contemplate, and analyze, looking for the patterns that drive strategy, national security, and military affairs. Have something to say? The Strategy Bridge is looking for you. Take a look at our submission guidelines and send us your article at submissions@thestrategybridge.com. Write on!
#Monday Musings: Andy Priest
Studying, Thinking, and Practicing National Security
Word of mouth - which is essentially reputation infused with action – is a key component to success, or at least influence, in the policy world. Personal reputation creates job opportunities; organizational reputation prompts demand for services and insight. The latter aspect comes into play for the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin, which runs a week-long Summer Seminar in History and Statecraft at an offsite location in the mountains of Colorado. The renown of the seminar is broadly noted by numerous experts across several disciplines that relate to national security policy - and came to me via the recommendations of some very accomplished friends.
Reflections on #Leadership: Asking the Right Questions
Since the Army Operating Concept: Win in a Complex World was published in 2014, military leaders have been inundated with the idea of complexity. But how should we prepare to overcome complexity? How can leaders improve their ability to understand, visualize, and describe this environment to enable decision making? How should we adjust our planning to account for this complexity? In the past, the military has largely focused on new or improved processes and technology to account for historic lessons learned, but will this be successful in the future? There are many ways to prepare for a complex world, but improving cognition through inquisitiveness should be chief among them.
Echoes of the Entente: Lessons in Paradigm-Changing Diplomacy
On April 8, 1904, French Foreign Minister Théophile Declassé took a telephone call from Paul Cambon, his ambassador in London. “C’est signé!” Cambon roared into the phone—”It is signed!” The modern era’s most significant treaty, the Franco-British Entente Cordiale was signed. What had been one of the world’s most significant historical rivalries from shortly after the Norman Conquest in 1066 up to that April day in 1904, was over. France and England reached agreement on a host of issues, specified and sorted out in painstaking detail through three treaties signed at once. The world would never be the same.
No One Had a Clue: #Reviewing America’s War for the Greater Middle East
The Invisible Agent: How Ebola Teaches Us to Defend Against the Smallest Deadly Weapons
Biowarfare is among the many infectious threats to human well-being. In modern times, infections kill about 20% of the world’s population annually. But despite advancing diagnostics and treatments we remain vulnerable. The Ebola outbreak (2013–2015) killed more than 11,000 people, infected almost 30,000, cost several billions of dollars, and exposed ambiguity of authority, assigned roles and accountability as public, private, and non-profit bodies gathered to end a chaotic humanitarian tragedy. Though eventually successful, the global outbreak response was disorderly. The questions before us now are these: How could the Ebola response help us examine our bioterrorism readiness? What were the big lessons? How might we apply these findings to improve our military preparedness exercises?
#Monday Musings: Steven Kwast
Reflections on Persuasive #Leadership: Leading When You're Not In Charge
The ability to persuade others is paramount to success at every level. Effective persuasive leadership can turn ideas into approved contingency plans, doctrine, concepts, or programs of record. Convincing others of the importance of a project or plan to gain their support and effort can be the difference between success and failure.
Jolting the System: Organizational Psychology and the Iraq Surge
Regardless of the criticism of Petraeus’ impact on the surge and the Army’s culture, the lessons of his actions as a change leader before and during the surge in Iraq serve as archetype for military leaders to study...Change leadership requires clear vision setting, adroit communication skills, generating energy, achieving organizational alignment, and other requisite leader competencies. This skill set applies at both the strategic general officer level and the tactical platoon leader level.
The Best Club in the History of the World: #Reviewing The World According to Star Wars
Even if Star Wars objectively is not-so-great as a film series, its enduring themes found in thousands of years of narratives tap into something universal that manages to overcome any creative or other shortcomings. “There’s a deep human desire for common knowledge and common experiences,” he writes. And the hero’s journey is one nearly everyone can relate to. His book also explores human behavior, covering how people succeed, decision-making (freedom to choose, he highlights, is a key Star Wars value), and father-son dynamics. At a high-level, it might be said that Sunstein wrote a book about relationships—how each generation creates ways to connect to the next, how children redeem their parents, and how law develops over time.
A Captain, a Captain, My Nation for a Great Captain
Synonymous with Clausewitz’s military genius, a great captain is that rare leader who stands out as a military mastermind of their time. Arguably, the United States has developed only a few great captains since Matthew Ridgway saved Korea in 1951. It is not that the nation lacks these leaders; rather, the military fails to identify and develop leaders with the virtues great captains possess. The U.S. military can and must do better to attain strategic results in the future. There are junior officers in formations today who need to become the great captains the nation needs in 2040.
#Monday Musings: Ryan Evans
A Case for Martian Independence
Reflections on #Leadership: Miyagi and Millennials
In the original Karate Kid film, the “kid,” Daniel LaRusso, learns martial arts from one of the most memorable characters in film, Mr. Miyagi. The diminutive sensei’s non-traditional teaching methods complement his quiet, unassuming, and non-confrontational style. As Miyagi steadfastly persists with unusual and demanding training methods, he is clearly emotionally invested in his young pupil. Miyagi listens to Daniel’s concerns as he adjusts and grows as a result of their relationship.
Wargaming in Professional Military Education: A Student's Perspective
Wargaming has a perfect home in military education, where officers blend their operational experiences with new methods and fresh approaches. Wargames can provide budding leaders with venues to practice decision-making, support innovation as part of a greater cycle of research, and ultimately encourage initiative and adaptability. Games cannot address all problems and must be tailored to fit the problems under examination. However, gaming has helped past military leaders prepare for daunting threats in future, uncertain environments. This tool may serve Americans well again ahead of the next conflict.