Midrats

What role are Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs) playing in the ongoing crisis in the Mediterranean Sea as wave after of wave of people try to make the passage to Europe? Are they doing good? Are they filling a gap of lawlessness caused by government inaction, or increasing the problem? What are the motivations and goals of governments, international organizations, traditional NGOs, and new play...

When a few years turns in to many. When all of a sudden you seem to be the oldest guy in the room. When you have but days of memories of your kids and in the blink of an eye they are a year older - eventually everyone on active duty reaches the point where it is time to pack the sea bag one more time and put it in the attic. It is time to retire or leave active duty. Better or worse - it is time t...

Who was "The Gun Doctor," the officer who over a century ago led the revolution in naval gunnery, the development of torpedo boat and destroyer operations, and during WWI served as the senior US naval commander in Europe?  More than the man instrumental in the establishment of the convoy system that helped keep the United Kingdom from starvation in the conflict, following the war his leadership as...

For a man who last walked the Earth almost 2,500 years ago, 2017 has been a great year for Thucydides. The old Greek historian is having quite a renaissance. Of course, he's always been there, but the Whitehouse is interested in himm, so everyone else is as well, especially with regard to the often mentioned, "Thucydides’s Trap." For those not familiar with his work, The History Of The Peloponnesi...

As the USS FORD (CVN 78) delivered to the US Navy, the Royal Navy’s new HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH underway, and many nations either building or wanting built carriers of a variety of sized, the second decade of the 21st Century is an exciting time for those who are interested in carrier design. With the Senate recently dedicating $30 million to the study of a light carrier design, the discussion has beg...

Everyone seems to have a plan to get to 355 ships as the new President desires. Most plans include new construction, digging in the mothball fleet, extending service life of existing ships, and even some of the exotic options such as license building foreign designs. Most plans include a mix of some or all of them. The political and strategic foundations need to be put in place to support it - and...

From our live show in November of 2015, the full hour with author Claude Berube to discuss his second Connor Stark novel, Syren's Song, from Naval Institute Press. From the Amazon page; "Syren's Song is the second novel featuring Connor Stark, and it promises to be just as engaging asThe Aden Effect. This geopolitical thriller begins when the Sri Lankan navy is unexpectedly attacked by a resurgent...

The days are too long and hot to spend all your Sunday outside, to pour some iced tea and join us live for a free for all! We’re going to cover the maritime and national security breaking news from the USS FITZGERALD to Syria to any other topic that catches our fancy in a mostly random walk plan, so this is the time to ask us a question you’d like us to address via the chatroom, or even roll one o...

For our Father's Day Best of we will replay an interview with Stephen Roderick, author of, The Magical Stranger: A Son's Journey into His Father's Life. Rodrick is a contributing writer for The NYT Magazine and a contributing editor for Men's Journal. He has also written for New York, Rolling Stone, GQ, The New Republic, Men's Journal, and others.  Before becoming a journalist, Rodrick worked as a...

In the Western concept of the military art, there is a food chain. The Political feeds Strategic; Strategic the Operational; Operational the Tactical. Among the military chatting classes, there is a lot of pondering and pontificating about strategy and operational concepts – but what about tactics? If the Tactical level requires, ultimately, a Strategy to help define its purpose – besides logistic...

2030 is as close to us today as 2004, only 13 years. As we look at various ways to maintain a Navy at t level at which we have become accustomed, the People’s Liberation Army Navy of China is building step by step as their economic power and global influence grows.  The world will see a dramatically different PLAN in 2030 relative to now, and as the present global naval superpower, our assumptions...

In an arch that spans the immediate post-Cold War era through the Iraq War, what are the observations & lessons a front-line leader at the tactical level and, for those who are injured in service to their nation, through recovery. Our guest for the full hour will be Jason Redman, author of The Trident: The Forging and Reforging of a Navy SEAL Leader. Jason joined the Navy on September 11, 1992 and...

To say that the profile of Russia since the American elections last fall has increased in the minds of Americans would be an understatement.  Outside the 24-hr news cycle, there have been significant developments in Russia internally and externally. From the Baltics, to nuclear weapons, to her growing influence in the Middle East following her involvement in the Syrian conflict. What should people...

A hundred years on, in 2014 what insights can we gain from the war that started 100 years ago in August of 2014? What are some of the lessons we need to remember in all four levers of national power; diplomatic, informational, military, and economic - in order to help steer our future course as a nation, and to better understand developing events? Using his article in The National Interest, World...

Whenever there is a global crisis, natural disaster or manmade, civilians or of a security related issue - the world turns their eyes to the United States of America. The indispensable nation. The only global super-power. You all know the drill. Is it an honor, or a burden? Is it a habit we should, or can sustain? Our guest for the full hour to discuss this and related issues will be Christopher P...

Except for a few final holdouts and mopping up, the siege of Mosul is almost over and the wrecked city back in the hands of allied Iraqi factions. Soon the attention will turn west as the investment of Raqqa is setting up nicely. As they lose actual ground in Iraq and Syria, what will the next step be for the Islamic State? Where will they move to as their next safe haven, and what should be expec...

In concept, execution, and ability to effectively provide its part of the national defense infrastructure, has a separate Air Force served this nation well, and does it make sense to keep it a separate service. Our guest this week makes the case that the experiment in a separate US Air Force is over, and it has failed. Though we need airpower, we don't need a separate service to provide it. With u...

How do we build the future surface fleet to ensure our forces maintain the ability to access to all regions of the world's oceans that our vital to our national interests? Our guest to discuss this and the broader issues related to our surface forces will be Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow at Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA). A basis for our conversation will be his recent study fo...

When faced with the promise of a conflict with a limited mission and a strangely ill-defined Strategic and Operational design - what do we need to keep in mind not just from recent history, but the longer term record? History shows us that military and political leaders either over or under appreciate changing technology, outmoded doctrine, and the imperfect correlation between past experience and...

You hear a bit on the edges about China's cyber forces' ongoing efforts to penetrate the cyber domain in order to get an edge against the USA and other nations she sees as either being in the way of her national goals, or in possession of something they need to keep their economy strong. This Sunday we are going to take a deeper dive in to the role of China in the cyber domain with our guest Dean...

When is there ever too much of a good thing? Is our officer manning policy in the Surface Warfare Community resulting in too many JOs chasing too few hours of experience actually performing one of their most important professional duties, the safe and effective maneuver of a ship at sea? Do we have our numbers, policies, and priorities right to ensure we are giving out Surface Warfare Officers the...

While a new American President, Russia, and ongoing operations against the Islamic State continue to absorb attention, the Western Pacific from Japan, Korea, China, to Australia continues forward. Our guest to discuss all the latest developments will be Toshi Yoshihara. A prior guest on Midrats, Dr. Yoshihara is a Senior Fellow at CSBA. Before joining CBSA he held the John A. van Beuren Chair of A...

We are in the second month of a new President who is building a new national security team. He and his team come to their positions with a very different view of the world and America's place in it than their predecessors had.  What direction will they take our nation? What role should realism, alliances, and the requirement to anchor all to a strategic discipline focused on the long term interest...

Well inside an officer's career arch, we saw the American Navy move from the Great White Fleet, The Spanish American War to the age of the Dreadnought. Our Army, from ad-hoc volunteer units to a professional army going head-to-head with the finest professional army on the planet. How did our military and our Navy build up to WWI, and how did that experience inform the evolution of our national def...

Is your head swimming in the 2nd month of the Trump Administration? While we are distracted with intramural politics, the world keeps moving and other nations move forward. How are the national security and international order reacting to the change in USA leadership? From NATO to China and Russia, what signals are coming from and going to the new American government? No guests this Sunday from 5-...