Midrats

What are the intellectual responsibilities of the naval professional? What is the canon sound thought in the maritime realm is based? Historically, what has been done, what has worked, and what should we be doing? Should the naval professional just focus on his narrow area of expertise, or does he need to have a more interdisciplinary approach to his intellectual development? Our guest to discuss...

In parallel efforts that in the Navy which led to Top Gun, the US Air Force looked hard at the lessons of air to air combat in the Vietnam War and brought forward "Red Flag," Moving beyond the technical focus, they looked to training and fundamentals to bring back a primacy of combat skills. Our guest for the full hour to discuss this and his new book, The Air Force Way of War: U.S. Tactics and Tr...

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...

The role of the Navy and Marine Corps should be to provide ready and capable forces to the joint commanders. Outside of that, what is the proper role of the sea services in designing a more national strategy? What is the state of a national and a maritime strategy, who are the different players in the discussion, and what is the proper way forward? Our guest to discuss this and more for the full h...

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...

Narrow seas, unseen mines, punitive expeditions, and "come as you are" ASUW on the sea and in the air. Yes, it has been a quarter-century, but little has changed since the USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG-58) struck a mine, and in retribution, the US Navy launched Operation PRAYING MANTIS. The tactical and operational aspects of each, as well as combat leadership, remain constant even while the tools ma...

Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) based out of Djibouti is playing the long game with the nations of east Africa, our allies, governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and other concerned parties to not only help build a better future for the nations in that corner of the continent, but to ensure the security of the American homeland. Our guest to discuss their...

For those who have seen the Great Carrier Debate between Jerry Hendrix and Bryan McGrath, one thing was clear - both gentlemen had only scratched the surface of their thoughts on the topic. At about the same time, the concept of "distributed lethality" had seeped its way in to the conversation. To examine both topics and to review the national security issues you should expect to see in 2015 will...

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...

The War Between the States, the American Civil War - whichever description you prefer - this crucible on which our nation was re-formed has legion of books, movies, and rhetoric dedicated to it. Most of the history that people know involves the war on land, but what of the war at sea? What are details behind some of the major Naval leaders of both sides that are the least known, but are the most i...

Recently, when one hears of disease and Africa, if you only listened to the media, then what would come to mind would be Ebola. That is not the real challenge in Africa. There is a disease that not only kills, it impedes economic growth, interferes with good governance, and as a result is just another catalyst to conflict there and in South Asia. To give a better understanding of the ongoing impac...

This Sunday join EagleOne and myself for our 5th Anniversary Show. No guests, no agendas - just us talking about what 2014 had to teach us, and looking towards what 2015 may have in store for everyone in the national security arena. This is a great time if you ever wanted to call in to ask either one of us a question on a topic you wish we would address ... or just to say "hi." Just be warned, we...

What is real, and what is a mirage? Can something be a cost effective strategic option, or a fool's errand? As outlined by our guests U.S. Naval War College Associate Professors James R. Holmes and Toshi Yoshihara in their latest work in the periodical Asian Security: An Ocean Too Far: Offshore Balancing in the Indian Ocean; the United States is beset by war weariness after over a decade of war an...

The Islamic State, ISIL/ISIS/Daesh - whatever people may call them - are not a flash in the pan. Not quite insurgency, not quiet terrorist organization, not quite nation state - what they are is a presence that has resilience, trans-national support, and has a long range plan. What is their background, how have they evolved, and how do they view the world? Our guest for the full hour to discuss th...

With the coming of the new year, some things have not changes and the old challenges are still with us; most waxing - only a few waning. This Sunday we have returning guest Charles J. Dunlap, Jr., Major General, USAF (Ret.),  Professor of the Practice of Law, and Executive Director, Center on Law, Ethics and National Security at Duke University.  We will cover the board spectrum of the evolution o...

He is quoted often, correctly and incorrectly, but few have actually read his works in full - and even fewer know much about the man himself, Major General Carl von Clausewitz, Kingdom of Prussia. Out guest for the full hour will be Donald Stoker, author of the new book, Clausewitz: His Life and Work. Stoker is a  Professor of Strategy and Policy for the U.S. Naval War College's program at the Nav...

The US Civil War saw innovation and concepts that echoed in every naval war since - and teaches the lessons of innovation. This Sunday's show will focus on that part - the role of both the United States and Confederate States Navy in this great conflict.  Our guest for the first hour is author, lecturer, and Civil War expert William Connery.  For the second half of the show we will have Matthew En...

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...

13 years in to a the long war, what have re relearned, mastered, forgotten, and retained for future use? What have we learned about ourselves, the nature of our latest enemy, and the role of our nation? What have those who have served learned about their nation, their world, and themselves? Iraq, Afghanistan, the Islamic State, and the ever changing global national security ecosystem, how are we n...

What is the proper fleet structure for the USN as we design our Navy that will serve its nation in mid-Century? Join us for a broad ranging discussion on this topic and more with returning guest, Henry J. Hendrix, Jr, CAPT USN (Ret.), PhD. Fresh off his recent retirement from active duty, Jerry is a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Defense Strategies and Assessments Program at the Center for...

Where do senior uniformed leaders draw the line between acknowledging the primacy of civilian leadership to make policy, and maintaining enough distance from the politics to retain their independence of the politics and the politicians? Is there a point where someone can pass from being a "good soldier" to simply becoming a useful tool of ambitious politicians. Our guest this Sunday to discuss thi...

A special time and format this week with two different topics and guests. Moving for just this week to a 6:30pm Eastern start time, our guest for the first 30-minutes will be Lieutenant Ben Kohlmann, USN – Founder of Disruptive Thinkers, F/A-18 pilot, member of the CNO’s Rapid Innovation Cell, and Co-Founder Defense Entrepreneurs Forum. He will be on to give us an overview of DEF2014 that ends thi...

Believe it or not, this week is our 250th Episode of Midrats.  In celebration, we're clearing the intellectual table, going to open the mic and see where it takes us.  From Kobane, to Coastal Defense, to Ebola and everything in between and sideways that's been in the national security news as of late, plus whatever else breaks above the ambient noise - we'll be covering it. As with all Midrats Fre...

A great episode from 2.5 years ago. The last decade has brought two aspects of the law and its interaction with the U.S. military in to sharp focus: first "Lawfare" in the application of force overseas, and second the proper constitutional role of the U.S. military internal to the United States and towards its civilian population. What has changed, where do we stand today, and where are are we hea...

Power projection, sea control, access denial, and the ability to impose your will on the enemy from the sea; or depending on your perspective, prevent them from doing the same. If the comparative advantage of American military power includes the use of the world's oceans as a basing area from projecting power and national will, how can other nations design systems and tactics to trump that advanta...