Midrats

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...

A pre-recorded best of with three of the authors we interviewed James S. Robbins, Senior Editorial Writer for Foreign Affairs at the Washington Times on his book, "This Time We Win: Revisiting the Tet Offensive." David Sears' book on Navy Air in the Korean war with, "Such Men as These." United States Naval Academy Professor Bruce Fleming's new book on one part of the culture battle, "Bridging the...

As we once again face 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 experien...

In a time of budgetary pressure, a shrinking fleet, and an ongoing discussion of their relevance, how are we keeping out legacy Aircraft Carrier's in shape for the regular demands for extended deployments while at the same time bringing the new FORD Class CVN online? What are some of the lessons we have learned in our decades of operating nuclear powered aircraft carriers that we are bring forward...

If you fell asleep on Memorial Day and woke up on Labor Day, your head is probably swimming. The situation in the Muslim world from Libya to the Iranian border has turned in to some strange chaos if you have not been paying attention - but when you look at the details and trendlines, the logic is a lot clearer. The long war has not gone anywhere, like a field untended, the weeds have returned and...

A best of this weekend from last year when now Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work was between jobs. When one hangs up the uniform after decades of service, but still wants to contribute to their nations national security needs, what paths can that take and what are the keys to success? In a budgetary challenge not seen by the US military in two decades, what are the important "must haves" that n...

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...

How does policy shape, limit, or empower the effectiveness of command at the unit level? Which policies are a net positive, and which ones are counter productive? Are there things we can do to better balance larger Navy goals with the requirement to give leaders the room they need to be effective leaders?  In times of austere budgets, can you both reduce end-strength while at the same time retain...

The large standing Army and active duty military we have known in our lifetime may seem the norm - but it isn't. Is there a way to maintain a strong military capability - available and scaleable if needed - without the structure we have become accustomed to? Is there a better way to balance our Reserve and National Guard forces that is better in line with our economic, national security, and yes -...

I want to return to our first Midrats from this year to keep the focus one more week on the eastern part of Africa with a returning guest Alex Martin who will give us a first hand report from a personal and professional perspective. Alex graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy and went on to lead infantry, reconnaissance and special operations units in multiple combat deployments. U...

A special time this week, 2pm Eastern, in order to have a reasonable time for our guest on the other side of the world. This week we are going to visit an AOR that may have dropped of a lot of people's scan, but in the Long War - it is still the front lines; the Horn of Africa. Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and the waters around the Arabian Peninsular - from terrorism to piracy - America and...

When it comes to all things maritime, sometimes one Sal is not enough. Whatever confession of maritime strategy you adhere to, there is one linchpin that all will survive or fail on - the Military Sealift Command. Our guest for the full hour to discuss the entire spectrum of issues with the MSC will be Salvatore R. Mercogliano, Ph. D., Assistant Professor of History at Campbell University. Sal is ...

"Where are the Carriers?" Whenever the expected unexpected happens on the globe, that is the question that is often asked first.  As our nation also faces one of its greatest budget crisis - it is also one that the budget cutters are asking as well. What is the status of our carrier force as we approach 2012 and what possible directions are we heading?  Is the carrier more important in supporting...

Louis Zamperini passes away earlier this week, so I can see of no better best of show for the July 4th weekend. This nation has been served by those who come home, and those who never make it back. Some have had their stories preserved and celebrated within living memory, some are almost unknown. This weeks episode will cover both sides of our military experience. For the first half hour our guest...