Midrats

It is all around us; from poor program decisions to significant budgetary stresses that are only recently starting to bite - the large US Navy Fleet straddling the globe is contracting. What are the initial, second & third order effects of the decreasing presence of the US Navy. Is it permanent, relative, or can fewer numbers be made up in other ways? Join Sal from CDR Salamander and EagleOne of E...

We have heard from industry, military leaders, Marines, and private security providers, this Sunday we are going to look at piracy at a more personal level with director Thymaya Payne of the documentary, Stolen Seas; Tales of Somali Piracy. He will be our guest for the full hour. From the show promo: The filmmakers have spent the past three years traveling to some of the world's most violent local...

This Easter, let's go back to October of 2010 for a great duo of guests. First, since the end of US involvement The Vietnam War almost 40 years ago, there are just a few USN Commanding Officers who know what it is like for a warship under attack; one of the handful will be our first guest, CDR Kirk Lippold, USN (Ret.). He was the Commanding Officer of the USS Cole (DDG-67) when it was attacked whi...

There is a fair bit of talk about the rush for the arctic for economic and strategic reasons - and where there is international interest on the seas, the nations involved need to think about what is the best way to secure their interests. While the initial thought might be Navy - is the natural answer really the Coast Guard? If the USCG is the right answer, is it trained, manned and equipped for t...

How do we advance the intellectual development of leaders through Professional Military Education, the Naval War College, and else where? What is the purpose and how are we trying to achieve the goals to best serve our nation? Are we doing it right? What are the trends, and what could we do better? Our guest for the full hour to discuss this and more will be Dr. Joan Johnson-Freese, Professor of N...

Do we have the right balance between strike as embodied by carrier air and expeditionary forces based around amphibious ships. What capability is most cost effective and gives the combatant commanders the most flexible assets in their area of responsibility? What is driving our Fleet structure, and do we have the right mix? What is informing our decisions, and what should be informing it? Our gues...

Institutions do not exist and excel simply because they "are." They must be nurtured by dedicated individuals that find the right combination of stewardship and intellectual curiosity to ensure they continue to carry out their mission and leave a more viable entity for those who follow. It must be informed by the past, though not shackled to it. It must be true to its nature, but not ossified in i...

You're in for a good treat this Best Of. When you mention books on naval history, there are but a few authors whose work immediately come to mind, and our guest is one of them. Unquestionably one of the finest writers of naval history of the last half-century; James D. Hornfischer. We have talked about his books on a regular basis both on Midrats and over at our homeblogs; The Last Stand of the Ti...

Change is in the air as we look at sequester, a new SecDef, France in North Africa, preparing for the last fighting season in Afghanistan, and what looks like a long decade of budget stress. Is this a pivot-point of opportunity, or just a winter of our naval discontent? No guests, no set agenda - open floor and open phones. No one but Sal from "CDR Salamander" and EagleOne from "EagleSpeak" for th...

As we shift from ground combat in Asia and reset to a more natural position of a naval and aerospace power, are we thinking correctly on how to best leverage our resources and strenghts? How should we be using sea power and air power to create the right effects during peace, yet be poised to have the best utility at war? Are there concepts, habits, and systems that have had their time and should b...

Not much has changes since we first played this interview two years ago.  We've brought on a lot of new listeners since then, so if you missed it or want a refresh; here you go! For the full hour we will discuss the tactical and operational steps mariners can take to defend themselves and their ships from pirates - and if their ship is taken - what they can do to best enable coalition forces to re...

In an information driven society wrapped in a 24-hr news cycle, what is the mission, responsibility, and the primary responsibilities of the Navy's Chief of Information? Well, you couldn't ask for a better guest to help flesh out the answer to that question. Our guest for the first half-hour will CHINFO-actual, Rear Admiral John Kirby, USN. For the second half of the hour we will have returning gu...

This week's 3-day weekend "Best of" will reach back to Episode 39 where we talk about the U.S. Coast Guard's role in defending the USA from the flow of illegal drugs. Our guest will be CDR E. A. Westfall, CDR, USCG, then Commanding Officer of the USCGC ESCANABA (WMEC 907).

Join us this Sunday to celebrate Midrat's 3rd Anniversary with a free-ranging panel discussion with some of your favorite guests from the past three seasons. Join your hosts Sal from "CDR Salamander" and EagleOne from "EagleSpeak" with regular guests on the panel; Captain Henry J. Hendrix, Jr. USN; Captain Will Dossel, USN (Ret); LCDR Claude Berube, USNR; and YN2 H. Lucien Gauthier, III (SW) USN....

What happens when a global maritime power finds itself in a position where it can no longer sustain the global presence it once considered an essential requirement? The US Navy has been in a period of decline in both numbers and capability for awhile, and as budgetary reality sets in and burn out starts to hollow remaining capabilities - the decline is set to continue for at least another decade....

Today's show is a best of, reaching back to the summer of 2010 as we look forward to winter of 2013. We have two guests, first U.S. Naval War College Professor Marc Genest for the first half hour. For the second half of the hour we will have returning guest Phil Ewing from Navy Times to discuss 2010's view on Aegis, Annapolis, SAN ANTONIO, and everything in between. With 2.5 years hindsight, what...

As you are taking time to open all your stuff with the "Made in China" label, I thought the Sunday before Christmas it would be good to think about what all the money and debt is doing to shape the geopolitical landscape. Today from 5-6pm EST, step back with us to SEP11 with our guest Mark Stokes, the Executive Director of the Project 2049 Institute. As a stepping off point for our discussion we w...

With significant budget cuts already underway and expected for years, how do we adjust through the Pacific Pivot as these cuts take place, yet still remain postured to influence the region in peacetime and defend our national interests in war? What is the best way to match required capabilities inside an economically sustainable military budget? While many are familiar with the concept of “Offshor...

From the conflicts that came following the break-up of Yugoslavia, a decade in Afghanistan, land and sea-based ballistic missile defense, Libya, and now Patriot missiles deployed to the Turkish-Syrian border, NATO continues to test what kind of alliance it is after the fall of the Soviet Union roughly a quarter-century ago. Where does the alliance stand, and what direction is it going? Are the rol...

Elections have consequences. There are paths not taken, and paths that remain. In the last election, national security was very much kept in the background, but once you peeled away a layer or two and looked carefully, there was a lot of "there there" - and a lot of it involved what to do with the direction of the US Navy. The erstwhile nautical corner of Team Romney had a direction they wanted to...