Midrats

EagleOne and Sal pick up last weeks conversation to catch up on the conversation of the latest national security and maritime topics at hand. As always on the melee format, join us live with the open chatroom and studio line if you have some issues you'd like to discuss. We're taking requests! Links to items discussed: Stanford University’s Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation, Sea...

It's too darn hot to do anything outside, so stay inside and put your mind to work! EagleOne and Sal start the show with the discussion of books they plan to use to help overcome the mid-summer heat and then cover some of the latest and greatest on the national security front, at least as we define it! Books Discussed: EagleOne’s List: Developing the Naval Mind , B J Armstrong. Looking for a Ship...

For generations, a great comparative advantage the United States has enjoyed at sea is the superiority of its submarine force. It has become simply an assumption in our war planning to the point it is treated as almost a natural part of the environment. Of course, nothing stands still in war. Time and technology usually finds a way to blunt any advantage, leverage any vulnerability. As the challen...

By 2030, the People's Republic of China is expected to have a navy of 425 warships, up significantly from their 360 today - already larger than the United States Navy. In spite of her struggles ashore, demographic collapse, and structural deficiencies, the Russian Navy still maintains a significant submarine force. While the world's strategic situation has changed dramatically, it isn't something...

From the abstract of the article in the Naval War College Review Winter 2023 Edition, Strategy, Uncertainty, and the China Challenge ; "Despite China’s increasing aggressiveness, its intentions are indeterminate, even aligning with U.S. interests in some arenas. Furthermore, China simply may fail in achieving even its foremost national and foreign-policy goals. Given this uncertainty, the United S...

You're in for a treat this Midrats with a regular since 2010 returning to the podcast, Claude Berube. Claude will be with us the full hour to discuss his third novel in the Connor Stark series, The Philippine Pact , bringing back most of your favorite characters from the first two books in the series, The Aden Effect and Syren's Song . As with all of Claude's novels, his characters always seem to...

For generations, the US military’s senior leadership in the field had no reason to worry about being on the receiving end of enemy fires at their command posts. Even at the company level but especially at higher echelons, we expected that we would be safe and secure in our command posts. Command posts were where one watched, planned, and executed operations – not become player in one. One of the d...

It's a maritime and natsec free for all on Midrats! No fixed topic, open chat room and open studio line for those who are joining us live. From some rather strange comments in congressional briefing rooms to recruiting woes at home, to some rather interesting riverine amphibious operations in the Dnipro River in Ukraine, what it takes to fire a Russian Navy fleet commander, and whatever other topi...

History, heritage, ethos, and institutional culture are more than just books, lectures, static displays, songs, stories and rituals - they are part of a tapestry that define the characteristics of an organization and a people. In a cold, neutral review of individual parts, it can be a challenge to see why they are important, what they really signify ... why we keep, remember, and practice them. On...

Two of the above-the-fold topics in the last year in the national security arena both in involve one of the most technologically advance, complicated, and essential parts of modern warfare; ground based anti-air. For over a year we have watched and evolving ongoing real world laboratory in the Russo-Ukrainian War. On the other side of Asia, when not looking in the sky for big balloons, America and...

The last 13-months has seen a scenario few in NATO’s uniformed or civilian leadership either predicted, or for that matter, though was possible. How has the alliance reacted, grown, succeeded, or shown cracks under the pressure of the growing war in Ukraine as it moves it to its second year? Returning to Midrats for the full hour will be Jorge Benitez, Associate Professor of International Relation...

Except for those over a 85, no one alive has ever existed at a time when the US Navy was not the premier naval power - and no one alive at all has known a world where the US Navy was not the premier naval power in the Pacific. Though on paper it could be challenged in the first third of the 20th Century by the Royal Navy, and was challenged in a very real way by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the P...

As we ended last week's show with a whole list of topics we wanted to discuss, this Sunday we're going to pick up right where we left off with a Midrats Maritime Melee! From submarines to Australia to the opening of mud season in Ukraine, we'll cover the latest - or at least the more interesting - topics in the national security arena.

The news does not stop on the national security front, and as we approach the end of 1QCY23, a couple of weeks without a Midrats can only add to everyone's confusion. For the full hour we're going to cover the waterfront from the Sea of Azov to the parking lots of San Diego's waterfront. As with all our free-for-all formats, we have open topic and the switchboard phone line is open. If you have a...

What path best enhances American security and prosperity, along with her allies, when it comes to the Russo-Ukrainian War? Are American's interests best promoted by more support of Ukraine's ongoing fight for her independence, or by backing away to let things take their natural course? Isolationists, realists, and idealists are all trying to make their case as to where to go next as the war moves...

From a navy of peasants to professionals on par with any Western navy; from coastal patrol to global reach, the slow and steady growth of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) crept up on some policy makers in the last decade, but as the PLAN eclipses the United States Navy in numbers and is accelerating their industrial capacity and capabilities, the decades of the American uncontested dominan...

Officially the Navy may have a “new mission” but it is just putting in to law what has been in existence since the first Stone Age man outfitted his fishing canoe as a war canoe. In a modern society, words mean things and even what is self-evident must on occasion be put in writing. What is “Title 10?” That is what tells our Navy what it’s mission is. We now have newTitle 10 language, in Section 8...

When we started Midrats, President Obama hadn't even been President for a year, I only left active duty 4-months ago, Russia was mostly forgotten about except for Secretary of State Clinton famous "Reset/Overload," anyone worried about China was considered an alarmist, and no one really knew what a "podcast" was except for a very small group of to-online weirdos. One day our friend Claude Berube c...

There is still a lot of fighting to be done in the Russo-Ukrainian War, but important lessons can already be drawn from the first 10-months of conflict. One of the most hyped "new" domains of war the last three decades has been what is generally referred to as "cyber." Its growth in interest and buzz paralleled the decline and neglect of a more traditional form of modern war, Electronic Warfare. T...

From the NDAA to some rather positive words from the SECNAV on some of our favorite maritime areas of concern, so far December has produced a few positives to think about - if you don't think too much about the Army-Navy game on Saturday... This week's Midrats free for all will start here and then we'll work our way around the national security landscape. As always, open topic, open phones ... so...

Now that you’re in that time where you’re trying to make that transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas & New Years saturation … give your stomach and mind a break and join EagleOne and Sal for a maritime and national security free for all this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern. As is usual with our free for all format, the studio line is open for you to call in and the chat room will be running for your...

What do you need tp know to make sure you have all the right talking points around the Thanksgiving table? If someone brings up the Navy, China, Ukraine, inflation, or supply chain issues - well, we know Midrats regulars are already up to speed - but now's your opportunity to make sure all your talking points are up to date! No guests, no set agenda, just open phones, open minds, and open chat roo...

Every election cycle provides a preview of what advocates for national defense and sea power will have on their side - or not on their side - in the next Congress. New people arrive, experienced people leave, and priorities, agendas, and advocacy will shift change with them. What can we expect in the next Congress based on changes we see and those national security issues waxing or waning in the m...

When was the last time the US Navy made the case for a significantly larger navy to defend its interests on the high seas? Yep, back when Ole Sal was a Midshipman and EagleOne was as close to his service in Vietnam than Sal was to his service in Afghanistan - the 1980s. What lessons can we take from that relatively successful intellectual, political, and personal struggle to grow our Navy? Using h...

A nation’s foreign policy is driven by more than just the whims and desires of the Chief Executive. Through government, academia, institutions, and individuals of influence there are a variety of different schools of thought on what should underpin the decision making process. Well known general descriptors of these schools include “interventionist,” “isolationist,” “internationalist,” and even we...