The #BruteCast

Building on our recent #BruteCast about drone swarms, #TeamKrulak is excited to welcome Col Bill Edwards, U.S. Army (retired) to open the aperture on the global security challenges presented by commercial drones. There are millions of commercial drones in private hands, they are a multi-billion dollar global industry, and their proliferation and use on fields of conflict by conventional armies and...

This week, the Krulak Center was honored to host a writing workshop focusing on NATO’s Northern Flank coordinated by Dr. Njord Wegge of the Norwegian Defence University College, who is in residence with us here at Marine Corps University as the Chair for Arctic Security. He was kind enough to arrange some #BruteCast opportunities with the workshop contributors, including this episode featuring a p...

In this rapid-fire episode of "Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War," Dr. Yuval Weber looks at how the first week of mobilization has gone for Russia, the faux referenda in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war captured at the Azovstal iron and steel works in Mariupol, and suspicious explosions that triggered leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2...

Those who’ve watched the headlines this week have seen some remarkable images coming out of Iran. Widespread protests lead by Iranian women have occurred in many cities, and there have even been videos of protestors fighting back against the regime’s notoriously brutal law enforcement entities. To help us understand what’s going on we’re pleased to welcome Ms. Golnaz Esfandiari, who is a senior co...

In this episode we’re excited to welcome the first in a series of guests we hope to have on this year to talk about something we haven’t yet covered in the #BruteCast, and that’s drones. Drones have gotten much attention over the last several months as we have watched both the Russians and Ukrainians use them extensively during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but what we’ve seen in that war still is...

It's been a busy 48 hours, and in our latest "Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War" episode, Dr. Yuval Weber breaks down the events that have transpired to date. The big story of the day was Vladimir Putin's early-morning speech in which he finally took the step of calling for a mobilization of up to 300,000 new soldiers. We look at what else Putin said, the legal framework (and loopho...

#TeamKrulak continues to be fortunate in its #BruteCast guests, as we got to talk with SgtMaj Troy Black, Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps! SgtMaj Black discussed the enlisted aspects of Talent Management 2030, the strategic advantage of the individual Marine in Force Design 2030, enlisted professional military education today and tomorrow, and more. Enjoyed this episode? Think there's room for...

In this episode, we're excited to build on a theme for this #BruteCast season, which is welcoming senior Marine Corps leaders who are helping drive the Corps forward to meet the challenges of the 21st century. We welcomed LtGen David R. Bellon, USMC, Commander Marine Forces Reserve and Commander Marine Forces South. He shared his perspectives on how Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces South ar...

In our latest "Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War" episode, Dr. Yuval Weber updates us on the current results of the counteroffensive near Kharkiv, contrasts between Ukrainian and Russian recruitment and political leadership, and the impacts of regional leaders looking at a weakened Russia and seeing new opportunities to settle old scores. All opinions expressed here are those of the...

Dr. Yuval Weber returns to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War" to look at the dual Ukrainian counteroffensives unfolding in the Kherson and Kharkiv oblasts.  All opinions expressed here are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of the Krulak Center, Marine Corps University, the United States Marine Corps, or any other agency of the U.S. Government. Intro/...

Two weeks before Russia began its current invasion of Ukraine, we offered a #BruteCast panel on "Rapid Wargame Prototyping for Crises." When the invasion actually occurred, #TeamKrulak staff started looking in real time at how to apply rapid prototyping concepts to the wargame platforms already offered to the Marine Corps University and wider national security communities. The goal was to provide...

Our latest episode of "Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War" covers a lot of ground in what's been a busy week: the emerging Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south, Russian force generation challenges, visa bans, the death of Mikhail Gorbachev, oil price caps, the insanity of combat near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the defenestration of Russian oil executive Ravil Maganov, a...

Our latest episode of "Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War" comes on a day marking two very different milestones: the 31st anniversary of Ukraine's independence from the former Soviet Union, and the sixth month of Russia's ongoing invasion of that country. Dr. Yuval Weber, our Russia subject matter expert, reviews the six months of conflict from the perspective of "three phases and tw...

Hot on the heels of our talent management discussion with Gen Eric Smith, we were excited to welcome guests to the #BruteCast who not only have front row seats to Force Design 2030 but are helping to drive the bus. We talked with Major General Frank Donovan, commanding general of the 2d Marine Division, and Command Master Chief Scottie Cox, who serves as the senior enlisted Navy advisor to the div...

#TeamKrulak community, we were very excited and honored to welcome General Eric Smith, USMC, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps to the #BruteCast! Those following the Service-wide changes under Force Design 2030 know that talent management is a key focus area, with detailed reforms laid out in the Talent Management 2030 report ( https://www.hqmc.marines.mil/Portals/142/Users/183/35/4535/Tale...

For our second episode of season 5, we were pleased to welcome Ms. Ada Sayin from the KızBaşına project in #Turkey. #TeamKrulak first learned about this project from a #wargaming exercise we ran for the #NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps in the UK a few months ago (and if you’d like to know more about the ARRC and how they use wargaming to train, check out our past #BruteCast interview with their t...

Dr. Yuval Weber was down our way this afternoon and we took the opportunity to record a detailed "Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War" on the recent Ukrainian strike on Saki Air Base, a major Russian aviation installation in occupied Crimea. While details remain scarce, initial indications are that the strike caused significant damage to Russian forces based there. We outlined some po...

Welcome to season 5 of the #BruteCast! It’s a new academic year here at Marine Corps University, and we at the Krulak Center are excited about launching into it with our students. So we’re going to ante up by getting this #BruteCast season off to a strong start. And we couldn’t have asked for a better guest today to help us do that. In this episode we were pleased to welcome Col Brian Greene, USMC...

Our special miniseries returns! For this new episode of "Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War," resident Russia subject matter expert and #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow Dr. Yuval Weber brings us up to date on development since our last episode. We discussed the war entering a new third phase with Ukraine's pending counteroffensive near Kherson; supply chain developments with Ukrainia...

"Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War" will be on hiatus for a few weeks, but we've got a double-length episode to hold you over. Dr. Yuval Weber discussed the human factors at play for both #Russian and #Ukrainian soldiers, the divergent targeting choices of both sides for their limited number of precision-guided weapons, and we spent extra time talking about the ongoing "situation ma...

NOTE: this episode contains graphic and explicit content based on its thematic focus on wartime sexual violence. In this episode, the #BruteCast continues its focus on the war in #Ukraine with Dr. Dara Kay Cohen, who discusses issues of wartime sexual violence and what is currently known about sexual violence from #Russia's ongoing invasion of #Ukraine. The Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict (SVAC)...

Sometimes, 13 is a lucky number, and in this rapid-fire episode we were indeed lucky to be joined by some of #TeamKrulak on location in Athens, Greece! Dr. Amin Tarzi, director of Middle East Studies at the Krulak Center, and Maj John Behrmann, director of the Center for Regional and Security Studies, dialed in from Athens to focus on the role(s) Turkey has played both as a member of NATO and neig...

For a second episode in a row, "Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War" welcomes a special guest! Dr. Rita Konaev, a Fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology - and a #BruteCast veteran - joined Krulak Center Distinguished Fellow and #Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber to examine two themes: timelines and sustainment. There are many competing...

Part of the broader Force Design 2030 reforms initiated in 2019 under General David Berger's Commandant's Planning Guidance, Talent Management 2030 has become a focus area in those efforts. Just last week, the Marine Corps wrapped up its inaugural Talent Management Summit to provide deeper discussion and feedback on Talent Management 2030. This special #BruteCast episode features members of the Ta...

"Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War" returns with a special guest episode. Krulak Center Distinguished Fellow and #Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber brings us up to date on major developments since we last met, and then we were very pleased to be joined by #TeamKrulak Non-Resident Fellow Dr. Rosella Cappella Zielinski to explain the looming global food catastrophe caused b...