Midrats

When does the Long War go feet wet?  Given the track record of the preceding couple of decades, it was expected shortly after the start of this phase of the war after 911, that terrorists would take the war to sea. There was an incident now and then, but the threat never really played out to the extent we thought early on.Recent events point to the possibility that this may be changing, in perhaps ways not originally thought. What is the threat? Where is it coming from, and how do you deter and defeat it?Our guest for the full hour to discuss will be CAPT Bob Hein, USN. We will use his latest article with CIMSEC, Terrorists on the Ocean: Sea Monsters in the 21st Century, as a starting out point for discussion.Captain Hein is a career surface warfare officer. Over the last 28 years, he has served on seven ships around the globe and has had the privilege of commanding two of them: the USS Gettysburg (CG 64), and the USS Nitze (DDG 94),He completed two tours as a requirements officer on the Navy staff for combat

Spring is here, and from the Baltic to the Beltway, there is a lot to catch up with.Join Sal from "CDR Salamander" and EagleOne from "EagleSpeak" for a national security catch-up.As with all free-for-alls - phones are open. Give us a call!

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 guest for the full hour will be Lieutenant Colonel James W. Hammond III, USMC (Ret), senior manager at WBB.Prior to retirement in 2005, he was Director, Commandant’s Staff Group. As a starting point for our discussion, we will review his points in the FEB13 Proceedings article, "A Fleet Out of Balance." Previous published articles and letters in the Naval Institute Proceedings and the Marine Corps Gazette have dealt with Naval Surface Fire Support, Counterbattery support from the Sea, Electronic Attack, Revolution in Military Affairs, and Provisional Rifle Companies.This Episode first aired in March of 2013.

What is the impact of the right man at the right time with the right ideas? What is the impact of what seems to some as just a man, but to a son is all?Our 1st Guest will be LCDR BJ Armstrong author of, 21st Century Mahan: Sound Military Conclusions for the Modern Era .For the second half of the hour we will have Stephen Roderick author of, The Magical Stranger: A Son's Journey into His Father's Life.Armstrong is a Naval Aviator and an occasional naval historian. His articles have appeared in numerous journals including USNI's Proceedings and Naval History, Naval War College Review, Infinity Journal and others. He is a research student with the Department of War Studies at King's College, University of London. He was recently named the 2013-14 Morison Scholar by Naval History & Heritage Command and was awarded the 2013 Navy League Alfred Thayer Mahan Award.Rodrick is a contributing writer for The NYT Magazine and a contributing editor for Men's Journal. He has also written for New York, Rolling Stone, GQ,

Since its ascendency to the premier maritime power, the US Navy - especially in the area of undersea warfare - has been at the leading edge of using technology to get a military edge. During the Cold War, significant and steady progress in the first two steps of the kill chain against submarines, location and tracking, made the prospect of engaging superior numbers of Soviet submarine forces manageable.We continue that tradition today, but to keep ahead of growing challenges, we have test. Build a little, test a little, learn a lot will stop dead in its tracks without testing in the real world. Computer simulation is only so good. When it comes to submarines especially, you have to get in the water with them.Knowing our technological track record an operating a generation or two ahead of some potential adversaries - are there ways they can negate our edge - or at least buy time while they catch up?Are we vulnerable to potential challengers using national and international law against us? Undersea Lawfare?Our

Everyone knows CENTCOM, many know PACOM or EUCOM ... but what about NORTHCOM?What is their role in national defense, and what special role does it have inside the United States - specifically in disaster response?This Sunday, September 9th from 5-6pm EST, our guest for the full hour to discuss this and more will be Brigadier General Donald A. McGregor, the Deputy Director of Operations for Domestic Operations, Headquarters, United States Northern Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.Show first played in Sept. 2012.

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.How far the decline goes until stability sets in is unknown, but what is the best reaction to this reality? Are the lessons one can derive from history that can help policy makers shape direction and priority going forward?Our guest for the full hour to discuss will be Daniel J. Whiteneck, Ph.D.Dr. Whiteneck is a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses. He has directed projects ranging from Tipping Point and the future of US maritime dominance, to the use of naval forces in deterrence and influence operations.  He also led studies on naval coalition operations and maritime security operations focusin

The wartime record of the US Navy in under four years of combat from late 1941’s low point to the September 1945 anchoring in Tokyo Bay did not happen by chance. It did not happen through luck, or through quick thinking. It happened through a process of dedicated, deliberate, disciplined and driven effort over two decades in the intra-war period.What were the mindset, process, leadership, and framework of the 1920s and 1930s that was used to build the fleet and the concepts that brought it to victory in the 1940s?This week we are going to dive deep in this subject for the full hour with Captain C.C. Felker, USN, Professor of History at the US Naval Academy and author of, Testing American Sea Power: U.S. Navy Strategic Exercises, 1923–1940.

In the mid-1930s, Leni Riefenstahl showed the power of the latest communication technology of her time to move opinion, bring support, and intimidate potential opponents.The last quarter century's work of Moore's Law in the ability to distribute visual data world wide in an instant has completely change the ability of even the smallest groups with the most threadbare budgets to create significant influence effects well inside traditional nation states' OODA loop.How are radical extremists using modern technology, especially in the visual arena, to advance their goals, who are their audiences, and how do you counter it?Using as a starting point the Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press's publication, Visual Propaganda and Extremism in the Online Environment, Jihadology's ISIS and the Hollywood Visual Style, and  Small Wars Journal's ISIS and the Family Man; our guests will be Dr. Cori E. Dauber, Professor of Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Mark Robins

Claims hundreds of year old in the South China Sea are being acted on today. Ethnic tensions that date back to recorded time are returning to the surface with renewed importance.Regardless of what may be happening in the Middle East or Europe, China and the nations that border the South China Sea have their own set of priorities they will pursue this year.To discuss the present state of play in the area and the events to look for as the year unfolds will be returning guest of the show, Dr. Toshi Yoshihara from the Naval War College.  Professor Toshi Yoshihara holds the John A. van Beuren Chair of Asia-Pacific Studies and is an affiliate member of the China Maritime Studies Institute at the Naval War College. Before joining the College faculty, he was a visiting professor in the Strategy Department at the Air War College. Dr. Yoshihara has also served as an analyst at the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, RAND, and the American Enterprise Institute. He holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Dip

We're back live after a mid-winter break!If there were some topics you'd like us to cover, or want to call in with a question for the hosts - now is your time.We have a full and open hour. Call in at the number above or join in the chatroom as we catch up on the developments in the national security arena this month.From the Med, to the South China Sea, to shipbuilding, to Syria, and whatever else strikes our fancy, we'll be there.

Looking for a "Best of" this Valentine's Day, I realized there is a guest we need to bring back on for an update. With Russia being Russia, you have to think Big Things that make Big Booms.From a bit more than three years ago,They're back; ICBM, IRBM, SRBM. Strategic forces. Long range strike and long range counter-air.Some real old ones are coming back in to the lexicon: ABM.Some new ones have joined the party as well - ASBM and super sonic ASCM.Of course, they never really left us.After the post-Soviet softness of the 1990s and the decade plus of COIN and small wars - the big toys are coming back. Old and new.From Russia, China, Iran, & India - technology is reaching back out and spreading out.Where does that leave the US military in 2012 (NB: original air date of this show)? Few leaders under the age of 45 even remember operating in the Cold War disciplines that peer technology required; range, EMCON, defense in depth.Global reach will require more and better AAW, deep strike, I&W - it will also re

From shortly after he was The Under and prior to moving on to DepSecDef, Bob Work came on to discuss the broad picture.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? How does one find a path forward, 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 need to be kept at full strength, and what "nice to haves" may have to be put in to the side?What are the legacy ideas, concepts, and capabilities that the Navy and Marine Corps need to make sure they maintain mastery of, and what new things are either here or are soon on the way that we need to set conditions for success now?Our guest to discuss this and more will be Robert O. Work, Col. USMC (Ret), now Deputy Secretary of Defense, and former Undersecretary of the Navy from 2009-2013.After 27-years of active duty service in the Marine Corps, Work joined the Center fo

From the same school as "If you want peace, prepare for war," a global maritime power must maintain a presence at sea. It must design a national strategy in line with its economic capability and political will, and make sure it mans, trains, and equips its navy in line with the design.If presence is a critical function of a navy, how is it best accomplished, what are the tradeoffs, and how does it impact friends, competitors, and those sitting on the fence?Our guest for the full hour to discuss this and more will be Dr. Henry J. Hendrix, Jr, CAPT USN (Ret).Jerry is a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Defense Strategies and Assessments Program at the Center for a New American Security.When on active duty, his staff assignments include tours with the Chief of Naval Operation’s Executive Panel (N00K), and the OSD Office of Net Assessment From 2011-2012 he served as the Director and Designated Federal Officer of the Secretary of the Navy’s Advisory Panel.  He also contributed to the 2012 Department Posture St

How do we get combat integration of women right? The quest has moved well away from "if" and in to "how."With an apparent broad disconnect between biological realities, cultural norms, and political desires, what is the right way for military leaders to carry out their orders while ensuring that combat effectiveness is maintained.Our guest to discuss this and related issues for the full hour will be Lieutenant Colonel Kate Germano, USMC.Commissioned in August 1996, LtCol Germano has served for over 19 years on active duty in the United States Marine Corps.  A combat veteran, she additionally participated in numerous operational and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief deployments.  Ashore, her duties including a year as the Marine Aide to the Secretary of the Navy. She was selected for command twice, most recently as the commanding officer of the Marine Corps’ only all-female unit, the 4th Recruit Training Battalion. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Goucher College, where she majored in History with

A decade and a half of ongoing ground combat under their belt, what are the hard-won lessons we need to keep, and what should be left behind? Looking forward, what are the challenges our ground forces need to make sure they are prepared to meet? From growing conventional strength from nations who desire to challenge our nation's global position, to the unending requirements for Counter Insurgency excellence, what is the balance?Our guest to discuss this and more will be Paul Scharre, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and a former Army Ranger with service in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Yes Shipmates ... we are now in our 6th year of Midrats!To mark the day, we are going to have a radically different format as a thank you gift to our listeners.The focus of the show today is one question; "Where do you see as the most critical thing to watch for Navy and Marine Corp issues in 2016."To get the answer, we are bringing on a series of prior guests one at a time in their own segment. To kick off we bring back our fellow Midrats plankowner co-host Raymond Pritchett, founder of Information Dissemination. Following Raymond will be Bill Roggio, managing editor of The Long War Journal; James R. Holmes, Professor of strategy and policy at the Naval War College; The Original Chapomatic CDR Chap Godbey, USN (terminal leave); author and former National Defense University Professor James S. Robbins; CTR1(IDW/SW) Lucien Gauthier, USN; and Lieutenant Matthew Hipple, USN.Live radio. One question. Seven men.Two drink minimum.

How do you balance cost, risk, peacetime habits and wartime requirements in designing and using the world's largest Navy?How do we maximize the most the utility of our platforms now, and create a future fleet best suited for what is coming up?Our guest for the full hour to discuss will be Barney Rubel, CAPT, USN (Ret.).Robert C. “Barney” Rubel is a retired naval officer. From 2006 to 2014, he was Dean of the Center for Naval Warfare Studies at the US Naval War College. Prior to assuming this position, he was Chairman of the Wargaming Department. A thirty-year Navy veteran, he received his commission through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Illinois. He subsequently became a light attack naval aviator, flying the A-7 Corsair II and later the F/A-18 Hornet. He commanded Strike Fighter Squadron 131 and also served as the Inspector General at U.S. Southern Command.

While good ideas are often forgotten, bad ideas seem to pop up over an over again - especially the sexy ones that sound so good, but never seem to work well. The answer, of course, is to try again and hope for a better result.Some would argue that sea swap is one of those sexy ideas that just isn't that practical in actual operation.A good idea? One of the good ideas mostly forgotten is that of the Junior Officer in significant positions of authority. LTJG as XO? LT as Skipper? Sure... used to be common; now not so much outside the MIW and PC community.What are the different challenges for the officer on a smaller warship? As JO command opportunities shrink, what is our Navy losing?Our guest for the full hour to discuss this and anything else the squirrels deliver will be Lieutenant Matthew Hipple, USN.We'll start the conversation from his article in the July 2013 Proceedings, Sea Swap - Its a Trap - then we'll be off to the races from there.LT Hipple is a surface warfare officer who graduated from Georgetown

From a 2012 show; everyone knows CENTCOM, many know PACOM or EUCOM ... but what about NORTHCOM?What is their role in national defense, and what special role does it have inside the United States - specifically in disaster response?Our guest for the full hour to discuss this and more will be Brigadier General Donald A. McGregor, in 2012 the Deputy Director of Operations for Domestic Operations, Headquarters, United States Northern Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.