Journal

The recent acclaimed Burns-Novick documentary on Vietnam is great cinematic art but poor history.  Unfortunately, it will be generally judged as THE history.

Words matter. Symbols matter. Does the Army see no meaningful difference between SF and SFAB?

With the role of sports encompassing a wide range of components of American culture, how does this role impact the development of foreign and security policies?

While DMARC is a good step to enhance some aspects of email security, it does not solve the phishing problem and adversaries routinely overcome the protections afforded.

This book shows that the Maginot Line is more than a metaphor for poor planning. It remains a physical series of structures that can still be visited.

This paper discusses the tactics the Shining Path employed to spread their influence from the southern Andean highlands throughout the majority of Peru.

It is necessary to explore the role development, broadly defined and applied, plays in fuelling a crisis such as his been witnessed through the emergence of Boko Haram.

An interview with Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster – The 26th National Security Advisor on recent developments in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Qatar.

34 years ago the U.S. invaded Grenada, rescued some medical students, and rounded-up a gang of thugs and criminals, along with their Cuban communist backers.

This paper aims to examine the issues of mass migration to Europe, its impact on European security and provide practical policy recommendations.

The ambush exposed Egypt’s main security weakness - its inability to effectively police the country and its long borders.

Advances in sensing, precision attack, and decision-making will fundamentally alter the character of future conflict engagements.  This premise warrants closer examination.

Mexican Cartel Tactical Note #35:  Weaponized Drone/UAV/UAS Seized in Valtierrilla, Guanajuato with Remote Detonation IED (‘Papa Bomba’) Payload

As the Peshmerga retreats in northern Iraq, two American foreign policy experts answer questions about America’s relationship with the Kurds.

Studying military history affords military professionals the opportunity to identify lessons that apply to operational environments and develop a deeper understanding of their profession.

The interconnectivity of global economic markets and the dichotomy between the East and West directly led to a new type of conflict, coined “economic warfare”.

The provision of such aid—usually a symbolic effort—should be considered a component of ongoing cartel ‘information operations’

"A Military History of the Modern Middle East" represents a new offering by James Brian McNabb.

In this article we combine Colonel John Boyd’s Observe/Orient/Decide/Act Loop with the NSA Methodology for Adversary Obstruction to create a new cyber‑defense model.

Nigeria remains a fragile state fighting what many believe is a misguided war on terror to hold itself together as a republic.

In Afghanistan Americans seemed determined to validate F. Scott Fitzgerald's aphorism that American lives have no second act.

While the concept and terminology of the Gray Zone is new, the geo-political situation it described is not, and the US military does have experience operating within them.

1 December deadline - continue on for information on the latest Mad Scientist call for ideas.

Hanna Bohman and Joanna Palani. What do a former model from Canada and a politics student from Denmark have in common?

Despite the attempts of many to simulate the future using game theory et al, one less-considered variable is missing from the equation. Primatology.

Opportunity might reside in the administration’s focus on security, where non-traditional strategy could still address foreign extremism.

Cocaine and illicit-timber trade are linked by their profitability, industrial proximity, and smuggling convenience.

Here is the latest from the US Army TRADOC G2 Mad Scientist Project - "Serious sport is war minus the shooting".

I recently wrote a short history of body armor article for Small Wars Journal. Here, I deal with the other side of the story and take you through the history of ammunition for small arms.

The U.S. needs something that can do more than just fight and win battles.  MDB is a start, but something far more ambitious is needed.

For many years after the withdrawal, it appeared that the so-called ‘Reagan Offensive’ in its political pressure and provision of arms to Afghan rebels was the overwhelming factor.

Fighting the urge for unnecessary control is a difficult addiction to break. It requires trust not commonly seen, especially when outcomes are unknown.

In the age of accelerated globalization and its toll exacted on conflict, USSOCOM should prioritize conflict prevention activities to achieve US national security objectives.

SWJ-El Centro - An Economic-Jurimetric Analysis of Asset Forfeitures and Human Rights

This reading list is comprised of recommendations from members of the INTELST forum, a group of almost 4000 current and former Military Intelligence professionals.

A cyber underground, organized around special operations principles can create a nationwide and global network that will seek out, identify, understand, and expose active measures and propaganda.

23 years of halfhearted efforts to prevent north Korea from developing nuclear weapons has resulted in six nuclear tests and an intercontinental ballistic missile capability.

Today, I’m going to look at an untold story, tracing the development of body armor and some other types of protective gear from the early 20th Century to today.

The US Air Force requires an inexpensive, light air support aircraft as a practical and cost-effective means of providing air support for IW in low air threat environments.

This is a synopsis of a chapter I wrote in the newly released book, "Mission Command: The Who, What, Where, When and Why: An Anthology".

As a non-state partner of the U.S., it is important to recognize the fragility and divisions within the KRG defense structure and to recognize the growing risk for intra-state conflict within the Kurdish Region.

The point of departure of this paper is that the UN has not defined offensive operations, and specified what this means in practice.

Walls are physical and mental.  Grunts know them both. Walls can be reduced by time or the physics of destruction. It depends upon the nature of the wall and the person behind it.

This article was originally published in Spanish as 'Las Pandillas en El Salvador: ¿Un Nuevo Tipo de Insurgencia?' at 'Small Wars Journal'-El Centro on 4 September 2017.

If we have our decisive conditions wrong, we will construct the wrong effects and wrong measurements.  It doesn’t matter how good our actions may be.

This article presents potential Military Assistance concepts of operations in support of specific security policy objectives, and proposes feasible new concepts in MA operations.

As small countries with little strategic depth and limited human and economic resources, the Baltic states are increasingly adopting a “total defense” approach to national security.

On Carl von Clausewitz: What is less spoken of is his study of small wars and people’s war.

The sniper rifle has become a preferred weapon for cartels since a round can penetrate walls, steel, and the sides of unarmored and even moderately armored vehicles.

ISIS has ambitious plans for continuing to stage attacks around the world. As part of this, we must consider the danger of ISIS organizing a terrorist underground in the West.