Of history, warfare, leadership, and alcohol
As much as Ian hated to admit it, operating outside the system was a lot more fun than operating inside the system. Granted, there were new challenges - it was a lot more difficult to move around inside Allied zones without clearances. However, once Looper was able to reverse engineer some of the comms equipment …
Continue reading "Finding Space – Chapter Seventeen"
With all-due apologies to Dylan Thomas. As Christmas rolls around, my all-too willing mind is pulled back to Ohio, to the wide and rolling drab-colored fields dotted by stout wood copses, to the gray and leaden skies that sat like a lid on a silent universe. Snow, never early, always late, sometimes on time, would …
Continue reading "A Child’s Christmas in Ohio"
This article contains significant spoilers for Season 1 of The Legend of Korra Season 1 of The Legend of Korra is an insightful depiction of a counterinsurgency campaign which should be required watching for security studies students everywhere. It captures key elements of how insurgencies operate and highlights common pitfalls of counterinsurgents in a compact …
Continue reading "The Legend of Korra – An Insurgency Masterclass"
There's a lot of talk about recruiting and retention in the Army these days, as we try to build the right force for whatever lies in the future. Without a doubt, we need to have the right people in the right places. But too often we are hidebound by organizational issues or habits that keep …
Continue reading "Army Organizational Issues that Prevent Talent Management"
For years, I was blessed with a marvelous ability: to be able to just sit down and begin writing. And then to finish writing, with an actual product. And like with most abilities, I took it for granted. I would jest about writer’s block as if I truly knew what it meant, even though for …
Continue reading "When the Words Stopped"
OPORD 11-26-21 (OPERATION TURKEY DAY) (U) SITUATION. Thanksgiving holiday necessitates high intake of Class I itemsTerrain and weather: White and drifted snow; biting wind MISSION. Your unit moves to Grandmother's House IOT complete Pumpkin Pie consumption operations EXECUTION.Scheme of Movement and Maneuver: Over the river and through the woodCoordinating instructions: The horse knows the way …
Continue reading "Thanksgiving Operations Order"
Ok, so, as most of you know, I normally don't do book reviews on this site. I'm breaking my own rule because I lost a bet to an author about who could run more during one specific weekend. 17 miles and some extra sprints later, she got .2 miles on me and here we are. …
Continue reading "Pantheon Book Review: Or, How I Lost a Bet"
With all due apologies to Charles Dickens. Marley was dead: to begin with. There was no doubt ever about that. Marley and Scrooge had been buddies ever since basic training. They’d shared a bunk together. But now, Marley was dead. As dead as a door-nail. Okay, not actually dead-dead, just dead on social media, where …
Continue reading "A Veterans Day Carol: Being a Ghost Story of Veterans Day"
“Well this couldn’t have worked out better, Rislen,” said the admiral, chuckling. Ian’s blood went cold - then hot. Rislen. General Rislen Zaros was known all too well in the Army community. As a colonel, he’d led the massacre of an entire US Army scout platoon that had been overrun and had surrendered. No one …
Continue reading "Finding Space – Chapter Sixteen"
The whole patrol stood stock still, staring up at the ambush in the trees that had yet to ambush them. Everyone, that is, except for Sasmont , who continued to direct his UAV demining process as undeterred as if he was having brunch back home. Sasmont loved brunch. “Uh, sir, what do we do now?” …
Continue reading "Finding Space – Chapter Fifteen"
The Angry Staff Officer 
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