Of history, warfare, leadership, and alcohol
By Matt Wright Accident Investigation Board - Rebel Alliance T-47 Airspeeder (Field Modified) Battle of Hoth, 3 ABY Executive Summary During the disastrous Battle for Hoth, a locally modified version of the Incom T-47 Airspeeder was engaged in close proximity to advancing Stormtrooper infantry and heavily armored All-Terrain Armored Transport (AT-AT) units of the Imperial …
Continue reading "If the Hoth Crash was an Air Force Investigation"
Guest post by XO of XOs Knowledge diffusion and leader development in the Army is at best, a slapdash effort. You finish the appropriate schooling level--maybe rotating through a leadership position, or not--and then get dropped into your newest assignment. Primary Staff, Command, on occasion the officer in charge of the officer (I had one …
Continue reading "Mentorship: Cross-Component Leader Development"
First off, no, this is not a discussion on the merits of leaders within the Rebel Alliance in the Star Wars universe, though if it were, I'd have to say that the Rebel leadership had very few merits and we should probably not emulate their chaos-based approach to warfare. What's I'd like to talk about is disruptive …
Continue reading "Being a Rebel Leader: Disciplined Disobedience in the Army"
In the U.S. Army we have a long tradition of victory - or so we tell ourselves. We proudly carry the campaign streamers from past conflicts on our unit colors and enjoy hearing about the exploits of past heroes. Victory is our expectation. But what if that isn’t what happens? Now, I’m not talking about …
Continue reading "Training for Defeat"
By Sasha Maggio A classmate commented on my post for the week, and the post was largely on SIGINT but in one part I make a tiny little comment about how sometimes things like radio could be used to broadcast narratives to particular “target audiences” like how the Soviet Union used it to garner public …
Continue reading "Cake and Perfidy: the 1968 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia"
Let’s face it: the Army can be a place that wears you down, both physically and mentally. It takes a special kind of person to be able to take the brand of crazy that the Army pushes year after year and walk away from it relatively unscathed. As such, it seems like you usually get …
Continue reading "The Military “Give a S**t” Spectrum"
A few weeks back, I was asked to speak to some high school students about the U.S. Army in the post-Vietnam time period. At first I had no idea what I was going to say. How would I get high schoolers fired up about the demise of the Active Defense doctrine and the rise of …
Continue reading "Carte Blanche Foreign Policy: the Curse of the All-Volunteer Force"
By Cory Hollon Rebellions are built on hope. - Cassian Andor, 1 BBY Hope is not a plan. - Every decent commander, ever In 4 ABY, the Alliance to Restore the Republic gained critical intel about the construction of a new Death Star. Clearly learning from the lengthy process of creating the first planet-killing battle …
Continue reading "“Are the Shields Up?:” Decision Making in “Return of the Jedi”"
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything on here. And for that, I blame command, which sucks away all the years of your life. It’s basically “The Machine” from Princess Bride, just with more soldiers with DUIs. Basically what one month of command feels like. However, the topic of command is fascinating in and of …
Continue reading "The Perils of Command"
A gentle breeze slipped past the gravestones near me, rustling the slim folds of the American flag overhead, tapping the fasteners against the pole in a metallic rhythm. Aside from our low voices, the soft sounds of insects and birds, and the occasional passing car, it was the only sound to be heard. We were …
Continue reading "In an American Cemetery in France: Thoughts on Memorial Day"
The Angry Staff Officer 
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