Game of Thrones, Battle of the Bastards (Home Box Office) I am not going to bury the lead in this article: fantasy armies are simply terrible when it comes to conducting security operations. It certainly builds tension with the audience when one side is on the cusp of losing a battle, quickly followed by a …
What Barbie Teaches Us About Tactics versus Strategy
One of my mentors dropped this quote on me a few years back: "The United States military is obsessed with tactical solutions to strategic problems." After I picked my jaw off the floor because it was such an apt description of the last 20 years, I began to chew on the meaning of what they'd …
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Doctrine, Droids, & Dragons: An Impassioned Plea for Unconventional Professional Development
While attending a Working Group during my deployment to Romania, my fellow Field Grade Officers and I were discussing the Initial Operating Capabilities (IOC) and Full Operating Capabilities (FOC) for our Tactical Command Posts (TAC) within the context of Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO). As we discussed these capabilities, we briefly touched on the criteria to begin breaking down our TAC …
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Finding Space – Chapter Twenty
Click here for Chapter Nineteen It was dark, down in the holding area for prisoners. Blut Bilder squirmed in his restraints, cursing under his breath. He paused, to glance about him once more. No, still dark. Nothing new there. His eyes had only just managed to become accustomed to the gloom, and even then, there …
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#NextWar: A Fictional Cautionary Tale
The armored JLTV’s diesel engine growled as the transmission downshifted to avoid getting stuck in the rutted, muddy road. The hulking four-wheeled truck’s right front tire splashed into a deep puddle, cascading windshield with brown water and banging the soldiers inside hard against the armored doors. “Goddamn it, Cisneros, who the fuck taught you how …
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Finding Space – Chapter Nineteen
Click here for Chapter Eighteen Ian was stuck. Just absolutely stuck, and hoped fervently that if Admiral Graves himself were here, then that meant everyone else was having a much, much easier time of it. He tried to focus, to listen to what was going on. It appeared to be some sort of briefing. Was …
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Finding Space – Chapter Eighteen
They didn’t become space debris. Not this time anyway. With jetpacks mounted, they made the jump from the transport to the hull of the massive flagship, after giving the necessary SOS from the transport and sending it to the far side of the ship. That would keep people fairly busy, Ian had thought, and buy …
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Finding Space – Chapter Seventeen
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 …
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The Legend of Korra – An Insurgency Masterclass
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 …
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Pantheon Book Review: Or, How I Lost a Bet
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. …
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The Angry Staff Officer 
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