Journal

Operationalizing cyber is not about linear thinking and lines of operation.

Presumption comes before the fall in sport and war. Trash talking never won a real fight in the real world. Adult leadership always matters.

Get writing! Generous prizes for three categories of authors. Continue on for the all the details.

If I could recommend one book to the Trump Transition Team it would be Dr. Juliana Geran Pilon’s The Art of Peace: Engaging in Complex World.

Secrets are the knowable unknowns and mysteries are the secrets that might never be known, or at least not until disaster strikes.

An annual SWJ Veterans Day post by the Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. First published in 2012.

I still wish I could’ve done more but I did what I could given the time, resources, and understanding (by our leaders) available.  I say this in order to share the following.

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Interview with Professor Stathis Kalyvas conducted during the Nafplio Olympia Summer Academy, Summer 2016, Greece.

A great source of frustration when reading current US Army doctrine, specifically ADP 3-0 Unified Land Operations, is the lack of a definitive characterization of the theory of war and warfare.

Policymakers would be well-advised to make appropriate preparations and take necessary initiatives rather than wait for another Pearl Harbor or 9/11 to jolt the country into demanding action.

This is not an all-inclusive how-to guide to developing a learning institution, but should serve as a springboard for any leader looking at taking their organization in a positive direction.

Even as coalition forces mass on the suburbs of Mosul and prepare their assault on the last major ISIS stronghold in Iraq, strategic planners are far from declaring victory.

The emergence of gray tactics in cyber operations, their utility as a political instrument, and reasons that twilight zone conflicts are no longer a mere science fiction fantasy.

Contract agreements between the two countries are far-reaching and encompass trade, investment, agriculture, technology, and defense.

Uncertainty has led to a proliferation of definitions for Russian hybrid operations, including such terms as ambiguous warfare, grey warfare, non-conventional warfare, and political warfare.

NATO is one of the bulwarks of strength to avert war, as long as the commitment of its members to honor Article V is believed by any potential threat.

Mad Scientist # 21: This is a first sketch of an initiative that will help to make sure we keep on being those precious few nanoseconds ahead of our opponents.

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Can international law meaningfully distinguish between cyberespionage for national security purposes and economic espionage?

In the short term, issues of humanitarian relief are critical, but in the long term the deals that are made between local actors and the two larger players.

The unrelenting tempo of combat operations at the Corps and below level in the Army creates unique challenges for the execution of Offensive Cyber Operations.

For naval intelligence to effectively support the Chief of Naval Operation’s new strategy, it must first adapt to the realities of the digital information age.

Named Operation Euphrates Shield, this ongoing Turkish military operation demonstrates the continued relevance of land power for achieving strategic objectives.

Love or hate the Centre of Gravity concept, it is here to stay.

A diverse set of policies is needed to unify a diverse set of peoples against a diverse set of threats - NATO should reorganize itself.

Both of us served in Kunduz from 2011-12, at a time when it seemed as though the province would continue on a trajectory of increasing stability.

Like any other organization, NATO has made mistakes. What is crucial is that the Alliance recognizes what went wrong and why, thus preventing these same mistakes in the future.

NATO must adopt hybrid models of national defense, coordinate efforts on economic and electronic warfare, and secure its space-based infrastructure.

There are multiple reasons for the surprise outcome, but largely missing from the discussion is the fact that the FARC is perhaps the most reviled insurgency that ever arose in Latin America.

Despite its centrality to the contemporary way of war, the days of joint operations are numbered.

European Union ambitions for a military force distinct from NATO are absurd. The list of challenges to forming such a force are legion.

Capturing the buildings of Mosul are secondary to conducting the battle in a way that secures the greater key to stability - the loyalty and support of the population of Mosul.

The five cases examined in this study show that a long-term solution must be aimed at preventing self-radicalization in the first place.

Transitions to democracy following forced regime change via military intervention require a last military dictator.

This paper discusses how Mexican cartel tunnels have evolved during the last five years while addressing specific uses.

This monograph uses the backdrop of Fehrenbach’s classic to investigate how militaries build preparedness, primarily among their infantry ranks.

Excerpted from "The Embassy: A Story of War and Diplomacy" © 2016 by Dante Paradiso, to be published by Beaufort Books (New York).

This paper explores how the similarities between covert action and UW activities have led to a negative perception of UW and lengthy delays in its use.

How many troops are needed to defeat an insurgency? This deceptively innocuous question is laden with political and military peril. The answer is, of course, that it depends.

Iran is destined to remain a “victim” because its leaders have determined it is in their best interest to do so. 

One must ask why Civil Affairs specialists, the purported experts of the civilian domain are so ill-trained and equipped to reconnoiter the civil space?

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Many political analysts and historians referred to the war as one for independence or as a civil war. This characterization is incomplete and contributes to numerous misconceptions about the conflict.

Hacking for Defense is a battle-tested problem-solving methodology that runs at Silicon Valley speed. We just held our first Hacking for Defense Educators Class with 75 attendees.

The best way to defeat terrorism motivation rooted in religious convictions is not through a continuation of government-sponsored, Madison-Avenue-style advertising and PSYOP.

Galula was a self-made man in various aspects; born into a relatively modest environment, he rose to positions where no one expected him to.

This paper explores current recruiting practices, its shortfalls, and offers solutions tied to a thorough job analysis and restructured recruiting strategy.

Islamic extremist ideology has become a pandemic super-infection resistant to current counter-ideological methodologies.

A red team assessment of Syrian prospects for counterinsurgency written in December of 2015. It is a blueprint for Syrian military, economic, and political success in the coming years.