The Aristocracy of Experience

Years of industry experience, titles and fancy degrees never really got me excited. In the Army, I worked with plenty of officers from West Point who I wouldn't trust to lead a shift at my local McDonald's, and I worked with plenty of NCO's from special operations units with all the tabs and schools you …

Enlisted and Officer: Growing Divide

There is a growing divide between enlisted members of the military and officers. One can look at interactions on twitter, or spend some time in uniform and most likely come to the same conclusion. In the previous 20 or so years of war, most of the fighting has been done at the platoon or squad …

Quick Hits: Surgical Strikes

The new year is upon us and we are already rife with controversy in the realm of foreign policy and military options. Almost everyone has heard of and is following the surgical strike that killed General Soleimani at a Baghdad Airfield. Of course, the usual "experts" have weighed in and taken to their foxholes on …

Out of The Army: A moment of clarity on my last day in uniform

When I was ending my time in service in the Army, I had a moment of clarity on my final day of active duty. When you finish your time in service, you go through about a month long process of clearing- it's a bunch of paperwork, confirming you turned in gear, attended a few transition …

NATO: A Historically Unique Organization

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, originally an agreement between Western European countries and the United States has seen massive change over the past few decades. Started as an alliance that would prevent and counter Soviet aggression against Western Europe, NATO is now a wholesale strategic institution and common framework that the allied nations work under. …

Fighting Generals: The End of Frontline Leadership?

Alexander The Great led his Armies from the front, being wounded multiple times and throwing himself headlong into the melee and overwhelming odds. Even though it wasn't the "Roman Way" to challenge opposing generals, the men who commanded Rome's Legions usually shared the hardships with their men, and on occasion, found themselves also embroiled in …

Quick Hits: Combat Catnaps and Living in The Moment

This week I'm focusing on veterans and soldier life. I enjoy writing about this, and will probably write more extensively on soldier life and veterans issues in the future. I have lived experience as a Light Infantryman in combat, but have also been fascinated by war and history since I can remember. An earlier article …

Quick Hits: Veterans Day 2019

November 11th has always been a special day for me. As a kid growing up in the city, I looked forward to the yearly parades. But it also holds some personal significance as well; On my first deployment, November 11th was also the first time I was in a serious, lengthy and sustained firefight and …

Early Tank Warfare: Armies fight for allocation not Victory

World War One is frequently seen as a watershed time in warfare. We had seen modern war start to develop as far back as the Crimean War, really develop a brutalist, Total War aspect during the Civil War, and come into it's own during WWI. One of the themes we hear all the time is …

Quick Hits: Power Moves and Power Vacuums, Syria, Kurds and Turkey Edition

With Donald Trump giving an implied blessing for Turkey to conduct operations in the Kurdish region of Syria, many of the usual talking heads were in shock, outrage or disbelief. How could this happen and how could we let our allies suffer like this? Well, anyone who spent some "boots on the ground" time in …