Decisive Point Podcast

Decisive Point Podcast | Feb. 8, 2022

“Air Littoral- Another Look”

Assessing threats to the air littoral, the airspace between ground forces and high-end fighters and bombers, requires a paradigm change in American military thinking about verticality. This article explores the consequences of domain convergence,

Decisive Point Podcast | Jan. 24, 2022

“What Went Wrong in Afghanistan”

Critics of the Afghan war have claimed it was always unwinnable. This article argues the war was unwinnable the way it was fought and posits an alternative based on the Afghan way of war and the US approach to counterinsurgency in El Salvador during

Decisive Point Podcast | Jan. 10, 2022

"The Grand Strategic Thought of Colin S. Gray”

A titan of modern strategic studies, Colin S. Gray distinguished himself from other scholars in the field with his belief that grand strategy is indispensable, complex, and inherently agential. This article identifies key themes, continuities,

Decisive Point Podcast | Dec. 27, 2021

“Defeat Mechanisms in Modern Warfare”

This article explores the current debate about service and Joint operating concepts, starting with the Army’s multi-domain operations concept. It argues for adaptations to an old operational design technique—defeat mechanisms; updates to Joint and

Decisive Point Podcast | Dec. 16, 2021

“Broken Nest- Deterring China from Invading Taiwan”

Deterring a Chinese invasion of Taiwan without recklessly threatening a great-power war is both possible and necessary through a tailored deterrence package that goes beyond either fighting over Taiwan or abandoning it. This article joins

Decisive Point Podcast | Oct. 12, 2021

“Crisis Management Lessons from the Clinton Administration’s Implementat...

In the wake of the Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia, on October 3-4, 1993, in which 19 American servicemembers were killed and 73 injured, I was tasked to lead an effort to discern the strategic lessons to be learned from the ill-fated US intervention.

Decisive Point Podcast | Oct. 7, 2021

“The Battalion Commander Effect”

Statistical evidence suggests that Army battalion commanders are significant determinants of the retention of their lieutenants—especially high-potential lieutenants. Further, this so-called Battalion Commander Effect should be included in brigadier

Decisive Point Podcast | Oct. 6, 2021

“Assessing Risk at the National Strategic Level- Visualization Tools for...

The reemergence of great power competition, conflict with near-peer competitor states below the level of armed conflict, and persisting threats from nonstate actors with transnational ambitions and global reach pose challenges for strategists

Decisive Point Podcast | Oct. 1, 2021

Great (Soft) Power Competition- US and Chinese Efforts in Global Health ...

Global health engagement, an underutilized strategy rooted in the strengths of soft power persuasion, can lead to more military-to-military cooperation training, help establish relationships that can be relied on when crises develop, stabilize

Decisive Point Podcast | Sept. 29, 2021

“The Evolution of Hybrid Warfare- Implications for Strategy and the Mili...

The concept of hybrid war has evolved from operational-level use of military means and methods in war toward strategic-level use of nonmilitary means in a gray zone below the threshold of war. This article considers this evolution and its

Decisive Point Podcast | Sept. 27, 2021

“Reversing the Readiness Assumption- A Proposal for Fiscal and Military ...

Looming budget cuts will necessitate adept management to retain a military capable of competing and winning by avoiding the mistakes made in prior drawdowns. This article presents a framework for government and defense leaders to prepare for the

Decisive Point Podcast | Sept. 21, 2021

“Samuel Huntington, Professionalism, and Self-Policing in the US Army Of...

Drawing on Samuel P. Huntington’s three phases of self-regulation used to determine if an occupation qualifies as a profession, this article focuses on the third phase of policing and removing those who fail to uphold the standards set forth in the

Decisive Point Podcast | Sept. 16, 2021

“The Alt-Right Movement and National Security”

Identifying the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol as an inflection point, this article analyzes the historical relationship between White supremacy and the US military from Reconstruction after the Civil War to the present. The article posits

Decisive Point Podcast | Aug. 16, 2021

“Hope versus Reality- The Efficacy of Using US Military Aid to Improve H...

Using US military aid as a lever to achieve human rights reforms has proven only marginally effective. This article examines the approaches employed by the Obama and Trump administrations to US military aid to Egypt and proposes practical steps that

Decisive Point Podcast | July 27, 2021

“The Coercive Logic of Militant Drone Use”

While unmanned aerial systems can serve as a force multiplier for militants, these systems do not embody a transformation in modern insurgent warfare or enable militants to engage regularly in strategic coercion. Instead, drone use is consistent with

Decisive Point Podcast | July 26, 2021

“Charting a Different Course”

The failure of liberal internationalism in the post–Cold War period requires the United States to adopt a clear-eyed approach to competition that promotes regional balances of power, emphasizes reciprocity, and creates mission-driven coalitions.

Decisive Point Podcast | July 13, 2021

“Greater Security Cooperation- US Allies in Europe and East Asia”

Growing Sino-Russian coordination necessitates greater security cooperation between US Allies in Europe and East Asia. US Allies in both regions face remarkably similar threats requiring similar operational concepts, capabilities, and technologies.

Decisive Point Podcast | July 12, 2021

“Integrated Planning and Campaigning for Complex Problems”

Shortfalls and inefficiencies in traditional planning and campaigning have become increasingly clear in the current hyperconnected security environment. US military planners can mitigate these deficiencies by embracing integrated planning and

Decisive Point Podcast | June 29, 2021

“Toward Successful COIN- Shining Path’s Decline”

The rapid decline of the Peruvian left-wing insurgent organization Sendero Luminoso was not only the result of the arrest of its leader. An analysis of the precipitous weakening of the organization using two social movement theories finds other

Decisive Point Podcast | June 28, 2021

“COIN Doctrine Is Wrong”

Counterinsurgency does not increase the legitimacy of, or support for, central governments engaged in internal conflicts. Recent research shows quantifiable degrees of government legitimacy, national identity, and population security are necessary

Decisive Point Podcast | June 22, 2021

“JDN 2-19- Hitting the Target but Missing the Mark”

Predoctrinal deliberations about the employment of the US armed forces, captured in Joint Doctrine Notes, remain critically understudied. Using comparative text analysis, this article identifies changes in recent Joint Doctrine Note depictions of

Decisive Point Podcast | June 22, 2021

“Matthew Ridgway and the Value of Persistent Dissent”

Army General Matthew Ridgway’s actions throughout his career provide a valuable example of the appropriate time and place for serious dissent by military leaders. Ridgway demonstrated the importance of selectively and pragmatically expressing open

Decisive Point Podcast | June 5, 2021

“Transforming the US Army for the Twenty-First Century”

In an era of great power competition centered on warfighting domains other than land, the US Army faces difficult and likely painful choices. This reality, coupled with looming budget cuts, means the Army must reconsider its approach to capabilities

Decisive Point Podcast | June 4, 2021

“Europe- A Strategy for a Regional and Middle Power”

As the European Union deals with yet another crisis— the COVID-19 pandemic—it must adopt a grand strategy based on unity, policy, and proportionality: cohesion over inaction, policy over process, and regional imperatives over global ambitions. An

Decisive Point Podcast | April 10, 2021

“The Joint Force and Lessons from 1971”

In 1971 Colonel Duane H. Smith analyzed the unified command structure, examined an existing proposal for change, and suggested improvements. He illustrated how this structure must account for the challenges of the contemporary strategic environment

Decisive Point Podcast | April 10, 2021

“Moscow in the Middle East”

In 1971 Dr. John R. Thomas documented the involvement of the Soviet Union in the Middle East from the start of the Cold War. Like its name and borders, the motivations for that country’s involvement in the region have changed. Russia today

Decisive Point Podcast | March 27, 2021

“Soviet Reform–Surprisingly Prescient”

Writing in 1971, economist Dr. John P. Hardt assessed the trajectory of the Soviet economy arguing the need for reform and evaluating the willingness of key actors in the Soviet bureaucracy to support such policies. Fifty years later, Hardt was

Decisive Point Podcast | March 26, 2021

“US Army Reforms in the Progressive Era”

A look back at F. Gunther Eyck’s assessment of reforms enacted under US Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson may reveal as much about the historiography of the early 1970s as it does about Stimson’s reform efforts themselves. Eyck’s 1971 evaluation,

Decisive Point Podcast | March 20, 2021

“Academe and the Military”

Differences between the academic and military communities and the dysfunction that occurs when these communities comingle can have disastrous consequences for foreign policy. Donald Bletz, writing on the subject in 1971, details this dynamic as it

Decisive Point Podcast | March 19, 2021

“Coalition Warfare–Echoes from the Past”

The dilemmas posed by coalition warfare were a subject of academic interest in the inaugural issue of Parameters in 1971. Lieutenant Colonel James B. Agnew examined the unified command model pursued by the Allies during the First World War. Agnew’s

Decisive Point Podcast | March 15, 2021

“Providing Stability and Deterrence- The US Army in INDOPACOM ”

Regaining the military advantage in the Indo-Pacific region requires renewed thinking about the US military footprint there, particularly the role of the US Army. The Army’s deterrence and partnering capabilities will be best utilized by engaging its

Decisive Point Podcast | Feb. 5, 2021

“Veteran Disability Compensation and the Army Profession- Good Intention...

Regaining the military advantage in the Indo-Pacific region requires renewed thinking about the US military footprint there, particularly the role of the US Army. The Army’s deterrence and partnering capabilities will be best utilized by engaging its

Decisive Point Podcast | Feb. 3, 2021

“Diverging Interests- US Strategy in the Middle East”

Today, two-thirds of soldiers depart the US Army with a disability rating. Unfortunately, some soldiers are exploiting a generous disability system overextended beyond its original purposes and potentially damaging trust in the military, jeopardizing

Decisive Point Podcast | Feb. 2, 2021

“Civilians, Urban Warfare, and US Doctrine”

The novel coronavirus is only the latest in a series of global crises with implications for the regional order in the Middle East. These changes and the diverging interests of actors in the region have implications for US strategy and provide an

Decisive Point Podcast | Jan. 4, 2021

“Stability Operations in WW II - Insights and Lessons”

The stability achieved by the US military in the European Theater of Operations after D-Day was the direct result of good military governance concurrently deployed with combat operations. The role of civil affairs in securing this stability has been