In this video, Dr. James Giordano speaks to United States Military Academy cadets and faculty about the human brain and the future of war. Giordano is Chief of the Neuroethics Studies Program and Scholar-in-Residence in the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown U … | Continue reading
Episode 58 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast focuses on the US intelligence community and its role in supporting the spectrum of national security missions, from the heavy counterterrorism focus of the post-9/11 era to today’s environment of strategic competition. Our guests begin … | Continue reading
A storm is brewing. Thousands of gamers are working to upend traditional models of training, education, and analysis in government and defense. This grassroots movement has developed across several countries, under a joint venture—Fight Club International—within which civilian an … | Continue reading
Off the eastern coast of central Greece sit high cliffs that once served as a narrow access point from the sea to its cities. Popular legend has it that in 480 BCE a small band of Spartan warriors, led by King Leonidas, defended the mountain pass against a much larger Persian arm … | Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article is part of the series “Compete and Win: Envisioning a Competitive Strategy for the Twenty-First Century.” The series endeavors to present expert commentary on diverse issues surrounding US competitive strategy and irregular warfare with peer and near-p … | Continue reading
In the weeks prior to the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War, Marine Corps University hosted a four-day wargame to forecast the war’s course. That wargame proved remarkably prescient, accurately predicting almost all of Russia’s major combat movements in the first week of operation … | Continue reading
There was a time—not so long ago—when due to the technology of the era, you had to face your foe in person. Standoff distance was determined by the physical length of the weapon employed and speed was subject to the constraints of the human body and mind. Over time, projectile we … | Continue reading
This article is part of the contribution made by the US Army War College to the series “Compete and Win: Envisioning a Competitive Strategy for the Twenty-First Century.” The series endeavors to present expert commentary on diverse issues surrounding US competitive strategy and i … | Continue reading
As Russian forces in Ukraine approach two weeks in the country since their invasion, it has become increasingly clear that Russian efforts to achieve a quick military victory in Ukraine and replace the regime in Kyiv with a more pliable one have failed. Vladimir Putin premised th … | Continue reading
In Episode 46 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast, we discuss a fundamental change that has occurred in the nature of war—and what this means for the United States and its allies. Our guests explain why this change renders the American way of war obsolete and turns assumptions about … | Continue reading
It should not be a controversial statement to say that soldiers are expected to follow orders. It is one of the fundamental characteristics of a military professional. But what if obedience, as a matter of principle, is not as common a character trait among soldiers as we assume … | Continue reading
Editor’s note: Last fall, Stanford University hosted a brand-new class—Technology, Innovation, and Modern War. This year, the course is once again being taught by Steve Blank, Joe Felter, and Raj Shah, but they have broadened the scope to examine how technology and innovation imp … | Continue reading
in January 1968, North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong forces launched the Tet Offensive, a series of coordinated attacks aimed at demonstrating to the governments in Washington and Saigon that continuing the war was futile. One of the offensives chief targets was the city of Hue. … | Continue reading
There are more than 180,000 US soldiers serving in more than 140 countries around the world. During the height of the war in Iraq, there were more than 170,000 deployed in just that country alone. Much of the work soldiers did in Iraq—and do in combat zones around the globe—is no … | Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article is part of a series, “Full-Spectrum: Capabilities and Authorities in Cyber and the Information Environment.” The series endeavors to present expert commentary on diverse issues surrounding US competition with peer and near-peer competitors in the cyber … | Continue reading
Two years ago, the Modern War Institute’s John Spencer wrote an article titled “A Soldier’s Urban Warfare Christmas Wish List.” As the chair of urban warfare studies at MWI, he had spent a lot of time thinking about tasks soldiers would be required to perform in urban environment … | Continue reading
In this episode of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project Podcast, John Spencer is joined by Alex Giles. He is the chief commercial officer for ICENI Labs, a UK-based science and technology research firm with the mission to develop and deploy cutting-edge solutions for a safer and more secu … | Continue reading
In this episode of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project Podcast, John Spencer is joined by Master Sgt. Michael Kidd. He is an experienced leader in Army EOD—explosive ordnance disposal—with over sixteen years of service. The job that EOD personnel do is vital, and Master Sgt. Kidd describ … | Continue reading
In this episode of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project Podcast, John Spencer is joined by Dr. Deane Baker, an associate professor and co-convener of the Future Operations Research Group in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in the University of New South Wales, Canberra at the … | Continue reading
In two previous episodes of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast, host John Spencer spoke with the commanders of the Operations Group of the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, California and the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, Louisiana. This episode … | Continue reading
In this episode of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project Podcast, John Spencer is joined by Samuel Bendett. He is an analyst with the Center for Naval Analyses where he is a member of the Russia Studies Program. He is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, … | Continue reading
In this episode of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project Podcast, John Spencer is joined by Dr. Sokwoo Rhee. He is the Associate Director of Cyber-Physical Systems Innovation at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the US Department of Commerce. He is currently leadi … | Continue reading
In 2009, Bitcoin was born. Since that pivotal moment of creation, digital currencies have become commonplace, with millions of participants in a relatively new financial sector worth billions of dollars. Digital currencies will only rise in prevalence as the world continues to ve … | Continue reading
There are more than 180,000 soldiers serving in more than 140 countries around the world. During the height of the war in Iraq, there were more than 170,000 deployed in just that country alone. Much of the work soldiers did in Iraq—and do in combat zones around the globe—is not a … | Continue reading
In previous episodes of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast, host John Spencer has spoken to leaders from the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California, and the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana, about the urban operations training units undergo durin … | Continue reading
In this episode of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project podcast, John Spencer is joined by Dr. Saskia Sassen. She is the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University and member of its Committee on Global Thought, which she chaired until 2015. She is the author of eight boo … | Continue reading
In a previous episode of the Urban Warfare Project Podcast, host John Spencer spoke to three guests from the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California about the urban operations training units undergo during rotations there. This episode features a conversation with Col. … | Continue reading
In this episode of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project Podcast, John Spencer is joined by retired Sgt. Maj. Joe Vega. He works for the US Army’s Asymmetric Warfare Group and is one of the most knowledgeable and experienced experts in underground warfare. He has been working on the subjec … | Continue reading
In this episode of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project Podcast, John Spencer is joined by Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Hendrex. When the conversation was recorded, he was serving as command sergeant major of the 3rd Infantry Division. He has since become command sergeant major of III Corps a … | Continue reading
In 2017, artificial-intelligence researcher Stuart Russell presented the “Slaughterbots” video at a meeting of the UN Convention on Conventional Weapons. When Dr. Russell and the Future of Life Institute released the video on YouTube, it quickly went viral. In the video, fictiona … | Continue reading
First off, let’s be clear: the COVID-19 pandemic is not a “war” in the classic military sense. The tendency to apply a war lens to non-war events can sometimes obscure the full range of tools and approaches at our nation’s disposal, and doing so cavalierly can easily do more harm … | Continue reading
In this episode of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project podcast, John Spencer is joined by Col. Douglas Winton, chair of the Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations at the US Army War College. In their conversation, Col. Winton discusses the topic of his PhD dissertation … | Continue reading
Artificial intelligence is among the many hot technologies that promise to change the face of warfare for years to come. Articles abound that describe its possibilities and warn those who fall behind in the AI race. The Department of Defense has duly created the Joint Artificial … | Continue reading
In this episode of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project podcast, John Spencer is joined by Dr. Richard Norton. He is a professor of national security affairs at the US Naval War College and a retired US Navy commander. While in the Navy, he served extensively at sea on cruisers and destro … | Continue reading
In late 2014, the US Army began planning to send soldiers to participate in a response to an outbreak of Ebola in Liberia. As part of that mission—Operation United Assistance—several teams were deployed to set up and run laboratories to conduct testing. Capt. Jerod Brammer led on … | Continue reading
I would rather be the hammer than the anvil. — Erwin Rommel Ever since modern tanks’ first appearance on the twentieth-century battlefield, infantry forces and their armored counterparts have been engaged in a sustained arms race with one another. Improvements in antitank weapo … | Continue reading
In the fourth episode of MWI’s Urban Warfare Project podcast, John Spencer is joined by retired Lt. Col. Rob MacMillan. In 2008, Lt. Col. MacMillan was serving as the battalion operations officer of 1-68 Armor in 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. The brigade was dep … | Continue reading
“Contrary to what is often supposed, urban warfare is not more difficult than other types of warfare.” That’s what a recent article published in the Texas National Security Review argues. The authors believe, in fact, that urban environments are “neutral,” not to be feared—that, … | Continue reading
Editor’s note: War Books is MWI’s occasional series featuring great books on war, strategy, and military history. Tunnel warfare is as old as warfare itself. Tunnels have been used for a wide range of purposes in combat across the world and throughout the ages. They have been u … | Continue reading
I passed a checkpoint manned by a group of young men armed with assault rifles. But they weren’t like the Iraqi soldiers at other checkpoints. They didn’t really wear uniforms, their bearing was distinctly un-military, and they looked mean. These guys are shady, I thought. One of … | Continue reading
In the second episode of MWI’s new Urban Warfare Project podcast, John Spencer is joined by Col. Rich Creed, the director of the Army’s Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. A graduate of the School of Advanced Military Studies, he has commanded Army org … | Continue reading
There has been an explosion of underground warfare in the last five years. From sophisticated cross-border Hezbollah attack tunnels discovered in northern Israel to defensive tunnels that criss-cross the urban battlefields of Syria, Iraq and the Philippines, a tactic familiar to … | Continue reading
The following is an excerpt from the book Why I Write: Craft Essays on Writing War, scheduled to be published by Middle West Press in December 2019. The one-of-a-kind anthology from the non-profit Military Writers Guild features essays from more than sixty leading and emerging wr … | Continue reading
Editor’s note: Each week, we ask a practitioner, scholar, or observer of war to list the top books that have influenced the way they think about war and strategy. This week’s edition originally appeared in April 2018. We all watch global trends with the hope of predicting the f … | Continue reading
If we are entering an era where military forces will increasingly be called upon to operate in cities (and we are), it follows logically that the Army should begin preparing for urban terrain. But a quick scan of the global contemporary operating environment reveals the extraordi … | Continue reading
From March 23 to May 12, 2008, US Army and Iraq security forces engaged in an intense urban battle in and around Baghdad’s Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City. The battle forced units that had been mainly focused on counterinsurgency operations to convert overnight into combined-arm … | Continue reading