You can already hear the first faint echoes of the experts running through the halls of power in Washington, screaming, Cassandra like: “I told them! I told them!” Hmmm… Years ago, Michael Handel, a professor at the Naval War College, made the point that an intelligence officer’s duty was not simply to gather the facts […]

In a recent article a former Marine castigated the Generals and Admirals of the last 20 years who notably have been unable to achieve anything close to victory in Afghanistan, but who are now casting about for those to blame. The sad truth is that many, indeed most, of those in a position to have […]

          Fires happen on ships. And they can be quite destructive. There have been a number of major fires on aircraft carriers that were nearly catastrophic; Oriskany (1953), Bennington (1955), Oriskany (1966), Forrestal (1967), Enterprise (1969), Constellation (1988). And, while not technically an aircraft carrier, Bonhomme Richard last year. The distinction is that in all the cases except one, the ships returned to operational status in less […]

You know, the one in your phone. The phone that is turned off…             The Bill of Rights… We’ve all read it a hundred times, but go back and read it again, particularly the 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments. We all pretty much know the key clauses by heart (if you’ve watched cop shows in […]

There was an idea expressed recently that declarations of war are obsolete and that further, a President needs the flexibility to respond across the full-spectrum of armed conflict, that he needs to be able to move forces and engage threats, without getting wrapped around the process of obtaining some sort of Congressional approval. This idea […]

A number of years ago at a “Principals Only” staff meeting at a 4-star command, the commander asked for recommendations on programs that might be cut as the Pentagon “front office” was hunting for some extra money to do something or other. After several minutes of silence, one Assistant Chief of Staff signaled he had […]

Today, as with every July 4th, shortly before noon, there will be a brief ceremony on the lawn at Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s beautiful farm on the banks of the Potomac, welcoming a host of brand new Americans. They come from all over the world, but after noon today they will all be Americans. But […]

There’s a funny scene in the movie “Lost in America” in which Albert Brooks confronts his wife, played by Julie Hagerty, after having learned she just gambled away their entire nest egg, and tells her that since she clearly doesn’t understand the meaning of the phrase “nest egg,” she can’t use the word “egg” anymore, […]

The Chief Of Naval Operations (CNO) recently stated that the US Navy will face “flat or declining budgets” and that the US Fleet will be “shrinking.” At the same time, there are vast amounts of money being spent by the federal government – more than $6 trillion this year (and growing debt). Note, the national […]

Editor’s Note: There is a lot of information- and There is a lot of information- and misinformation- flying about these days. There was something this morning that made me sit down in amazement- actor Tom Hanks was assailed for not condemning the Tulsa disturbance a hundred years ago with sufficient vigor. Which is to say […]