Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks’ daily take on national security.
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HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan (April 1, 2010) —U.S. Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, commander of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan arrives at Combat Outpost Sharp in the Garmsir District. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mark O’Donald/Released) 2 big warnings from Gen. McChrystal: War in Europe is possible & we’re going to have to give up rights for our security
In the new issue of Prism magazine, General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Army (Ret.) offers two warnings. Both are kind of hair-raising.
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the_thinker_on_the_butte_de_warlencourt2 What is a military professional? Here’s an answer in 90 words of haiku poetry
Best Defense is on summer hiatus. During this restful spell we offer re-runs from the past 12 months.
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operation_castle_-_romeo_0011 Best Defense contest predictions on President Trump’s first foreign policy crisis, and I gots to say, March is looking pretty busy
Best Defense is on summer hiatus. During this restful spell we offer re-runs from the past 12 months.
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i400_2 Why didn’t Japanese subs raid U.S. West Coast shipping during World War II?
That thought occurred to me the other day whilst reading about Japanese operations during the war.
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asan-beach-guam A World War II Marine looks back and wonders: Where’s the America of sharing?
I am now 91 years of age and it has been 70 long, wide years since I returned home on Christmas Eve, 1945.
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thucydides_pushkin021 Should the bottom 10 percent of commanders be removed annually? Depends on whether you want to win!
That’s what the historical record suggests, as I have written before.
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screen-shot-2016-12-13-at-9-52-43-am A surprisingly good article on innovation — and why the Army is so damn bad at it
I say I was surprised because I barely made it past the first sentence of the article: “The Army is at an inflection point.”
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fernando_lamas_danielle_darrieux Rethinking the Army’s ‘Wife School’: Maybe time to move it out of the 1950s
Before my husband took battalion command, the spouses of all the battalion commanders in the soon-to-be brigade team were encouraged to attend a week of the Pre-Command Course (PCC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
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ricks3_8133 Today’s military puzzler: What is it about British generals and bird watching?
That is the question that occurred to me as I was reading Ravens in Winter the other day.
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51fplnezyjl-_sx324_bo1204203200_ A SecDef nominee at war?: What I wrote about General Mattis in ‘The Generals’
Given the possibility that retired Marine Gen. James Mattis will be secretary of Defense, this section from my book, The Generals, becomes more interesting.
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011214-D-2842B-002 The Joint Chiefs of Staff photographed in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gold Room, more commonly known as The Tank, in the Pentagon on December 14, 2001. From left to right are: U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper, U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James L. Jones Jr., Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, U.S. Marine Corps, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard B. Myers, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern E. Clark. DoD photo by Mamie Burke. (Released) Our generals failed in Afghanistan
The United States military failed America in Afghanistan. It wasn’t a tactical failure. It was a failure of leadership.
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fun_slide Reminder: The biggest danger in civil-military relations isn’t making a coup
Rather, it is letting things slide, and winding up with a poor formulation of national strategy.
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army-mil-67827-2010-03-25-13030321 Why does Trump admire one of the worst generals ever in American history?
For all the reasons you’d expect.
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A_Summer_Place I’ll C U in September!
After today, the Best Defense goes on summer hiatus.
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SEATTLE (AFPN) -- Defensive end (No. 94) Bryce Fisher, a captain in the Washington Air National Guard, gets airborne while trying to block a Carolina Panthers' extra-point kick during the Seattle Seahawks' 34-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Seattle on Jan. 22. The Seahawks clinched the National Football Conference title, are playing in Super Bowl XL on Feb. 5.(National Guard Bureau photo by Army Sgt. Jim Greenhill) The Air Force fumbles: A post-mortem on the recent promotion board for lt. colonels
The public discussion that’s recently emerged about the U.S. Air Force’s personnel crisis is well overdue.
