Today, the U.S. Air Force faces an almost-existential crisis. During the past several years, the service has been battered by the loss of its prestigious space mission to the nascent U.S. Space F...
Greetings from the North Pole! Santa here, once again giving you a sneak peek into my holiday gift list for some of the movers and shakers in the U.S. national security world. When I started work...
The U.S. military spends untold time, energy, and effort preparing for its future wars. Yet periodically, real wars intrude to shatter hypothetical concepts and show how the ever-changing interac...
http://warontherocks.com/2023/12/learning-from-real-wars-gaza-and-ukraine/
Every summer since 2016, we have dutifully crafted a summer vacation reading list for our loyal readers. But this year, the utterly bizarre yet somehow appealing phenomenon known as Barbenheimer ...
http://warontherocks.com/2023/08/strategic-outpost-goes-to-the-movies/
The all-volunteer force may finally have reached its breaking point. During the first years of the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, many military experts worried that the constant deployments...
http://warontherocks.com/2023/03/addressing-the-u-s-military-recruiting-crisis/
Happy holidays to all you national security nerds out there! This is red-nosed Rudolph checking in for Santa this year. The old man has asked me to share his gift list for the season with you whi...
How can the summer be ending already?? Temperatures are soaring, vacations are wrapping up, and many of you are realizing that you have only a couple of weeks left to rest and relax before the ne...
http://warontherocks.com/2022/08/strategic-outposts-seventh-annual-summer-vacation-reading-list/
The war in Ukraine is the first major land war between two modern militaries equipped with advanced conventional weapons in decades. Its emerging lessons could fundamentally upend our understandi...
http://warontherocks.com/2022/06/the-other-big-lessons-that-the-u-s-army-should-learn-from-ukraine/
Happy Christmas to all my favorite national security nerds! Sadly, it’s been yet another “year from you-know-where” with troubles and tragedies seemingly gripping us at every corner. Even S...
Last month, our graduate students taught us an important lesson about the future of war. We examined the 1983 invasion of Grenada, in which one of us participated as a 29-year-old Ranger company ...
http://warontherocks.com/2021/11/grenada-the-evacuation-of-afghanistan-and-the-future-of-war/
The sudden fall of Afghanistan marks the very first time that the U.S. military has clearly lost a war fought solely by volunteers. This defeat will have many strategic consequences, but it also ...
http://warontherocks.com/2021/09/when-americas-all-volunteer-force-loses-a-war/
It’s the end of July – and that means it’s time for Strategic Outpost’s Sixth Annual Summer Vacation Reading List! We all need a break from Zoom squares, email overload, kids doing their ...
http://warontherocks.com/2021/07/strategic-outposts-sixth-annual-summer-vacation-reading-list/
U.S. special operations forces have leapt out of the shadows during the last 20 years of war. They have become the best known and most acclaimed part of the U.S. military, and their capabilities ...
http://warontherocks.com/2021/06/fixing-oversight-of-special-operations-forces/
Cyber is now the oxygen upon which the U.S. military depends for almost literally every element of its vast warfighting capabilities. No military service today can function without reliable, resi...
http://warontherocks.com/2021/05/why-the-united-states-needs-an-independent-cyber-force/
Ho ho holy smokes! What a year! You try to get out a delivery order for every little boy and girl all around the world with your elves working at 25 percent capacity! Thanks a bunch, County of No...
http://warontherocks.com/2020/12/elf-confidential-santas-2020-national-security-gift-list/
The U.S. Army is facing a stormy period that will be marked by wrenching change in the coming years. In the early weeks of the COVID-19 shutdown, we argued that the defense budget would decline a...
http://warontherocks.com/2020/10/the-headwinds-looming-for-the-u-s-army/
Is the U.S. military adaptable enough to prevail in the wars of the 21st century? We’ve spent the last four years thinking about this question, first teaching a class on military adaptation and...
http://warontherocks.com/2020/09/falling-into-the-adaptation-gap/
Welcome to the summer of 2020, and a vacation season like no other! Some of you readers may be furtively planning to escape to isolated cabins hidden away in the mountains for a week or two. But ...
http://warontherocks.com/2020/07/strategic-outposts-fifth-annual-summer-vacation-reading-list/
The new cadets at West Point had only been at the academy for a few short weeks when they were shuffled into the boxing section of the gym one evening for a lesson that had nothing to do with aca...
http://warontherocks.com/2020/06/reflections-on-the-curse-of-racism-in-the-u-s-military/
The global pandemic is about to profoundly change the U.S. military’s role in defending the United States — even if Pentagon leaders don’t know it yet. As we noted in our last column, many ...
http://warontherocks.com/2020/04/five-ways-the-u-s-military-will-change-after-the-pandemic/
The novel coronavirus pandemic is upending life in every corner of the world and its worst effects are just now beginning to spread throughout the United States. Most of the nation has been essen...
The wars of 9/11 have taken a significant toll on the U.S. military, but special operations forces have arguably shouldered this burden most deeply. For almost two decades, special operations for...
http://warontherocks.com/2020/02/how-to-fix-u-s-special-operations-forces/
The fiery explosions from the recent U.S. drone attack that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani have sent shock waves reverberating across the Middle East. Those same shocks should now be rip...
http://warontherocks.com/2020/01/the-drone-beats-of-war-the-u-s-vulnerability-to-targeted-killings/
Classification: CLOSEHOLD//NOHUMAN//ELFONLY To: The Elves From: Santa Date: December 10, 2019 Re: Gifts for the National Security Community Thank you all for your excellent ...
http://warontherocks.com/2019/12/santas-classified-national-security-gift-list-for-2019/
Just before Veterans Day, we participated in an unusual staff ride that examined the domestic front of the Vietnam War. We joined our students and colleagues from the Strategic Studies program at...
http://warontherocks.com/2019/11/revisiting-the-vietnam-war-at-home-and-what-it-means-for-today/
Military planning documents rarely draw more than a yawn in Washington, but the new Marine Corps Commandant’s Planning Guidance is proving an exception. Crafted by newly appointed Gen. David Be...
When normal people go on vacation, they try to get as far away from work as possible. When national security nerds go on vacation, we like to take more work with us! In that spirit, we offer you ...
http://warontherocks.com/2019/07/strategic-outposts-fourth-annual-summer-vacation-reading-list/
The U.S. military has been America’s most trusted institution for decades. It has managed to remain above the partisan political fray that has consumed many once-trusted cornerstones of America...
http://warontherocks.com/2019/06/the-increasingly-dangerous-politicization-of-the-u-s-military/
According to the U.S. military, relatively few heroes have fought in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although more than 2.7 million servicemembers have served on more than 5.4 million deploymen...
http://warontherocks.com/2019/05/the-other-stolen-valor-unrecognized-heroism-in-our-recent-wars/
Instead of traveling to Daytona Beach or Puerto Vallarta over our spring break this year, we traveled back in time. We joined nearly 50 of our graduate students at the Johns Hopkins School of Adv...
http://warontherocks.com/2019/04/powerful-lessons-from-spring-break-in-world-war-ii-france/
Newly selected one-star generals and admirals in the U.S. military are often jokingly warned that pinning on their new rank means “you will never again have a bad meal, and you will never again...
http://warontherocks.com/2019/03/loyalty-and-dissent-getting-flag-officers-to-hear-the-truth/
All militaries craft narratives to help them understand and explain their wars. At their best, these stories can help divine important lessons learned, capturing hard-won battlefield wisdom. But ...
http://warontherocks.com/2019/02/debunking-the-myths-of-the-war-in-afghanistan/
To celebrate the long-awaited holiday season, Strategic Outpost continues its annual holiday tradition by taking you inside Santa’s North Pole workshop! This year we managed to break into his i...
http://warontherocks.com/2018/12/strategic-outpost-exclusive-santas-2018-natsec-gift-list/
As Veterans Day approaches this weekend, there will be a well-deserved outpouring of support for all those who have served the United States in uniform. After almost two decades of war, public su...
http://warontherocks.com/2018/11/what-we-owe-the-vietnam-veterans-who-stayed/
The U.S. Army’s leaders have made many impressive changes recently. They have increased the number of armored formations, created new security force assistance brigades, and established Futures...
http://warontherocks.com/2018/10/dumb-and-dumber-the-armys-new-pt-test/
It’s back-to-school time! If we could give an opening address to the military leaders attending every mid-level and senior service college class this year, here’s what we’d say. Congratulat...
http://warontherocks.com/2018/09/are-you-enough-our-speech-to-the-pme-class-of-2019/
Okay, fellow nat sec nerds — we know that you really don’t want to take a summer vacation. But we also know that to keep up your relationships, satisfy your significant other, or maintain har...
http://warontherocks.com/2018/07/strategic-outposts-third-annual-summer-vacation-reading-list/
Retiring Chinese general He Lei recently made news by suggesting that China’s greatest military weakness compared to the United States was that it has never fought a real war. He noted none of ...
http://warontherocks.com/2018/06/war-in-the-fourth-industrial-revolution/
As we approach Memorial Day, we’ve been thinking about what it means for Americans to serve their nation. We recently showed our graduate students a military recruiting video which repeatedly m...
Recently, we found ourselves thinking about how unchallenged assumptions can prove deadly in wartime. We were talking about how both advocates and opponents of strategic bombing before World War ...
http://warontherocks.com/2018/04/the-u-s-militarys-dangerous-embedded-assumptions/
In case you missed it, here’s the most important sentence in the recently released National Defense Strategy: “America’s military has no preordained right to victory on the battlefield.” ...
http://warontherocks.com/2018/03/jim-mattis-fires-a-clear-warning-shot/
A few weeks ago, we gave a joint lecture on the changing shape of war to 300 students at the Eisenhower School at National Defense University. During the question and answer period, something rar...
http://warontherocks.com/2018/02/strategic-outpost-debates-cyber-corps/
The drumbeats of war with North Korea are sounding ever louder as heated rhetoric — and false missile attack warnings — continue to fly across the Pacific and through the Twitterverse. Despit...
http://warontherocks.com/2018/01/americans-arent-really-worried-war-north-korea/
Welcome holiday shoppers! “Strategic Outpost” continues its annual year-end tradition by sharing with you, our faithful readers, our 2017 holiday shopping list. This year, our team of crack c...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/12/strategic-outposts-2017-holiday-shopping-list/
This Veterans Day, the country will pause to honor those that have served in the U.S. military — including more than 2.7 million veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Yet, as many have ...
The escalating tensions over North Korea have brought the United States closer to war on the Korean peninsula than at any other time in decades. Yet Washington is just as likely as Pyongyang, if ...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/10/the-growing-danger-of-a-u-s-nuclear-first-strike-on-north-korea/
In late July, President Donald Trump appointed retired Marine Gen. John Kelly as his chief of staff, suddenly making Kelly the most potent — and political — of the generals serving in the adm...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/09/why-no-general-should-serve-as-white-house-chief-of-staff/
Last summer, we decided that our last “Strategic Outpost” column before our August break should provide you, our faithful readers, an eclectic list of our annual best reads (and views and lis...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/07/strategic-outposts-second-annual-summer-vacation-reading-list/
This is the 50th time that our “Strategic Outpost” column has appeared at War on the Rocks. When we published our first piece on January 27, 2015, we had no idea how long our column would las...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/07/strategic-outpost-at-50-columns-some-reflections/
The new Netflix movie War Machine is either terrible or terrific, depending on how you look at it. For Americans who know little about the war in Afghanistan and want to learn more, this is a ter...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/06/what-we-saw-in-war-machine/
On May 4, Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley provided a rare public glimpse into his thinking about the future of the U.S. Army. One of your loyal columnists had the privilege of interviewin...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/05/three-things-the-army-chief-of-staff-wants-you-to-know/
During its first 100 days, the Trump administration has relied heavily on the U.S. military to address its first set of national security problems. This approach has clearly put adversaries on no...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/05/trumps-next-task-learning-the-limits-of-military-power/
More than 15 years of continuous combat has profoundly shaped the ways in which the U.S. military thinks about war. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have deeply colored the ways in which tho...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/04/mirages-of-war-six-illusions-from-our-recent-conflicts/
The Marines United scandal has exposed the disturbing fact that many Marines past and present view female Marines as lesser creatures, suitable for exploitation and never to be truly accepted as ...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/03/the-war-for-the-soul-of-the-marine-corps-its-time-to-choose/
President Donald Trump’s surprise decision to name Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as his new national security advisor (replacing Michael Flynn, who served just 24 days in that role) has garnered ...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/02/an-active-duty-national-security-advisor-myths-and-concerns/
During his first days in office, President Trump quickly delivered on his foremost campaign promise: to bring change to Washington. He dispensed a flurry of executive orders and memoranda on a wi...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/02/the-war-among-the-generals/
On January 20th, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. More than any other president in living memory, he will enter office with an unclear foreign policy a...
http://warontherocks.com/2017/01/the-role-of-the-pentagon-in-the-trump-administration/
We all have our holiday shopping lists at this time of year, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford is no different. But it is safe to say that unlike our shopping list...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/12/joe-dunfords-holiday-shopping-list-2016-edition/
Ever since the surprise election of Donald Trump, a debate has flared within the national security community about whether or not to serve in his administration. This is one of the most important...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/11/a-moral-guide-to-serving-in-the-trump-administration/
No matter who wins tonight, one thing is certain: a presidential transition will soon begin. This transition will affect the Pentagon differently than any other government agency, because it alon...
The final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign are once again highlighting the controversial role retired generals and admirals now play in national politics. Earlier this month, candidate Tru...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/09/how-to-get-generals-out-of-politics/
On September 21, the Atlantic Council will publish our major report, The Future of the Army: Today, Tomorrow, and the Day After Tomorrow. It includes 50 recommendations to help the U.S. Army prep...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/09/six-ways-to-fix-the-armys-culture/
Attention all defense nerds! We know you. We are you. You are getting ready for your August vacation, when normal people take a break from work. You, however, are not normal people. Your vacation...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/07/strategic-outposts-first-annual-summer-vacation-reading-list/
Over the last 15 years of war, the Pentagon has prided itself on finding new ways to protect its men and women deployed in harm’s way — from new vehicles designed to shield troops from roadsi...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/07/the-u-s-militarys-protection-deficit-disorder/
The South China Sea has become one of the most dangerous flashpoints in the world as China continues to aggressively expand its influence and capabilities there. One year ago, we proposed several...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/06/a-guide-to-stepping-it-up-in-the-south-china-sea/
The United States has entered an era of perpetual war. The U.S. military has been at war for 15 straight years with no end in sight, and President Obama will soon have the dubious distinction of ...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/05/the-price-of-perpetual-war/
A retired U.S. Air Force officer recently told one of us about a conversation he had with a senior Air Force leader who outlined plans for a new type of Red Flag training exercise in Nevada (thin...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/05/the-catastrophic-success-of-the-u-s-air-force/
In 1999, two Chinese colonels wrote a book called Unrestricted Warfare, about warfare in the age of globalization. Their main argument: Warfare in the modern world will no longer be primarily a s...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/04/a-new-generation-of-unrestricted-warfare/
An Army historical team recently interviewed one of your loyal “Strategic Outpost” columnists about his time as overall U.S. commander in Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005. The team had already r...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/04/whiskey-tango-foxtrot-and-the-once-again-forgotten-war/
Earlier this year, we taught a short skills institute for graduate students called Understanding the Military. When we asked our students what they most wanted to learn, we were very surprised by...
While at Stanford last month, we had a long conversation with former Secretary of Defense William Perry about the nuclear dangers facing the world. We were struck by his provocative and frighteni...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/03/three-minutes-to-midnight-closer-to-nuclear-conflict-than-we-think/
The recent political fracas over women and the draft is making headlines around the country and has become a campaign issue in the Republican presidential primaries. But this debate raises even m...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/02/why-we-still-need-the-draft/
On January 28, the congressionally mandated National Commission on the Future of the Army released its much-anticipated report. It weighs in at about 200 pages and offers 63 recommendations that ...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/02/beyond-the-army-commission-unifying-the-armys-components/
Over the holidays, one of us got a jolt from the past. Dave’s youngest son was home on leave from the Army, and his leave form happened to be on the kitchen counter. It looked familiar — a li...
http://warontherocks.com/2016/01/from-carbon-paper-to-the-cloud-fixing-the-pentagons-back-office/
Dear Santa, You may not remember me, but I’m the guy who directs NORAD to keep the airspace open for your reindeer at Christmas. I’ve been a very good boy for my whole first year at the Penta...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/ash-carters-2015-letter-to-santa/
“You’re killing me, Lieutenant.” That’s what Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told Lt. Joseph Riley, his fellow panelist last month at the Reagan National Defense Forum. Riley, a Rhod...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/first-steps-towards-the-force-of-the-future/
To paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of NATO’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Last week’s deadly terrorist attacks in Paris underscore the changing security threats confronting the alliance...
A “pink flamingo” is the term recently coined by Frank Hoffman to describe predictable but ignored events that can yield disastrous results. Hoffman argues that these situations are fully vis...
In the Middle East, there’s a new game — and possibly a new sheriff — in town. Three weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin stunned observers around the world by ordering his military ...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/10/putin-takes-center-stage-in-the-middle-east/
The armies of the Islamic State running roughshod over government forces in Iraq and Syria. Russian little green men infiltrating eastern Ukraine following the military annexation of Crimea. Hout...
Next week, Marine General Joseph “Fighting Joe” Dunford will take over as the 19th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dunford will be only the second marine to hold the job, replacing Arm...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/09/fighting-joe-dunfords-world/
We had a front row seat to history on August 21, when we witnessed two West Point graduates become the first women ever to graduate from the Army’s grueling 62-day Ranger School. Captain Kriste...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/09/35-years-two-rangers-and-the-end-of-the-brass-ceiling/
For the month of August, we have chosen to feature two original contributions in Strategic Outpost from our next generation of national security thinkers. We hope you enjoy these thoughtful pie...
For the month of August, we have chosen to feature two original contributions in Strategic Outpost from our next generation of national security thinkers. We hope you enjoy these thoughtful pie...
To: The Incoming Joint Chiefs of Staff From: David Barno and Nora Bensahel Subject: Your Professional Reading List Date: �...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/07/the-not-yet-chiefs-reading-list-2/
A retired Navy officer recently told us a story that happened 20 years ago in New Jersey, when he was introduced to several very successful businessmen at an elite golf course outside his base. W...
On July 9, the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for General Joseph Dunford, who has been nominated to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dunford’...
A drumbeat of reporting in recent months has cast a sudden spotlight on China’s aggressive actions aimed at expanding its influence in the South China Sea. Numerous accounts have highlighted C...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/06/fortifying-the-great-wall-of-sand/
If you grew up during the Cold War, as we both did, you probably remember all sorts of ways that we prepared for the possibility of a nuclear attack. Bert the Turtle taught us how to “duck and ...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/06/defending-the-cyber-nation-lessons-from-civil-defense/
The United States possesses the most capable armed forces in the world. America leads the world in military expenditures, spending more than the next nine nations combined — seven of which are ...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/05/fighting-and-winning-in-the-gray-zone/
When you hear the phrase “anti-access,” what region of the world do you think of? Most likely it’s the Asia-Pacific. Maybe the Persian Gulf, or if you think a lot about land forces, even Eu...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/05/the-anti-access-challenge-youre-not-thinking-about/
Yesterday, April 20, marked a turning point for U.S. Army women, as the first female soldiers started Ranger School. Those who successfully complete the course will be awarded the coveted black a...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/04/female-rangers-will-lead-the-way-sooner-or-later/
Last Monday, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced a series of personnel initiatives focused on “recruiting and retaining the best and brightest” for the U.S. military. On Wednesday, A...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/04/tats-and-techies-building-the-next-u-s-military/
While the highly publicized U.S. reset with Russia ended with the annexation of Crimea, this week the United States will reset another important international relationship that portends a much mo...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/03/resetting-u-s-afghan-relations/
Leaders lie “in the routine performance of their duties,” and “ethical and moral transgressions across all levels” of the organization. Leaders have also become “ethically numb,” usi...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/03/lying-to-ourselves-the-demise-of-military-integrity/
Defense Secretary Ash Carter took the reins at the Pentagon last week on a snowy day that shut down most of official Washington. The scene was painfully ironic—a Pentagon largely shut down beca...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/02/u-s-land-forces-must-deter-and-defend-abroad/
Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of WOTR’s featured column, Strategic Outpost. Last week’s release of the 2015 National Security Strategy (NSS) capped a big week in the worl...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/02/addressing-tomorrows-challenges-with-yesterdays-budget/
Editor’s Note: We are very excited to publish the inaugural installment of Strategic Outpost, a new column by David Barno and Nora Bensahel. Their column will appear every other Tuesday. A s...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/01/the-irrelevance-of-traditional-warfare/
I am proud to announce the first regular, featured column at War on the Rocks. “Strategic Outpost,” by Lt. General David W. Barno, US Army (Ret.) and Dr. Nora Bensahel will run every other T...
http://warontherocks.com/2015/01/announcing-strategic-horizons/