Midrats

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Episode 469: Best of James D. Hornfischer & Neptune's Inferno Jan 27, 2019

Show notes

First aired in the second year of the show, still a great listen.
When you mention books on naval history, there are but a few authors whose work immediately come to mind, and our guest is one of them.
Unquestionably one of the finest writers of naval history of the last half-century; James D. Hornfischer. We have talked about his books on a regular basis both on Midrats and over at our homeblogs; The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors & Ship of Ghosts.
We will discuss a great book of his many - Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal. We will have him for the full hour, so don't miss the discussion of the U.S. Navy in the opening of WWII, the lessons we should take from history, and the importance of the study of naval history for both the professional and amateur.

Episode 468: Best of Undersea Lawfare Dec 23, 2018

Show notes

Since its ascendency to the premier maritime power, the US Navy - especially in the area of undersea warfare - has been at the leading edge of using technology to get a military edge.
During the Cold War, significant and steady progress in the first two steps of the kill chain against submarines, location and tracking, made the prospect of engaging superior numbers of Soviet submarine forces manageable.
We continue that tradition today, but to keep ahead of growing challenges, we have test. Build a little, test a little, learn a lot will stop dead in its tracks without testing in the real world. Computer simulation is only so good.
When it comes to submarines especially, you have to get in the water with them.
Knowing our technological track record an operating a generation or two ahead of some potential adversaries - are there ways they can negate our edge - or at least buy time while they catch up?
Are we vulnerable to potential challengers using national and international law against us? Undersea Lawfare?
Our guests for the full hour to discuss will be Rear Admiral J. Michael "Carlos" Johnson, USN (Ret.) and Captain Michael T. Palmer, USN.
As a stepping off point, we will be using their article in the latest Naval War College Review; UNDERSEA LAWFARE - Can the US Navy Fall Victim to This Asymmetrical Warfare Threat?
RADM Johnson retired after 33 years of service as a naval aviator that included combat in Vietnam, Libya, the Balkans, and the Persian Gulf. He commanded the John F. Kennedy Battle Group, CVW-8, and VFA-86. Ashore he served on the staffs of the CNO as Director of Aviation Plans and Requirements) and the J3 of EUCOM.
Captain Palmer is an active-duty JAG and an adjunct assistant professor at ODU. Her has served as environmental counsel to the CNO; U.S. Fleet Forces Command; and Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic.

Episode 467: Military Ethics and the Profession, with Pauline Shanks Kaurin Dec 16, 2018

Show notes

Where are the lines between what is legal, what is ethical, and what is moral? Who writes these lines and how rigid are they?
For the individual and the military as an institution, why are these things important?
Are there universals? National? Institutional? Are they at the end of the day, personal?
Is there a hierarchy of ethics? Where do they come in to conflict with loyalty, duty, or mission?
Are there secular ones that come in conflict with religious? How do leaders manage these highly personal - and often high profile - foundational conflicts?
Our guest for the full hour will be Dr. Pauline Shanks Kaurin.
Pauline holds a PhD in Philosophy from Temple University, and is a specialist in military ethics, just war theory, philosophy of law and applied ethics. She is is a professor in the College of Leadership and Ethics at the US Naval War College. Prior to her arrival in Newport, she was Associate Professor and Chair of Philosophy at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA and teaches courses in military ethics, warfare, business ethics, social and political.
You can follow her on twitter at @queenofthinair.

Episode 466: The USN's Labs, Research Facilities, and Ranges with Mark Vandroff Dec 09, 2018

Show notes

With budget fights chasing money and arguments about hulls in the water, which part of our Navy makes sure what comes out the other end is more than just a fleet in being? A Navy that can get underway, get over there, fight, get back, get repaired, get upgraded, and deploy again - second to none?
We are going to dive deep in to the commands, men and women who make that happen, NSWC Carderock and other NAVSEA warfare centers that form the core of the labs, research facilities, and ranges that makes the sexy possible.
Our guest for the full hour returning to the show will be Captain Mark Vandroff, USN, Commanding Officer Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division.

Episode 465: Russian, Ukraine, and the Challenge for the West, with Emma Ashford Dec 02, 2018

Show notes

The latest incident at the Kerch Strait was just the latest turn of the ratchet in the long-running efforts of Russia against Ukraine.
This slow rolling conflict has a variety of different paths it can head from here, and few of them are good for the stability of Russia, Ukraine, the EU, NATO or the United States.
What is the latest state of play and the bold-faced items we should be watching?
Our guest to discuss this and more will be Emma Ashford.
Emma is a Research Fellow in Defense and Foreign Policy at the Cato Institute. She is currently writing a book on the links between oil, foreign policy and war, focusing on the peculiar politics of petrostates, from Russia to Saudi Arabia, and Iran to Venezuela. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.

Episode 463: Audience, Approach, and Obstacles in Military Communications Nov 18, 2018

Show notes

How can our navy and its leadership better communicate internally and externally? What are the ways an organization can effectively inform influencers and the public in a way that is accurate, transparent, and effective?
Our guest for the full hour to discuss this and more will be Commander Chris Servello, USN.
Chris has more more than 20 years of global experience in strategic communication, messaging, branding, digital strategy, government affairs, and senior leader coaching.
In preparing for his upcoming terminal leave and transition to the civilian sector, Chris is founding member of Provision Advisors that focuses on building relationships with media, key influencer agents and dynamic communication.

Episode 462: Fleet Battle School - Best of Nov 11, 2018

Show notes

This podcast first aired in December 2015
How do you design a game that has practical tactical application to the naval tactician? Even more ambitious, how do you make one accessible and understandable with the goal of making it a mobile wargame for eventual use by sailors and warfare commands.
For today's show we will discuss one of the projects of the CNO's Rapid Innovation Cell (CRIC), the game "Fleet Battle School."
Our guests to discuss this game, gaming in general, and its practical application will be three individuals involved in the project; LT Matthew Hipple, Paul Vebber and Chris Kona.
Chris Kona is a warfare analyst at Naval Undersea Warfare Center. A former submarine officer in the U.S. Navy, he was project lead for the CRIC’s Fleet Battle School wargame project.
Paul works for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Mission Area Director for Undersea Warfare and is lead game designer on the project.
LT Matthew Hipple, USN is an active duty Surface Warfare officer.

Episode 461: Radical Extremism, Visual Propaganda, and The Long War - Best of Nov 04, 2018

Show notes

In the mid-1930s, Leni Riefenstahl showed the power of the latest communication technology of her time to move opinion, bring support, and intimidate potential opponents.
How are radical extremists using modern technology, especially in the visual arena, to advance their goals, who are their audiences, and how do you counter it?
Using as a starting point the Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press's, Visual Propaganda and Extremism in the Online Environment, Jihadology's ISIS and the Hollywood Visual Style, and Small Wars Journal's ISIS and the Family Man; our guests will be Dr. Cori E. Dauber, Professor of Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Mark Robinson, the Director of the Multimedia Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
First aired, 03/16

Episode 460: Patience & Resilience of the Long War at 17, with Craig Whiteside Oct 28, 2018

Show notes

While off the front page, ISIS is not gone, the Taliban remain a strong force, and throughout the globe, the Long War continues.
A war unique in living memory in the West, it isn't going anywhere.
Returning to the show for a broad ranging discussion of the war - however you want to call it - that we have been waging before we even knew it for sure in September 2001, will be Craig Whiteside.
Craig is an associate professor at the Naval War College Monterey and an associate fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT)-The Hague.

Episode 459: Crimes of Command with Michael Junge Oct 21, 2018

Show notes

Since WWII, how has the Navy's understanding of responsibility, accountability, and culpability changed?
Returning to Midrats for the full hour will be Michael Junge, author of the book, Crimes of Command, which looks at this question through 14 officers who were removed from command.
Michael Junge is a Captain in the United States Navy and career Surface Warfare Officer who served afloat in destroyers, frigates, and amphibious assault ships before becoming the 14th Commanding Officer of USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41). Ashore he served with Navy Recruiting; Assault Craft Unit 4; Headquarters, Marine Corps; the Chief of Naval Operations staff; and with the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy (B.S., 1990), The George Washington University (M.A., 2002), the United States Naval War College (M.A., 2004), and Salve Regina University (Ph.D., 2015) and is currently a member of the faculty in the College of Leadership and Ethics at the
United States Naval War College. He has written extensively with articles appearing in the United States Naval Institute Proceedings magazine, and on the blogs “Information Dissemination,” "War on the Rocks," and "Commander Salamander."

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