Revolution in Military Affairs Wilf Owen and Preparing for War
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Dec 8, 2025 William F. Owen, a former British Army officer and defense expert, dives deep into modern military strategies. He criticizes the trend of drawing lessons from current conflicts without solid evidence. Owen emphasizes the importance of preparing land forces with realistic, evidence-based training rather than getting lost in speculative technologies like AI and unmanned systems. He argues that logistics are crucial and that common-sense fundamentals should guide military practices, especially in challenging environments like urban warfare.
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Beware Snap Lessons From Ongoing Wars
- People routinely treat tentative observations from current conflicts as universal lessons without sufficient evidence.
- William F. Owen warns this habit corrupts doctrine and misdirects training and procurement.
Train For The Present, Not Hypotheticals
- Train and plan with the equipment, ideas, and resources you actually have today rather than hypothetical future tech.
- William F. Owen advises against building doctrine around capabilities that do not yet exist.
Unmanned Systems Are Evolutionary
- The hype around unmanned systems and 'AI' is largely evolutionary, not revolutionary.
- Owen cautions that many claimed AI breakthroughs are automated functions or shape recognition, not transformative warfare changes.
