A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast

For those that say 'I wish I would have started a little bit earlier but I didn't' -- don't despair. ... Start now! The demands on senior leaders can sometimes overwhelm their abilities to manage their personal affairs and maintain a healthy work-life balance. Thinking about and planning for the long-term may lose out against the short-term demands of leading and managing the defense enterprise. But senior leaders who improperly manage their money can not only fall into debt and assume significant risk but also expose themselves to security risks. Personal finance -- which includes savings, investments, and insurance -- is therefore a readiness issue, one that too many senior leaders overlook until it is too late. A BETTER PEACE Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline E. Whitt welcomes two recent graduates of the U.S. Army War College -- Jay Parker and Mark Henderson to discuss a senior leader's perspective on personal finance. What is it, what tools does it require, and how does one balance tomorrow's financial security with the intense demands of the here and now?     Jay Parker is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and a graduate of the U.S. Army War College resident class of 2019. Mark Henderson is a colonel in the U.S. Army and a graduate of the U.S. Army War College resident class of 2019. Jacqueline E. Whitt is the Editor-in-Chief of A BETTER PEACE. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense. Photo Credit: Pixabay, via Pexels.com under the creative commons license

Pigeons were treated with very high regard in the military ... much like working dogs are today Technological innovation has always been central to warfighting, and the advances made over the 20th century were especially important. During the First World War, battlefield communications were limited, and armies employed means--old and new--to communicate. They used old technologies such as semaphores and telegraphs as well as new ones such as telephones and signal lights. But they also relied on animal power, including messenger dogs and homing pigeons to transmit critical information. One such pigeon was responsible for delivering the message that saved the "Lost Battalion" -- the 77th Infantry -- from a friendly artillery barrage whilst trapped behind enemy lines. The message from commander Major Whittlesey is an important artifact and tells an important story about communications, artillery, and combat in the First World War. Homing pigeons were celebrated and hailed as war heroes. Cher Ami, one of the most famous pigeon messengers from the war is on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History (NMAH). Explaining the roles and importance of homing pigeons in the first World War is Dr. Frank Blazich of the NMAH. A BETTER PEACE Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline E. Whitt moderates.     Frank Blazich is Lead Curator of Modern Military History at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. Jacqueline E. Whitt is Professor of Strategy at the U.S. Army War College and the Editor-in-Chief of A BETTER PEACE. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense. Image: Screen shot of the original message carried by a WWI homing pigeon, with the famous pigeon, Cher Ami overlaid. Both from the National Archives, via the U.S. Army Home Page. Image Credit: Composed by Tom Galvin

Command at the strategic level is challenging. Commanders are leading large organizations that are regionally (even globally) distributed, perform a widely diverse range of missions and tasks, or are overseeing the execution of military campaigns. They must address both short-term mission accomplishment and the long-term needs of their organizations, services, or the joint force. But the typical commander only serve for two to three years, not always sufficient time to shape the long-term future of their commands. Addressing how this routine changeover of leadership influences the organization, for good and bad, are two officers who have served in multiple four-star commands -- U.S. Army colonels Bob Bradford and Matt Coburn, both now serving as faculty instructors at the U.S. Army War College. A BETTER PEACE Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline E. Whitt moderates. When you have a new commander who comes in and feels like they must change things to make their impact, that can be tremendously disruptive.   Bob Bradford is a colonel in the U.S. Army and Professor of Defense Enterprise Management at the U.S. Army War College. Matt Coburn is a colonel in the U.S. Army and Professor of Special Operations at the U.S. Army War College. Jacqueline E. Whitt is the Editor-in-Chief of A BETTER PEACE. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.  Photo: From the U.S. Army Materiel Command's change of command ceremony, 2016. Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by SGT Eben Boothby

The ritual of retaliation codified what makes you legitimate [as a combatant] and what makes you not legitimate How did combatants enforce the lawful practice of war prior to the Geneva Conventions and other conceptions of international laws of warfare? During the Civil War period, the answer was the customary practice of retaliation, which provides wronged combatants the opportunity to redress unlawful conduct by an opponent. Through a process of formal notification, threat of action, and binding honorable resolution, the Union and Confederacy managed to keep each other on the right side of the law. How and why this worked, and to what extent did this practice reinforce good order of discipline? Dr. Lorien Foote, a prominent Civil War historian from Texas A&M University, addresses these and other questions with A BETTER PEACE Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline E. Whitt.       Lorien Foote is the Patricia & Bookman Peters Professor of History and Director of Graduate Studies at Texas A&M University. Jacqueline E. Whitt is the Editor-in-Chief of A BETTER PEACE. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense. Image: Reprisal for, quoting the extended title, "The desolation of the border counties of Missouri, during the enforcement of military orders, issued by Brigadier General [Thomas] Ewing, of the Union Army, from his Head Quarters, Kansas City, Augt. 25th 1863." Image Credit: "Martial Law," George Caleb Bingham, c. 1872 via Library of Congress, public domain

If we want [Artificial intelligence] to thrive, we have to have leaders who understand it Artificial intelligence is seemingly everywhere and everyone is talking about it. But so what? What is the real utility of "AI" and how did it change or transform the organizations that incorporated AI into their practices? A trio of U.S. Army War College students -- Tom Spahr, Chris Chase, and Andre Abadie -- visited businesses and other organizations from around the country to answer these questions. They found that AI helped improve some practices by making them more efficient, but not other practices. There are important cultural barriers to adopting AI for some purposes. What are the implications for the U.S. military should it decide to incorporate AI technologies? A BETTER PEACE Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline E. Whitt moderates.     Tom Spahr, Chris Chase, and Andre Abadie are U.S. military officers and resident students in the U.S. Army War College class of 2019. Jacqueline E. Whitt is the Editor-in-Chief of A BETTER PEACE. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense. Photo Credit: PxHere.com under Creative Commons license

Today it is commonplace for a female to command a brigade, and it is hugely important The military is a constantly evolving organization. Change in the US military is driven by both the need to serve as an effective fighting force and maintain a connection with society. An example is the recent integration of women in combat roles. Although women have been associated with the US military since the American Revolution, traditional gender roles often defined the limits of women's service. Nevertheless, women who have chosen to serve have transcended these limitations, performed acts of heroism and courage, and inspired future generations of women to serve and push against the social and structural boundaries placed before them. This episode features one of those women: Major General Jessica Wright, U.S. Army retired, who served over six years as The 50th Adjutant General of Pennsylvania and, following retirement, served as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. With A BETTER PEACE Editor Jacqueline E. Whitt, Major General Wright reflects on her service, women in the military, and those service members who enabled and supported her throughout her career.       Jessica Wright is a retired major general in the U.S. Army. Jacqueline E. Whitt is the Editor-in-Chief of A BETTER PEACE. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense. Photos: (L) Women's Army Corps Dorothy "Dora" Feinbloom, served with the Army Air Corps in 1943; (R) PFC Christina Fuentes Montenegro, one of the first three women to graduate from the Marine Corps’ Infantry Training Battalion in October 2013. Photo Credits: (L) National World War II Museum, (R) U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Tyler Main

I don't write science fiction so I can predict the future, but I want to better understand what's lies ahead This episode is the final in a series of releases on the Emerging Environment in the Indo-Pacific Region, produced in collaboration with the United States Military Academy at West Point’s Department of Social Sciences as part of the 2019 Senior Conference. What does the future of war look like? A common trope is that militaries default to fighting the 'last' war, leaving themselves exposed when the next war emerges. Conventional war planning may not always provide the best answer, so what are alternatives? One is exploring the future through fiction, where authors can analyze and develop war scenarios from friendly, enemy, and neutral perspectives. A BETTER PEACE welcomes a scholar and author who has done just that. August Cole is both a war futurist at the Atlantic Council and co-author of the novel Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War  with P. W. Singer. The novel imagines various ways that emerging technologies may be leveraged by both sides in a predominently Indo-Pacific environment. August Cole generalizes this approach in what he calls FICINT -- the combination of fiction writing with intelligence to imagine future scenarios in ways grounded in reality. The approach helps both to raise self-awareness and challenge one's own assumptions while articulating complex concepts using tried and true writing techniques that emphasis tension, conflict, and clarity. A BETTER PEACE Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline E. Whitt moderates.     August Cole is a nonresident senior fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council. Jacqueline E. Whitt is Professor of Strategy at the U.S. Army War College and the Editor-in-Chief of A BETTER PEACE. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense. Photo Credit: Marine photo by Lance Cpl. Brian Adam Jones, public domain Other releases in the Indo-Pacific Region Series: “FICINT”: ENVISIONING FUTURE WAR THROUGH FICTION & INTELLIGENCE(INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)HOW COMPETITORS USE TECHNOLOGY TO SHAPE THE ENVIRONMENT (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)HYPERCOMPETITION AND TRANSIENT ADVANTAGE (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)SECURITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION: THE VIEW FROM TOKYO (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)THE MEANING OF ‘PARTNERSHIP’ IN THE INDO-PACIFIC (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)DEMOGRAPHICS, AGING, AND SECURITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)

This is not humanity's first technological rodeo This episode is another in a series of releases on the Emerging Environment in the Indo-Pacific Region, produced in collaboration with the United States Military Academy at West Point’s Department of Social Sciences as part of the 2019 Senior Conference. Just how much have the rapid advance of the Internet and modern information technologies changed society? Or, is it more accurate to say 'shocked' society? There is perhaps no part of the world where cyberspace is more important than in the Pacific, where emerging competition are using technology to mitigate the U.S. advantage. How so, and what does this mean for U.S. strategy in the region. To discuss these topics and where the Internet revolution fits with other great revolutions in history, A BETTER PEACE welcomes Renee DiResta and Jonathan Reiber, both experts in the fields of cybersecurity and cyber policy. A BETTER PEACE Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline E. Whitt moderates.     Renée DiResta is the Director of Research at cybersecurity company New Knowledge, and Head of Policy at the nonprofit Data for Democracy. Jonathan Reiber is head of cybersecurity strategy at Illumio and is former Pentagon Chief Strategy Officer for Cyber Policy. Jacqueline E. Whitt is Professor of Strategy at the U.S. Army War College and the Editor-in-Chief of A BETTER PEACE. Photo: Cyber warfare specialists serving with the Maryland Air National Guard’s 175th Cyberspace Operations Group engage in weekend training at Warfield Air National Guard Base in Middle River, Md., June 3, 2017. Photo Credit: Air Force photo by J.M. Eddins Jr. Other releases in the Indo-Pacific Region Series: “FICINT”: ENVISIONING FUTURE WAR THROUGH FICTION & INTELLIGENCE(INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)HOW COMPETITORS USE TECHNOLOGY TO SHAPE THE ENVIRONMENT (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)HYPERCOMPETITION AND TRANSIENT ADVANTAGE (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)SECURITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION: THE VIEW FROM TOKYO (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)THE MEANING OF ‘PARTNERSHIP’ IN THE INDO-PACIFIC (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)DEMOGRAPHICS, AGING, AND SECURITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)

This episode is another in a series of releases on the Emerging Environment in the Indo-Pacific Region, produced in collaboration with the United States Military Academy at West Point’s Department of Social Sciences as part of the 2019 Senior Conference. Can the U.S. count on having a persistent competitive advantage in the Indo-Pacific region? Not likely, say today’s guests who were part of a major U.S. Army War College research project on Indo-Pacific Strategy. Rather than a persistent strategy, research participants Nate Freier of the Strategic Studies Institute and War College resident student Dana Tucker suggest that the intensity of competition means that any advantage will be temporary and transient. What does that mean for U.S. strategy in the region? And, what does it mean for a free and open Indo-Pacific region? WAR ROOM Social Media Editor Buck Haberichter moderates.

It's not so much the mil-mil relationship ... the political relationship is something that's a little more volatile than it has been in the past This episode is the next in a series of releases on the emerging environment in the Indo-Pacific Region, produced in collaboration with the United States Military Academy at West Point’s Department of Social Sciences as part of the 2019 Senior Conference. Often when thinking about security in the Asia-Pacific region, Americans do so from an egocentric perspective. This episode flips the script a little bit, presenting the Indo-Pacific region as seen from Japan. Joining us in the studio is Jeffrey Hornung, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation and a specialist in Japanese security and foreign policies, East Asian security issues, maritime security, and U.S. foreign and defense policies in the Asia-Pacific region, including its alliances. A BETTER PEACE Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline E. Whitt moderates.     Jeffrey Hornung is a political scientist at the RAND Corporation.. Jacqueline E. Whitt is Professor of Strategy at the U.S. Army War College and the Editor-in-Chief of A BETTER PEACE. Photo: Then-Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert is escorted by a troop commander as he performs a customary troop inspection at a full honors ceremony to welcome Greenert and his delegation to Japan upon their arrival at the Japanese Ministry of Defense in 2014 for a series of counterpart visits with Japanese political and military leaders. Photo Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Peter D. Lawlor, public domain. Other releases in the Indo-Pacific Region Series: “FICINT”: ENVISIONING FUTURE WAR THROUGH FICTION & INTELLIGENCE(INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)HOW COMPETITORS USE TECHNOLOGY TO SHAPE THE ENVIRONMENT (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)HYPERCOMPETITION AND TRANSIENT ADVANTAGE (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)SECURITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION: THE VIEW FROM TOKYO (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)THE MEANING OF ‘PARTNERSHIP’ IN THE INDO-PACIFIC (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)DEMOGRAPHICS, AGING, AND SECURITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC (INDO-PACIFIC SERIES)