The #BruteCast

This episode features one of our new slate of #TeamKrulak Non-Resident Fellows, Col Sönke Marahrens. Colonel Marahrens is the Head of the Research Department "Strategy and Armed Forces" at the German Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies (GIDS) in Hamburg. The GIDS is a cooperation between the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College and the Helmut Schmidt University to promote public discourse and strategic culture in Germany. He is a trained Air Defense Officer and held various positions including Battalion Command, Defense Planning Office and Ministry of Defence. His past writing has focused on innovation, concept development & experimentation of applied (military) scientific issues in the field of cyber and digitization. In 2018 he graduated from the Canadian National Security Program with a Master in Public Administration. His current work focuses on aspects of leadership, leadership processes and leadership in the 21st century, modern forms of conflict, cyber, artificial intelligence and the military as well as the Prussian war game. His presentation today will focus on Germany’s strategic culture, or “Why the German Armed Forces are the way they are.” Intro/outro music is "Evolution" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

#TeamKrulak is excited to invite you to our first panel event of the Academic Year 2022 webcasting season! To discuss the research and conclusions of the project on Civil Wars, Violence, and International Responses by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,  we are proud to present Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, Professor Stephen Krasner, Professor Steven Heydemann, and Dr. Michele Barry.  You can learn more about the project here: https://www.amacad.org/project/civil-wars-violence-and-international-responses Intro/outro music is "Evolution" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

How do Marines - how do leaders of all kinds - make the right decisions in technology-enhanced warfare? Historically, people were trained on how to reliably react in highly predictable and reoccurring conditions. However, in the Digital Age, the past will no longer be a good predictor of the future. Technology will have the ability to continuously create new ways of doing – reacting at a speed faster than humans can normally react. So, how will you train leaders and Marines to react quickly and correctly in continuous changing environments enabled by technology? How does an individual train him or herself to be highly adaptable real-time so she or he can process incoming stimuli quickly and correctly without “bias”? What state of “being” do people need to be in to excel in such environments? This brings us to Hyper-Learning. Why Hyper-Learning? The past will no longer be a reliable predictor of the future because of the pace of technological change & its impact. Human Agility & adaptation will become strategic imperatives. Human cognitive, behavioral & emotional excellence will be key. Hyper-learning is high-quality, continual, fast learning, and will be necessary to keep pace with the speed of change and to successfully explore the unknown, adapt continually, and upgrade our internal cognitive operating system—our mental models. Learn – Unlearn – Relearn @ the speed of change. Edward D. Hess is Professor Emeritus of Business Administration, Batten Fellow and Batten Executive-in-Residence Emeritus at the Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia, and the author of Hyper-Learning: How to Adapt to the Speed of Change, which was published by Berrett-Koehler in August 2020. Professor Hess spent twenty years in the business world as a Senior Executive and has spent the last 18 years in academia. He is the author of 13 books and over 140 articles and 60 Darden Case studies. His work has appeared in over 400 global media outlets including Fortune magazine, European Business Review, HBR, SHRM, Fast Company, WIRED, Forbes, INC., Huffington Post, Washington Post, Business Week, the Financial Times, CNBC Squawk Box, Fox Business News with Maria Bartiroma, Big Think, WSJ Radio, Bloomberg Radio with Kathleen Hayes, Dow Jones Radio, MSNBC Radio, Business Insider, and Wharton Radio. His recent books and research has focused on “Human Excellence in the Digital Age: A New Way of Being; A New Way of Working; Humanizing the Workplace; and Hyper-Learning”. Intro/outro music is "Evolution" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

In this episode, we take a look at mission set that has generated increased discussion with our renewed emphasis on competition and operations in INDO-PACOM region. Amphibious aircraft and seaplanes - once a staple of American naval aviation arms - are getting reexamined as a way to transport large amounts of cargo over long distances, to areas that do not necessarily have improved airfields. To talk about the background of this subject, we’re joined by Dr. James Roche. Dr. Roche is a Professor of Systems Engineering Management in the Department of Engineering and Technology, the Capital Northeast Region (CNE) at the Defense Acquisition University. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Manhattan College, a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University, a doctorate in Mechanical Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. Over the past 30 years, he has worked in academia, industry and the federal government. His work on fundamental and applied research, and development and policy applications spans from Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps systems (e.g. systems engineering and software development for the warfighter) to collaboration with managers, interdisciplinary scientists and engineers to accomplish projects at the intersection of engineering, science and technology, and management. Intro/outro music is "Evolution" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

This episode is very timely, and ties into several of our previous episodes where our guests have looked at the different challenges and problems of regaining the strategic initiative in the South China Sea and INDOPACOM region overall. One of those challenges is how to compete, and compete advantageously, below the threshold of armed conflict; for a military organization, it’s equally challenging to find tools to put in the hands of warfighters that operate below that threshold. This episode lets us learn about some of those tools available to Marines. Our guest is Colonel Wendell B. Leimbach, Jr. (USMC), Director of the DOD’s Joint Intermediate Force Capabilities Office located on MCB Quantico. Col Leimbach is a former Tank Officer currently serving as a Ground Marine Acquisition Officer. Col Leimbach’s previous acquisition assignments include service as; Acquisition Team Leader for Individual Body Army and Load Carriage, Program Manager for Tank Systems, Deputy Director for the Marine Personnel Carrier Program; Deputy Program Manager and Acting Program Manager, Advanced Amphibious Assault. He discusses some of the Intermediate Force Capabilities Marines can consider as that stand-in force operating in an environment of strategic competition. Intro/outro music is "Evolution" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

Olivia Garard, a former Marine captain and prolific author, dives into the insights of Carl von Clausewitz’s lesser-known work on military tactics. She explores the relevance of historical theories to modern warfare, discussing how concepts like offense, planning, and psychological factors remain critical. Garard also highlights the evolving role of leadership amid advancements like AI, and the transformational nature of tactics on today’s complex battlegrounds. Her reflections on the future of warfare and alliances leave listeners contemplating their own understanding of combat.

It is increasingly clear that the lack of a coherent and consistent lens through which to understand Islamic State’s (ISIS) transnational enterprise is undermining how scholars and practitioners alike are interpreting the significance of the group’s global agenda.  This lecture, based on Dr. Whiteside's current research and a recent co-authored study published by the Hudson Institute, attempts to bring some nuance to the table, aiding our understanding of how Islamic State conceptualizes—and then operationalizes—its international endeavors.  Islamic State's self-proclaimed "caliphate" today is best understood as an adhocratic global insurgency—an irregularly managed collection of diverse, geographically dispersed militant groups competing to govern in suitable areas—the character of which is reflective of the ideological compulsion, strategic principles, and organizational traits that underpin the ambitions of its larger political project.  In doing so, Islamic State's forays abroad are impacted by both top-down and bottom-up forces that can lead to synchronicities and tensions—both globally and at an affiliate level.  Drawing on a spectrum of case studies, the lecture will address what these mean for both Islamic State’s core and its global provinces.  The full research paper is available here. Dr. Craig Whiteside is an Associate Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College at its resident program at the Naval Postgraduate School where his research and teaching focuses on counterterrorism, information operations, and irregular warfare.  He is also a senior associate with the Naval War College’s Center on Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups, a fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism at The Hague, and a fellow with George Washington University’s Program on Extremism.  He has a Ph.D. in political science from Washington State University and is a retired U.S. Army officer (Lt. Col.) with combat experience in Iraq.  He most recently is the co-author of The ISIS Reader: Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement (Oxford University Press). Intro/outro music is "Evolution" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

This episode features a timely discussion that, as today’s Marine Corps develops its concept of Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations in the context of competing in the Pacific, looks back to our historical roots to a time when the Corps had a similar problem in a similar part of the world. The 1920s saw the U.S. Marine Corps come out of conventional ground operations in France and then out of small wars operations in Latin America in the 1930s. The United States military’s strategic posture also shifted outward across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. During those interwar years, the U.S. Marine Corps made critical strides toward fulfilling war plans, formulating amphibious doctrines, creating force structures, and procuring landing craft. Today in the 2020s, the Marine Corps is again coming out of ground and counterinsurgency operations and reorienting toward amphibious missions during another interwar era. This presentation will glean insights and lessons from the twin amphibious studies, Tentative Manual for Landing Operations (1934) and Tentative Manual for Defense of Advance Bases (1936), and find connections to the recently completely Tentative Manual for Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (2021).   Dr. David Ulbrich joins #TeamKrulak for this #BruteCast. Dr. Ulbrich is associate professor and director of the online Masters of Arts in History and Military History Programs at Norwich University. He also served as a civilian historian at the U.S. Army Engineer School in 2009-2013. Dr. Ulbrich’s books include Preparing for Victory: Thomas Holcomb and the Making of the Modern Marine Corps 1936-1943. The Marine Corps Heritage Foundation honored this book with the “2012 General Wallace M. Greene, Jr., Book Award.” The U.S. Marine Corps History Division also recognized Dr. Ulbrich’s historical scholarship with the inaugural “Brigadier General Edwin Simmons-Henry Shaw Award” in 2012. More recently, Dr. Ulbrich has co-authored the 6th edition of World War II: A Global History, which will be published in about three weeks from now.  Intro/outro music is "Evolution" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

The Arctic and Antarctica are well-known Cold War theaters. While these frozen frontiers hosted strategic competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, they also produced legacies of cooperation that have extended through the twentieth and into the twenty-first centuries. Indeed, the polar regions continue to host cooperative relations between Washington and Moscow, despite cooler ties elsewhere. Why is this the case? Perhaps more crucially, how can this current climate of cooperation between Russia and the West within these regions be bolstered for another thirty years? And what might fracture it? Project 6633, launched by the Modern War Institute of West Point, seeks answers to these questions. For this event, we will be joined by the Project's cofounders: Dr. Elizabeth Buchanan is a lecturer in strategic studies for the Defence and Strategic Studies Course at the Australian War College in Canberra, a fellow at the Modern War Institute, and co-director of Project 6633. Dr. Ryan Burke is an associate professor of Military & Strategic Studies at the US Air Force Academy, a fellow at the Modern War Institute, and co-director of Project 6633. Intro/outro music is "Evolution" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic

Col Gerald Acosta is currently the chief for the Director’s Action Group, J3, of the Defense Logistics Agency. In this episode, he presents some of the research he has done on the nexus between China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative, and the Suez Canal. Intro/outro music is "Evolution" from BenSound.com (https://www.bensound.com) Follow the Krulak Center: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekrulakcenter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekrulakcenter/ Twitter: @TheKrulakCenter YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcIYZ84VMuP8bDw0T9K8S3g Krulak Center homepage on The Landing: https://unum.nsin.us/kcic