Controversy & Clarity

In this episode, we conclude the tale of The Ghost and General Smith.

In this episode, we continue the tale of The Ghost and General Smith.

We resume our tale of The Ghost and General Smith with chapter 3.

*What Dilan learned about company command from his time as a combined-anti-armor platoon commander and company executive officer *What he learned about company command from his company commanders *Dilan’s thoughts on what makes the ideal company commander and why *What makes the company commander from hell *The challenges and opportunities (leadership and otherwise) Dilan encountered in commanding a weapons company *How Dilan attempted to get his lieutenants to interact competently and confidently with other leaders in the battalion Dilan’s philosophy of command and how it worked in practice The most important thing company commanders do or should do How well the Marine Corps prepared Dilan for company command Dilan’s thoughts on the Marine Corps having its own company commanders course What excited Dilan most about being a company commander What concerned Dilan most about being a company commander What the relationship should be like between the weapons company commander and their operations chief and first sergeant Dilan’s two deployments with his company The designs, plans, or programs that Dilan implemented in his company and how they worked out How Dilan tried to balance feeding the military bureaucracy with preparing his company for combat The steps Dilan took to prepare for company command Some of the books Dilan read while preparing for company command The one thing Dilan wish he had known about his company before he took command Where Dilan thinks he excelled as a company commander and where he fell short The one thing Dilan would have changed about his time commanding his company How Dilan attempted to practice maneuver warfare in garrison Tips on physically and intellectually preparing for company command Dilan’s expectation for his *Executive officer *Platoon commanders *Squad leaders *Junior Marines *Battalion commander *Battalion executive officer *Operations officer *Fellow company commanders Links Flames of War Miniature Wargame: https://www.flamesofwar.com Team Yankee Miniature Wargame: https://www.team-yankee.com/ The Enlightened Soldier by Charles Edward White: https://www.amazon.com/Enlightened-Soldier-Scharnhorst-Militarische-Gesellschaft/dp/0275929361 Command Culture: https://www.amazon.com/Command-Culture-Education-1901-1940-Consequences/dp/1574415336 The Forgotten Soldier: https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Soldier-Guy-Sajer/dp/1574882864

We continue "The Ghost and General Smith," a fictional--and frightening--look at the future of the U.S. Marine Corps.

This episode includes the preface and chapter 1 of "The Ghost and General Smith," a fictional--and frightening--look at the future of the U.S. Marine Corps. For the written version, please visit: https://www.themaneuverist.org/post/the-ghost-general-smith-preface-and-chapter-1-by-scott-weibling-jordan-miller-and-matt-tweedy

In this episode, we discuss: *What Zach learned about company command from his time as a platoon commander *What he learned about company command from his company commanders *Zach’s thoughts on what makes the ideal company commander and why *What makes the company commander from hell *How Zach’s experiences as an instructor at The Basic School shaped his view of company command, his preparations for it, and execution of it *What a U.S. Marine Corps weapons company is, how it differs from a rifle company, and the challenges and opportunities inherent to commanding one *Zach’s philosophy of command (or intent) and how it’s worked out so far *Zach’s Combat Concepts *Outside of commanding the company in combat, the most important thing company commanders do or should do *How well the Marine Corps prepared Zach for company command *Zach’s thoughts on the Marine Corps having its own company commanders course *What Zach learned about company command at the Maneuver Captains Career Course *What excited Zach the most about being a company commander *What concerned Zach the most about being a company commander *What the relationship should be like between the weapons company commander and their operations chief and first sergeant *The events surrounding Zach’s taking of command of his company *What he’s learned from participating in several large-scale exercises with his company in 29 Palms *Zach’s co-founding and publishing of the Connecting File *The designs, plans, or programs that Zach has implemented in his company and how they’ve worked out so far *Zach’s use of educational wargaming in his company *How Zach tries to balance feeding the military bureaucracy with preparing his company for combat *Some of the books Zach read while preparing for company command *Zach’s tips for future company commanders *The one thing Zach wish he'd known about his company before he took command *How Zach’s company attempts to embody and execute the maneuver warfare philosophy in garrison *Zach’s expectation for his Company executive officer Platoon commanders Squad leaders Team leaders Junior Marines Battalion commander Executive officer Operations officer Fellow company commanders Links To sign up with the Connecting File, email Zach at cxfile0302@gmail.com. Combat Mission Black Sea Memoir ’44 Close Combat Marine (or Modern Tactics) Combat Concepts Steel Division 2 Starcraft 2 Dawn of War 2 The Last Hundred Yards Blood Meridian This Kind of War What It Is Like to Go To War Three Sips of Gin Marine Corps Doctrinal Publications Steel my Soldiers’ Hearts

In this episode, we discuss: *Ryan’s experience with company commanders up to this point in his career *The factors that distinguished the good from the great company commanders in Ryan’s battalion *What Ryan learned about company command while serving as a rifle platoon commander, combined anti-armor platoon commander, battalion assistant operations officer. and battalion operations officer *The qualities of the company commander from hell *How Ryan’s experience as an instructor at The Basic School, to include his time as the head of the Instructor Education Program, shaped his view of company command and his preparations for it *Ryan’s philosophy of command *Why a company commander should have a trusted advisor *The role of humility and vulnerability in developing honesty and candor *Abolishing a zero-mentality in your organization *The designs, plans, or programs that Ryan hopes to implement in his company *What excites Ryan the most about being a company commander *What concerns him the most about being a company commander *The relationship Ryan intends to create with his company first sergeant *How well Ryan thinks the Marine Corps has prepared him for company command *What Ryan is doing to prepare for company command *Ryan’s thoughts on the idea of a Marine Corps company commanders course *The 2nd Marine Division’s Division Leaders Assessment Program *The one thing Ryan would like to know about his company before he assumes command *Ryan’s expectation for his Company executive officer Platoon commanders Squad leaders Team leaders Junior Marines Battalion commander Executive officer Operations officer Fellow company commanders

In this episode, we discuss: *The role that Rick’s father played in his son's interest in the US Army and military history *The role that Rick’s time living in Germany had in his decision to write about World War II *Rick’s interest in a career in the Army and his declined appointment to West Point *What led Rick to leave the Washington Post to pursue military history *What Rick means when he calls himself “a recovering journalist” *What led Rick to writing Crusade, his book on the Persian Gulf War, and some of the challenges he encountered in researching and writing along the way *Some of the surprises Rick learned while writing Crusade *How Rick came to write his third book, In the Company of Soldiers *The story behind how Rick got embedded with David Petraeus and the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Iraqi Freedom-1 *Rick’s experiences of witnessing a full-scale invasion of another country *What it was like to watch Dave Petraeus command the 101st Airborne Division *Rick’s observations of the Iraqi forces *What a military historian learns from embedding with a combat unit, and how this affected Rick’s subsequent military history writing *The American and German ‘ways of war’ in World War II *Rick’s thoughts on the US 1st Infantry Division and 3rd Infantry Division in the war in Europe *Rick’s take on US Army General Mark Clark *The contentious relationship between Eisenhower and Montgomery *Why Rick hasn’t written on the Pacific Theater and some of the historical actors, battles, and topics from that theater that interest him *Rick’s experience researching and writing The British Are Coming *George Washington as a tactical and operational commander *The similarities between Eisenhower and Washington *Washington as a kvetcher in his private correspondence *Where the phrase “win hearts and minds” comes from *Rick’s process for starting a book *Rick’s use of outlines *The cartographer for Rick’s books *Rick’s lack of writer’s block *Rick’s take on the state of military history today *Why some journalists turn to writing military history *Rick’s thoughts on professional military education, especially as it pertains to junior leaders *Why all service members should know where their branch comes from *Rick’s advice on getting started on professional military reading Links The British Are Coming by Rick Atkinson: https://www.amazon.com/British-Are-Coming-Lexington-Revolution/dp/1627790438 The Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson: http://liberationtrilogy.com  In the Company of Soldiers by Rick Atkinson: https://www.amazon.com/Company-Soldiers-Chronicle-Combat/dp/0805077731  Crusade by Rick Atkinson: https://www.amazon.com/Crusade-Untold-Story-Persian-Gulf/dp/0395710839  The Long Gray Line by Rick Atkinson: https://www.amazon.com/Long-Gray-Line-American-Journey/dp/080509122X  Errata Towards the end of the interview, while Rick and I discussed journalists who had turned to writing military history, Rick mentioned The Guns at Last Light when he meant to say Barbara Tuchman’s The Guns of August. I missed the slip as well.

In this episode, we discuss -The emphasis (or lack thereof) placed on self-study, critical thinking, and creative problem-solving during John’s time as a junior officer -The four priorities of lieutenants when John served in the 2nd Marine Division -On then-Major General Al Gray making maneuver warfare the official doctrine of the division -The Marine Corps’ approach to warfighting before it adopted maneuver warfare -The influence that Captain W.L. Smith had on Lieutenant Schmitt -Some hypotheses on why maneuver warfare seems harder to practice in garrison -John’s experience with commercial wargaming before the Marine Corps -How wargames played a role in John’s eventual preference for tactical decision games (TDGs) -How John first got into TDGs -The origins of Enemy Over the Bridge, John’s first TDG and the first TDG of its kind published in the Marine Corps Gazette -How writing FMFM-1 Warfighting influenced John’s writing of TDGs -The experience of writing Enemy Over the Bridge -How TDGs can bring to light the concepts of maneuver warfare -The primary purpose of TDGs -The creation and activities of Marine Corps University’s TDG Group -How John and other member of THE saw themselves as maneuver warfare insurgents -John’s thoughts on common TDG pitfalls -How The MCU TDG Group came to the name “Tactical Decision Games” -Where John draws inspiration from when developing a TDG -Some of the more creative and unusual TDGs that John has created -John’s thoughts on using TDGs at formal schools -How John used TDGs as a Marine Officer Instructor with his Naval ROTC unit at the University of Illinois -John’s thoughts on the Marine Corps’ renewed emphasis on wargaming -The work that John’s been doing with online TDGs -What John’s ideal unit PME program would look like -How John first learned of maneuver warfare and what led him to contribute to it as Marine Corps doctrine -The two stories of John’s “audition” to write FMFM-1 Warfighting and General Al Gray’s signing of it -The Marines and military theorists who influenced John while he was writing Warfighting -Which of the FMFMs/MCDPs that John wrote is the most enduring and which of them most requires revision -The efforts to revise Warfighting under Generals Joe Dunford and Robert Neller -Why John thinks someone other than him should write the next version of Warfighting -What defeat mechanisms are -The recent critiques of Warfighting and John’s thoughts on them -How John might expose the youngest generation of Marines to Warfighting -Alternatives to the German school of maneuver warfare -John’s evaluation of the trends he’s seeing in the Department of Defense regarding war and warfighting Links Enemy Over the Bridge TDG by John Schmitt: https://mca-marines.org/blog/gazette/the-enemy-over-the-bridge/ Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication-1 Warfighting: https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/Publications/MCDP%201%20Warfighting.pdf "Tactical Decision Games in a Virtual Setting" by John B. Douglas: https://www.benning.army.mil/infantry/magazine/issues/2020/Winter/PDF/15_Douglas_TDG.pdf Errata *When discussing technical MOS’s and TDGs, I meant to say “weapon optics repair Marines”