Controversy & Clarity

The topics we discussed in this episode include: -Hammes’ thoughts on professional military education (PME) -Anti-intellectualism in the Marine Corps -Some parallels between Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan -What good PME looks like -The Marine Corps personnel system and its negative effect on education and maneuver warfare -The case for 360 fitness reports -What formal schools provide in the PME process -The “McNamara Method” of teaching tactical decision games (TDGs) -“Linking minds” and having a shared mental mind in maneuver warfare -Hammes on his staff non-commissioned officer and officer PME programs -Doing terrain walks of the San Diego Airport and in San Clemente, California -Where Hammes found inspiration for creative training -On knowing when you’ve achieved implicit communication with your Marines -The value of letting junior Marines write TDGs for unit PME -The “bull in the ring” physical tactical decision game -Using BB guns to train for urban combat -How Hammes dealt with hazing in his units -What a good self-directed PME looks like -Doing an independent float in the Pacific as a new company commander -Working with the Thai and Japanese militaries -Hammes’ experiences with wargames and the benefits of manual vs digital wargaming -How to get the most out of wargaming -How to get Marines into wargames -Why the Marine Corps should shift its ideal image of a general officer away from Chesty Puller and toward O.P. Smith -The case for why, after boot camp, Marines should use first names with each other -What it was like to serve during the “maneuver warfare renaissance” -Hammes on the Marine Corps as a remembering institution vs a learning institution and the tensions between the two -The tumultuous relationship between Marine air and Marine ground forces immediately after WW II -Hammes’ experiences studying at Oxford University Hammes’ new book, Deglobalization and National Security, and what surprised him while researching the book -Some considerations of the future fight with Iran, China, and Russia Links The Sling and the Stone: On War in the 21st Centuryby T.X. Hammes: https://www.amazon.com/Sling-Stone-Century-Military-Classics/dp/B00FIA7P9G Forgotten Warriors: The 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, the Corps Ethos, and the Korean War by T.X. Hammes: https://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Warriors-Provisional-Brigade-Studies-ebook/dp/B079Y2ZSNR/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=tX+Hammes&qid=1589209399&s=books&sr=1-2 Deglobalization and International Security by T.X. Hammes: https://www.amazon.com/Deglobalization-International-Security-Communications-Conflict-ebook/dp/B08671FJ3F/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tX+Hammes&qid=1589209337&s=books&sr=1-1 On the McNamara Method: “TDGs Return” by T.X. Hammes: https://mca-marines.org/gazette/tdgs-return/

Welcome to season one of Controversy and Clarity, the official podcast of the Warfighting Society. Enjoy!

The topics we discuss in this episode include: -Brendan’s journey to studying combat decision-making -The difference between what you learn in the classroom and how things really are in the fleet -Brendan's “sabbatical” in 29 Palms -Preparing young officers to lead platoons -The challenge of maintaining a fighting edge with your unit while deployed -The dangers of over-formalizing and over-standardizing training -The role of trust in the Marine Corps and how training increases it in a unit -The importance of humility for leaders -The role of the personnel system in a fighting organization -The role of processes, policies, and people who don’t add value to an organization -Brendan’s thoughts on General David H. Berger’s force design plans for the Marine Corps -Brendan’s take on the competency of our elected officials on defense matters and how well the services do on advising those officials -How well the Marine Corps teaches decision-making -What techniques Brendan found most effective in teaching decision-making -Where Brendan found inspiration for his own PME -The need for consistency in a PME unit program and making PME a norm in a unit -The genesis of Brendan’s excellent website: http://www.2ndbn5thmar.com Links Brendan’s Infantry Skills Training website: http://www.2ndbn5thmar.com "I Want to be ‘Ender’” by Brendan McBreen: http://www.2ndbn5thmar.com/dm/EnderMcBreen1998.pdf Eratta Regarding the Charles Whitman decision-forcing case, I misquoted the referenced poll percentage. The poll claims that around 36% of Americans were against the Vietnam War in August 1966, when Whitman went on his rampage.