Dan Caldwell, in his research paper The Cuban Missile Affair and the American Style of Crisis Management for The RAND Corporation, describes how there are seven styles of American crisis management. They are, “(1) Crises are assumed to be manageable, (2) As soon as crises begin, there is a strong tendency for previous plans and … Continue reading Speaking Truth to Power: The Most Essential Quality for Any Intelligence Professional
Following the Cold War, many scholars of international relations argued that major interstate war was to be relegated to the dustbin of history with the advent of nuclear weapons. The stakes at play in war were simply too high with nuclear Armageddon lurking around the corner. The world would be one miscalculation away from … Continue reading The Failure of Modern Strategists
Newly commissioned officers and officer hopefuls look to various areas for role models. Some looks to business and politics while others look to science and academia. Yet, most look towards military officers, persons such as GEN Creighton Abrams, LTG Lewis “Chesty” Puller, or ADM Chester Nimitz. Many are able to find key qualities for officers … Continue reading General Sam and the Warrior-Scholar: The Importance of Self-Education in the Armed Forces
Cold War II – A sequel or something new? Devolving US-China relations have seen experts declare that the Second Cold War is upon us. Having won the first Cold War, American hegemony has since declined since its ‘unipolar moment’, however only 30 years later is it reasonable to suggest that the West has learnt nothing … Continue reading Cold War II – A sequel or something new?
By Alan Cunningham Misinformation was at the heart of the 2016 Presidential Election and has been a recurring problem for governments and the public across the globe since then. With the election of President Joe Biden, the proliferation of misinformation and conspiracy theories online has grown substantially. Even during the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, it … Continue reading The Information War: How the Biden Administration Can Deal with Misinformation Online
"Strategy is hard". Jarrod Brook This insight seems trite, but it’s best to be grounded and show a little humility before unpacking what this means. Whilst there are a variety of reasons that make the formulation of strategy difficult, friction is always present due to the fundamentally human nature of strategy. Strategy can seem exceedingly … Continue reading #DefineStrategy. Strategy would be easy if we got rid of the humans
Phillip Dolitsky recently critiqued my four part series of articles titled “How to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons” here on Chesterfield Strategy (see “Why Nuclear Weapons are Here to Stay.”) Dolitsky’s response is well researched, cogent, and clear. He is an able scholar, but we do have some points of disagreement. People often think that because I … Continue reading Why Nuclear Weapons Are Going to Go
This article is a collation and edit of emails sent to Army members selected for attendance on the Australian Command and Staff Course for 2021 by an Army member attending the 2020 course as it happened. It contains the opinions of the author and completely unofficial in its content. Introduction Firstly, congratulations on your selection for … Continue reading The War College Diaries: An Unofficial Guide to the Australian Command and Staff Course
Military reading lists always seem to generate debate in the military blogosphere. The choice of books that individuals or organisations recommend to their people says a lot about who they are and what they hold dear. Similar to our doctrine, they are almost a representation of our belief system, so it’s natural for them to … Continue reading Finding a place for ‘Once an Eagle’
By Richard Barrett "Either war is obsolete or man is"Richard Buckmeister Fuller History is the story of politics and war, dominated by men. Thucydides said that war is a part of the human condition, but what if the gender/power structure changed? Would war be a part of the human condition in a female dominated power … Continue reading ‘The Program’
