America has reached that glamorous stage of empire where half the country thinks every stranger online is a patriot, a prophet, or a constitutional Continue Reading
National Security
Deterrence Is (Still) a Lie We Tell Ourselves
There’s a comforting fiction at the heart of modern strategy: that we can control outcomes by signaling strength clearly enough, loudly enough, and Continue Reading
The Coast Guard Should Stop Selling Jobs
By Bruce D. Kowal, AUXOP, USCG Auxiliary In June 2025, the United States Coast Guard released its Force Design 2028 Execution Plan, an ambitious Continue Reading
It’s Good That Gas Prices Are So High. It Reminds People That There Is Actually a War On.
Americans hate high gas prices. Politicians know it, economists study it, and every election cycle seems to include promises to bring them down. Continue Reading
The Subdued Flag Belongs on the ACU
By Staff Sgt. Taylor AmbosThe views presented in this paper are those of the author and do not reflect the position of the Department of the Army or Continue Reading
The Navy Needs Its Veterans Back
By Bruce D. Kowal The Proposal in Brief This is a proposal to create a United States Navy Auxiliary, a volunteer organization of U.S. Navy Continue Reading
China’s “Lay Flat” Problem: Passive Resistance in an Age of Active Competition
In recent years, a quiet but consequential social trend has emerged in the People’s Republic of China: tang ping (躺平), or “laying flat.” At its core, Continue Reading
Iowa, Nebraska and Kentucky Lead Per-Capita Toll in Listed U.S. Iran War Deaths
By Dylan PrescottAs Armed Forces Day approaches, a new state-by-state analysis offers a stark reminder that wartime losses are not felt evenly across Continue Reading
Explaining Iran’s “These Hands Are Rated E for Everyone” Strategy
To most Americans, Iran’s foreign policy often looks less like grand strategy and more like a drunken bar fight. Missiles at Israel. Proxy attacks Continue Reading
When Ike Overtook Churchill
By Jonathan W. Jordan Editor’s Note: This excerpt and image from Ike and Winston by Jonathan W. Jordan are published with permission from Continue Reading
Far From Familiar Faces: Romanian Human Intelligence Teams during the GWOT
By a former Special Forces Officer “I know that I will be called upon to perform tasks in isolation, far from familiar faces and voices.” -The Continue Reading
The Battlefield Is Not a Diversity Workshop
There was a stretch of time when the Pentagon seemed to believe war was, at bottom, a branding problem. Not a logistics problem. Not a training Continue Reading