My understanding of radicalization did not begin in a classroom. It began much earlier, shaped by personal experience, growing up in environments Continue Reading
National Security
The Sky Is Full of Secrets and the Filing Cabinet Has a Security Clearance
UAP disclosure is the perfect American scandal because everyone gets to be wrong in their own special outfit. The government, naturally, behaves Continue Reading
Why Are So Many People Suddenly Obsessed With the USS Liberty Incident (Again)?
Every few months, it, seems, the USS Liberty incident makes the rounds online again. Someone discovers it for the first time. Someone else insists Continue Reading
There Is Merit in the Admiral’s Reading List
By Bruce D. Kowal It is a marvelous tradition of the chiefs of our armed forces to publish a professional reading program, a reading list for Continue Reading
The Algorithm Didn’t Break Us Because We Arrived Pre-Cracked
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
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