There could be only one show from last year for this year's Mothers Day: For the career minded Naval professional, to have a chance for the greatest advancement and promotion, you have to push and push hard. The reputation you build in your first 10 years sets the tone for the rest. Except for very rare exceptions, there are no second chances. There are no pauses, one iffy set of orders, one poorly timed FITREP, and you are on an off-ramp. You must work harder, you must sacrifice, and if you are...
May 12, 2013•1 hr
Last month saw the newest shipbuilding plan hit the streets. Is this good news, more of the same, or are there some systemic issues that are being painted over? What can the Navy expect over the next few years as the defense cuts bite deeper and the battle for wedges of the defense budget pie heats up. Using their latest article in RealClearDefense as a starting point, our guests will be Mackenzie Eaglen, Resident Fellow at the Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies at the American Enterprise ...
May 05, 2013•1 hr 2 min
If the requirement is to be able to operate, fight, and win in the Littorals - is the Littoral Combat Ship the answer? Other nations have the same requirement - yet have come up with different answers. Are we defining our requirements properly in face of larger Fleet needs and the threats we expect? What platforms and systems need to be looked at closer if we are to have the best mix of capabilities to meet our requirements? Using his article in Armed Forces Journal, Go smaller: Time for the Nav...
Apr 28, 2013•1 hr 4 min
The events of the last week in Boston has brought back to the front of the national conscience what, for the lack of a better description, is known as The Long War. The threats we face are both domestic, foreign, and increasingly a mixture of both. Communication and transportation has created a breed of transnational threats that are not new, and whose causes, resources, and threat vectors are not as opaque as some may try to make them. Starting out and working in, what are the lessons we should...
Apr 21, 2013•1 hr 2 min
It is all around us; from poor program decisions to significant budgetary stresses that are only recently starting to bite - the large US Navy Fleet straddling the globe is contracting. What are the initial, second & third order effects of the decreasing presence of the US Navy. Is it permanent, relative, or can fewer numbers be made up in other ways? Join Sal from CDR Salamander and EagleOne of EagleSpeak in a wide ranging discussion along with their guest Seth Cropsey, Senior Fellow from T...
Apr 14, 2013•1 hr 1 min
We have heard from industry, military leaders, Marines, and private security providers, this Sunday we are going to look at piracy at a more personal level with director Thymaya Payne of the documentary, Stolen Seas; Tales of Somali Piracy. He will be our guest for the full hour. From the show promo: The filmmakers have spent the past three years traveling to some of the world's most violent locales in order to make this documentary on Somali piracy, Stolen Seas. Utilizing exclusive interviews a...
Apr 07, 2013•1 hr 2 min
This Easter, let's go back to October of 2010 for a great duo of guests. First, since the end of US involvement The Vietnam War almost 40 years ago, there are just a few USN Commanding Officers who know what it is like for a warship under attack; one of the handful will be our first guest, CDR Kirk Lippold, USN (Ret.). He was the Commanding Officer of the USS Cole (DDG-67) when it was attacked while in port Aden, Yemen 12 October 2000 - the 10th anniversary will be this Tuesday. We will discuss ...
Mar 31, 2013•59 min
There is a fair bit of talk about the rush for the arctic for economic and strategic reasons - and where there is international interest on the seas, the nations involved need to think about what is the best way to secure their interests. While the initial thought might be Navy - is the natural answer really the Coast Guard? If the USCG is the right answer, is it trained, manned and equipped for the job? What does it need to do in order to fulfill its role - and why may it be the best answer to ...
Mar 24, 2013•1 hr 2 min
How do we advance the intellectual development of leaders through Professional Military Education, the Naval War College, and else where? What is the purpose and how are we trying to achieve the goals to best serve our nation? Are we doing it right? What are the trends, and what could we do better? Our guest for the full hour to discuss this and more will be Dr. Joan Johnson-Freese, Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Her publications include...
Mar 17, 2013•1 hr 2 min
Do we have the right balance between strike as embodied by carrier air and expeditionary forces based around amphibious ships. What capability is most cost effective and gives the combatant commanders the most flexible assets in their area of responsibility? What is driving our Fleet structure, and do we have the right mix? What is informing our decisions, and what should be informing it? Our guest for the full hour will be Lieutenant Colonel James W. Hammond III, USMC (Ret), senior manager at W...
Mar 10, 2013•1 hr 2 min
Institutions do not exist and excel simply because they "are." They must be nurtured by dedicated individuals that find the right combination of stewardship and intellectual curiosity to ensure they continue to carry out their mission and leave a more viable entity for those who follow. It must be informed by the past, though not shackled to it. It must be true to its nature, but not ossified in its operation. It must be ready for the future, but clearheaded on how to get there. For the maritime...
Mar 03, 2013•1 hr 1 min
You're in for a good treat this Best Of. When you mention books on naval history, there are but a few authors whose work immediately come to mind, and our guest is one of them. Unquestionably one of the finest writers of naval history of the last half-century; James D. Hornfischer. We have talked about his books on a regular basis both on Midrats and over at our homeblogs; The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors & Ship of Ghosts. He has a new book out, one that will be required reading for his...
Feb 24, 2013•1 hr
Change is in the air as we look at sequester, a new SecDef, France in North Africa, preparing for the last fighting season in Afghanistan, and what looks like a long decade of budget stress. Is this a pivot-point of opportunity, or just a winter of our naval discontent? No guests, no set agenda - open floor and open phones. No one but Sal from "CDR Salamander" and EagleOne from "EagleSpeak" for the full hour. If there is a topic you want discussed, call in or roll it in to the chat room....
Feb 17, 2013•1 hr 5 min
As we shift from ground combat in Asia and reset to a more natural position of a naval and aerospace power, are we thinking correctly on how to best leverage our resources and strenghts? How should we be using sea power and air power to create the right effects during peace, yet be poised to have the best utility at war? Are there concepts, habits, and systems that have had their time and should be moved aside for newer tools and ideas? Our guest for the full hour will be Dr. Adam Lowther, Senio...
Feb 10, 2013•1 hr 2 min
Not much has changes since we first played this interview two years ago. We've brought on a lot of new listeners since then, so if you missed it or want a refresh; here you go! For the full hour we will discuss the tactical and operational steps mariners can take to defend themselves and their ships from pirates - and if their ship is taken - what they can do to best enable coalition forces to re-take the ship. Our guest will be Kevin Doherty, former Marine and owner of Nexus Consulting Group of...
Feb 03, 2013•59 min
In an information driven society wrapped in a 24-hr news cycle, what is the mission, responsibility, and the primary responsibilities of the Navy's Chief of Information? Well, you couldn't ask for a better guest to help flesh out the answer to that question. Our guest for the first half-hour will CHINFO-actual, Rear Admiral John Kirby, USN. For the second half of the hour we will have returning guest, Major Peter J. Munson, USMC - author of War, Welfare & Democracy: Rethinking America's Ques...
Jan 27, 2013•1 hr 2 min
This week's 3-day weekend "Best of" will reach back to Episode 39 where we talk about the U.S. Coast Guard's role in defending the USA from the flow of illegal drugs. Our guest will be CDR E. A. Westfall, CDR, USCG, then Commanding Officer of the USCGC ESCANABA (WMEC 907).
Jan 20, 2013•59 min
Join us this Sunday to celebrate Midrat's 3rd Anniversary with a free-ranging panel discussion with some of your favorite guests from the past three seasons. Join your hosts Sal from "CDR Salamander" and EagleOne from "EagleSpeak" with regular guests on the panel; Captain Henry J. Hendrix, Jr. USN; Captain Will Dossel, USN (Ret); LCDR Claude Berube, USNR; and YN2 H. Lucien Gauthier, III (SW) USN. We will be asking each other questions on the above-the-fold subjects of the last year and what we s...
Jan 13, 2013•1 hr 21 min
What happens when a global maritime power finds itself in a position where it can no longer sustain the global presence it once considered an essential requirement? The US Navy has been in a period of decline in both numbers and capability for awhile, and as budgetary reality sets in and burn out starts to hollow remaining capabilities - the decline is set to continue for at least another decade. How far the decline goes until stability sets in is unknown, but what is the best reaction to this r...
Jan 06, 2013•1 hr 3 min
Today's show is a best of, reaching back to the summer of 2010 as we look forward to winter of 2013. We have two guests, first U.S. Naval War College Professor Marc Genest for the first half hour. For the second half of the hour we will have returning guest Phil Ewing from Navy Times to discuss 2010's view on Aegis, Annapolis, SAN ANTONIO, and everything in between. With 2.5 years hindsight, what did we get right, what did we get wrong - and what has remained unchanged?
Dec 30, 2012•59 min
As you are taking time to open all your stuff with the "Made in China" label, I thought the Sunday before Christmas it would be good to think about what all the money and debt is doing to shape the geopolitical landscape. Today from 5-6pm EST, step back with us to SEP11 with our guest Mark Stokes, the Executive Director of the Project 2049 Institute. As a stepping off point for our discussion we will be using the institute's latest report, Asian Alliances in the 21st Century. Previous to his pre...
Dec 23, 2012•1 hr 1 min
With significant budget cuts already underway and expected for years, how do we adjust through the Pacific Pivot as these cuts take place, yet still remain postured to influence the region in peacetime and defend our national interests in war? What is the best way to match required capabilities inside an economically sustainable military budget? While many are familiar with the concept of “Offshore Balancing” – what is “Offshore Control?” Our guest for the full hour to discuss the concept he rai...
Dec 16, 2012•1 hr 3 min
From the conflicts that came following the break-up of Yugoslavia, a decade in Afghanistan, land and sea-based ballistic missile defense, Libya, and now Patriot missiles deployed to the Turkish-Syrian border, NATO continues to test what kind of alliance it is after the fall of the Soviet Union roughly a quarter-century ago. Where does the alliance stand, and what direction is it going? Are the roles of the member states changing? Where is the alliance strongest, and where does it need the most i...
Dec 09, 2012•1 hr 2 min
Elections have consequences. There are paths not taken, and paths that remain. In the last election, national security was very much kept in the background, but once you peeled away a layer or two and looked carefully, there was a lot of "there there" - and a lot of it involved what to do with the direction of the US Navy. The erstwhile nautical corner of Team Romney had a direction they wanted to take the Navy. What was that direction? What informed it, and what were the guiding requirements th...
Dec 02, 2012•1 hr 3 min
