NOTE: this episode contains graphic and explicit content based on its thematic focus on wartime sexual violence. In this episode, the #BruteCast continues its focus on the war in #Ukraine with Dr. Dara Kay Cohen, who discusses issues of wartime sexual violence and what is currently known about sexual violence from #Russia's ongoing invasion of #Ukraine. The Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict (SVAC) dataset that Dr. Cohen references in this presentation can be accessed here: http://www.sexualviole...
Jun 29, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 4Ep. 44
Sometimes, 13 is a lucky number, and in this rapid-fire episode we were indeed lucky to be joined by some of #TeamKrulak on location in Athens, Greece! Dr. Amin Tarzi, director of Middle East Studies at the Krulak Center, and Maj John Behrmann, director of the Center for Regional and Security Studies, dialed in from Athens to focus on the role(s) Turkey has played both as a member of NATO and neighbor of #Russia during the invasion of #Ukraine. They also discussed how the war has altered the sec...
Jun 26, 2022•46 min•Season 4Ep. 43
For a second episode in a row, "Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War" welcomes a special guest! Dr. Rita Konaev, a Fellow at Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology - and a #BruteCast veteran - joined Krulak Center Distinguished Fellow and #Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber to examine two themes: timelines and sustainment. There are many competing timelines at play, from Western weapons deliveries to Russian offensive tempo, from the impact of W...
Jun 25, 2022•58 min•Season 4Ep. 42
Part of the broader Force Design 2030 reforms initiated in 2019 under General David Berger's Commandant's Planning Guidance, Talent Management 2030 has become a focus area in those efforts. Just last week, the Marine Corps wrapped up its inaugural Talent Management Summit to provide deeper discussion and feedback on Talent Management 2030. This special #BruteCast episode features members of the Talent Management Strategy Group (TMX) team from HQMC on the outputs of the Summit, the status of Tale...
Jun 24, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 4Ep. 41
"Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War" returns with a special guest episode. Krulak Center Distinguished Fellow and #Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber brings us up to date on major developments since we last met, and then we were very pleased to be joined by #TeamKrulak Non-Resident Fellow Dr. Rosella Cappella Zielinski to explain the looming global food catastrophe caused by the disruption of Ukraine's wheat supply. We end the episode trying to answer the question: when i...
Jun 11, 2022•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 40
NOTE: this episode contains explicit content due to the nature of discussing vulnerable populations exploited during wars and conflict. Dr. Anahid Matossian, subject matter expert for Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) studies at Marine Corps University, joins the #BruteCast to discuss the ongoing invasion of #Ukraine from a WPS perspective in the context of her extensive experience working on similar issues - the different roles women play during conflict, post-conflict experiences, and more - wi...
Jun 11, 2022•59 min•Season 4Ep. 39
#TeamKrulak took to the road again last week, this time supporting #wargaming efforts at the Headquarters of the NATO Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC). While we were there, we got to sit down with several of the officers at the ARRC to learn more about the ARRC's mission, how it uses #wargaming to support planning and staff professional development, and gain insights into the UK Fight Club, a grassroots organization created to support professional development among British military officers us...
Jun 03, 2022•47 min•Season 4Ep. 38
#TeamKrulak community, following some overseas expeditions "Down the Rabbit Hole on the #Russia-#Ukraine War" returns with its tenth episode. Krulak Center Distinguished Fellow and #Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber discusses developments in NATO accession for #Sweden and #Finland, and the outlines of how the war in eastern Donbas will shape post-war negotiating stances for Russia and Ukraine. We end with a look at the looming global gain shortage crisis caused by the war's continuanc...
May 27, 2022•40 min•Season 4Ep. 38
Marines know a handful of biographical points about MajGen Smedley Butler: he fought in America's "small wars," won two Medals of Honor, had the Eagle Globe and Anchor tattooed across his chest...and near the end of his life, became an antiwar activist and published a pamphlet called War is a Racket which captured his decidedly negative personal reflections on his military career. Between those biographical bookends lies an untold story of moral injury in the pursuit of American foreign policy t...
May 26, 2022•1 hr 32 min•Season 4Ep. 37
The #BruteCast takes a look back to the Corps’ history for a case study in the seizure and defense of an advanced base. Fought between 7 August, 1942, and 9 February, 1943, the battle for Guadalcanal (Operation Watchtower) was the first allied land offensive against the Empire of Japan. With contested sea, land, and air domains, Japanese and American forces grappled with each other for advantage as American forces aimed to keep control of the “unsinkable aircraft carrier” of Guadalcanal. Timothy...
May 20, 2022•57 min•Season 4Ep. 36
Welcome to another special #BruteCast episode with #TeamKrulak on location at Swedish Defence University in Stockholm, Sweden! In this episode, we sat down with Kn/Capt. Patrik Hulterström, a doctoral student who also instructs in the Maritime Operations Division, Department of War Studies and Military History, at Swedish Defence University. Capt Hulterström's dissertation explores the educational value of #wargaming from a philosophical perspective, and he is also part of a team at SeDU that ha...
May 15, 2022•39 min•Season 4Ep. 35
This special #BruteCast episode comes to you with #TeamKrulak on location at Swedish Defence University in Stockholm, Sweden! We had the unique opportunity to sit down with Captain Silvia Haas, USMC, who is currently enrolled in the 2-year Command and Staff College-equivalent program for Swedish military officers at Swedish Defence University. Learn how she got into the program, what she’s learned as a foreign PME student, and the rare opportunity to study a broader security perspective as globa...
May 11, 2022•20 min•Season 4Ep. 34
The performance of the Russian military during its invasion of Ukraine has raised a number of questions about their objectives and strategy for achieving them. Joining the #BruteCast from Sweden, Dr. Markus Göransson will discuss the invasion in the context of Russian military thinking about new wars - characterized by rapid, small-scale, surprise attacks and prominent use of SOFs and information warfare - and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov’s “strategy of...
May 06, 2022•47 min•Season 4Ep. 34
This lecture is part of the AY22 Middle East Studies (MES) Research Talks series. The war in Ukraine has drawn tens of thousands of foreign volunteers. The only comparable number of foreign fighters in recent years have been in Syria, but are the Islamic State (ISIS/ ISIL) and Ukraine's International Legion really comparable? This guest talk examines what we know about foreign fighters and foreign volunteers throughout modern history, including who joins, how they behave on the battlefield, and ...
May 06, 2022•58 min•Season 4Ep. 33
For anyone paying attention to current events, the #information domain has been front and center. In this #BruteCast, our guests will describe what the Marine Corps is doing about it. We're very excited to welcome the commanding officers of two different Marine Expeditionary Force Information Groups (MIGs). Col Brian Russell, commanding officer of II MIG, and Col Lester Gerber, commanding officer of III MIG, will discuss what their organizations are doing in the information space; their commonal...
May 05, 2022•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 32
#TeamKrulak community, we're back at it with another episode of "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," our mini-series on featuring up-to-date commentary from Krulak Center Distinguished Fellow and #Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. In this episode, we explore what Russia's annual "Victory Day" celebration on May 9 might actually "celebrate;" growing unrest in the unrecognized breakaway state of Transnistria; and the latest round of European Union sanctions. We end with a ...
May 04, 2022•37 min•Season 4Ep. 31
As #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine has continued, a wealth of evidence has emerged on the brutality of Russian soldiers in the areas of Ukraine they have occupied. Looting, sexual assault, extrajudicial killings, the deliberate targeting of civilian populations and infrastructure - the list of potential war crimes is long and grows each day. However, despite the documented evidence, historically there are a number of challenges in bringing the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanit...
May 01, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 4Ep. 30
It's been a couple of weeks, but welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's mini-series the insights of #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow and Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. We had a lot of developments to catch up on today, from the sinking of the Russian warship Moskva (by an adversary that has no navy of its own...) to the deployment of Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces General Valery Gerasimov to the front lines. All of t...
Apr 30, 2022•46 min•Season 4Ep. 29
There has been a great deal of energetic discussion recently over the Marine Corps' adaptation for future conflict, "Force Design 2030." In this special #BruteCast episode, we welcome two additional voices to the debate. Cols Tim Barrick and Matt Jones (both USMC, retired) will look at some of the questions raised by Force Design 2030's vision. Tim Barrick is currently the Wargaming Director for the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare at Marine Corps University. He is the lead ...
Apr 22, 2022•1 hr 24 min•Season 4Ep. 28
This lecture is part of the AY22 Middle East Studies (MES) Lecture Series. In our new fragmenting world, the Eastern Mediterranean plays an important role because it stands at the geopolitical crossroads of American, European, Russian, Middle Eastern and Chinese interests. The Eastern Mediterranean concentrates tensions: tensions linked to the dysfunctions of societies in the South, tensions linked to inequality between the two shores, tensions linked to the play of regional powers and finally g...
Apr 21, 2022•1 hr 35 min•Season 4Ep. 27
Welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's mini-series featuring a snapshot of recent events from the war, along with a deeper look at one important development our audience should know about, all from the insights of #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow and Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. Today Dr. Weber gave an overview of the new correlation of forces in eastern Ukraine as Putin prepares his last throw of the dice, and Maj Brown laid out the pote...
Apr 14, 2022•35 min•Season 4Ep. 26
As Russia's military and political goals for its invasion of Ukraine continue to be frustrated, there has been much discussion over the possibility, and potential means of employment, for unconventional weapons. The Russian nuclear arsenal has naturally been a part of this conversation, especially its large inventory of "tactical" nuclear warheads. Dr. Lasha Tchantouridzé will provide an overview and analysis of Russia's nuclear options in the context of its broader objectives in Ukraine. Dr. La...
Apr 13, 2022•55 min•Season 4Ep. 25
#TeamKrulak is proud to present one of the crown jewels of both our Krulak Scholars program and Non-Resident Fellow outreach. Capt Casey Lamar, USMC, and Dr. Leah Windsor first started collaborating on a research project while Capt Lamar attended Expeditionary Warfare School in AY20-21. That project went from a research paper to a presentation that has been highlighted in academic conferences, most recently at the 2022 U.S. Strategic Command Deterrence and Academic Alliance Conference. We were e...
Apr 09, 2022•1 hr 12 min•Season 4Ep. 24
Welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's mini-series featuring a snapshot of recent events from the war, along with a deeper look at one important development our audience should know about, all from the insights of #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow and Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. In this episode, we examined a couple of events from the last 24 hours that have raised real questions about whether Putin's command and control over his subordin...
Apr 08, 2022•15 min•Season 4Ep. 23
Listener discretion is advised - Dr. Weber and Maj Brown discuss emerging details of abuses and atrocities committed by the Russian military against Ukrainian civilians in areas from which Russia has withdrawn or been expelled by counterattack. Graphic content. Welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's mini-series featuring a snapshot of recent events from the war, along with a deeper look at one important development our audience should know about, all from...
Apr 03, 2022•31 min•Season 4Ep. 22
In 2019, Islamic State's setbacks in Syria and Iraq seemed to herald the organization's death knell. Yet, its affiliates continue to endure and even thrive, particularly those in Africa. Indeed, many of its African affiliates have been reinvigorated and have reaffirmed their loyalty and ties to the central leadership. This lecture will explore the history, evolution, and expansion of Islamic State's African affiliates and discuss how they have evolved mostly autonomously, using the "Islamic Stat...
Apr 02, 2022•55 min•Season 4Ep. 21
In this episode we kept looking at Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, but our topic was one we hadn't really delved into yet. It’s the dog that didn’t bark; or rather, it’s barked in a very different way than many people expected. Our panel examined the cyber aspect of this conflict: what both Russia and Ukraine did that our panelists did not expect, lessons from those activities for US cyber strategy, and how the PME community needs to respond to these revelations. Our panelists were: Dr. Ja...
Mar 31, 2022•1 hr 32 min•Season 4Ep. 20
Welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's mini-series featuring a snapshot of recent events from the war, along with a deeper look at one important development our audience should know about, all from the insights of #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow and Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. In this episode, we looked at the state of current peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, which - reports of poisoning inflicted on Ukrainian negotiators ...
Mar 29, 2022•25 min•Season 4Ep. 19
Welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's mini-series featuring a snapshot of daily events from the war, along with a deeper look at one important development our audience should know about, all from the insights of #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow and Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. In this episode, we examined the highlights of today's extraordinary NATO summit, especially the reinforcement of NATO countries bordering #Ukraine and the activat...
Mar 25, 2022•18 min•Season 4Ep. 18
Welcome back to "Down the Rabbit Hole on the Russia-Ukraine War," #TeamKrulak's new mini-series featuring a snapshot of daily events from the war, along with a deeper look at one important development our audience should know about, all from the insights of #TeamKrulak Distinguished Fellow and Russia subject matter expert Dr. Yuval Weber. This episode looks at the question of territorial concessions from the perspectives of #Russia and #Ukraine - what each side is fighting for, and what they mig...
Mar 22, 2022•22 min•Season 4Ep. 17
