DeM Banter: Leadership challenge? The implication is this is simply too hard...or that's what one would get from reading the article...really? Who is accountable? The Services? It was an OSD decision to place all of this under one roof--so is it OSD and the SecDef? Or is is some guy name Matt Foley "35 years …
We are not ‘tired of war’. We are tired of lack of leadership to win one: The Spectator UK
DeM Banter: Always interesting to get the British perspective... View Original / The spectator As we wear poppies, let's remember we're still a nation that seeks to shape the world — not be shaped by it One remarkable fact of recent years is that even as the veterans of the first world war have died …
How big an Army do we need? BY MICHAEL O’HANLON
DeM Banter: Are we indeed NOW smarter than history? Interesting times...any bets on how long until we turn this around (will it be too late) ? And...isn't the sequester the ultimate non-decision decision ever? Need more coffee.... Los Angles Times / View Original / 18 Nov 2013November 15, 2013Almost every time this country finishes a major …
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Can the Defense Budget Shrink Without Risking National Security? By Eric Schnurer
DeM Banter: Nice thought piece... but I would offer; if it were so easy... it would have been done by now. I know I keep beating on this...but WHAT DO YOU WANT THE US MILITARY TO DO? This is the job of the Executive to develop and deploy a National Security Strategy. There will be …
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Appetite…Cravings…And Leadership –DeMarco Banter
Appetite ....what is it? Appetite: an inherent craving <an insatiable appetite for work> Appetite exists in all higher life-forms and serves to regulate adequate energy intake to maintain metabolic needs. Appetite has a relationship with every individual's behavior. Appetitive and consummatory behaviors are the only processes that involve energy intake, whereas all other behaviors affect …
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Five Takeaways from a Decade of War By James Kitfield
DeM Banter: Interesting times...it would seem no one wants a to pay for a strong military until they want a strong military...at that point it might be too late. The strategic warning signs of conflict are screaming...but it looks as if we will simply ignore those. Where do we chose to invest our very limited …
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A Strong and Focused National Security Strategy by Jim Talent and Jon Kyl
DeM Banter: It's all about strategy...do we have one? It's not easy, it won't make everyone happy...but without one we have no true priorities, no objective, no real way to know what to fund, what to build, what to defend. Interesting read...link to the full report at the bottom. http://www.aei.org / View Original / October 31st, 2013 When President …
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Don’t You (Forget About Me)… On being a leader… on being a parent… DeMarco Banter
Well, why should I remember you? I love that song. “Don't You (Forget About Me)" is a 1985 song performed by the band Simple Minds. The song is best known for being played during the opening and closing credits of the John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. The song resonated among the Gen Xers of …
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Why a strategy is not a plan: Strategy: A History. By Lawrence Freedman: The Economist
DeMarco Banter: A book recommended by Neil Stott, of Cambridge University's Judge Business School...and now by The Economist....will need to pick it up, but it sounds as if any member of the US Federal Government should read as well... Strategy: A History. By Lawrence Freedman. Oxford University Press USA; 751 pages; $34.95. Buy from Amazon.com EVERYONE, it seems, is …
Report: Overhaul career tracks that feed general, admiral ranks By Andrew Tilghman
DeM Banter: IF this could work...and IF this were the only thing needed... would the culture of the DoD accept it? IF this could take hold... it is only a small drop in a massive bucket. A couple lines that are of concern..."unconventional warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan have “distorted” the skills of the U.S. …
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