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DeM Banter: So the more things change... This was something we spent an agonizingly long time working in the 2008-10 timeframe. We drafted a white paper on the subject...There were some very good thoughts on how to synergize the inter-agency, but the actual appetite to place bodies against the requirement just really was not there. …
Continue reading "WASHINGTON’S STRATEGY VACUUM By Anne Applebaum (w/DeMarco Banter)"
DeM Banter: Still processing this one... about 5 years ago, I recall talking with Sundie and saying that the military was soon to become the nouveau riche--not that we are mind you...but the sights were beginning to be pointed at the active duty military and their benefits as the war in Iraq was winding down. …
This has been an ongoing discussion in our country for some time now, and it continues to be a debate at work as well. In the military, our goal is to produce leaders for America. Not academics, not test takers, not “hoop jumpers”, but leaders. The USAF Officer Training School (OTS) and Reserve Officer Training …
Continue reading "SAT Scores Make The Leader! What….are you kidding me? DeMarco Banter…"
DeM Banter: and it comes down to this... we can't do it? Really? I think we forget that the first aircraft flew 12 seconds and 120 feet...and we debated if the aircraft would ever be anything more than a novelty. Further, what happens when that first nuke really does launch from Iran, nKorea, or...???... and …
DeM Banter: So many issues here...Gen Fogleman is an amazing leader, big brain, and innovator...but is this the right place for a debate? As always there is much behind the scenes I am sure... so perhaps this is the right time and place. Second...we lean so heavily on the ANG and Reserves now...can we lean …
Continue reading "Former Air Force Chief ‘Embarrassed’ By Study Panel By Leigh Munsil"
I have a fairly staunch fitness regime (okay, so I am wearing a hairpiece, but check those abs). I am fully aware that there are others out there that are more fit--folks with a tougher fitness regiment, body builders, marathon runners, extreme athletes. But for me, I am just trying to get better. I have …
Continue reading "Fitness and Getting Better: DeMarco Banter"
DeM Banter: Interesting piece and something I think the military really needs to ponder. It also harkens back to something I have been pondering for a long time. Microclimates.... and Disruptive Thinking.... innovationexcellence.com / Greg Satell / view original In a recent interview, tech guru Marc Andreessen noted that, although Beijing has great potential to be the next Silicon Valley, it …
Continue reading "What Makes Silicon Valley Unique? by Greg Satell"
DeM Banter: "That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history." - Aldous Huxley Great points from Gen McMaster in regards to the nature of war...with the budget issues we face--the call is loud to lean heavily on technology...RPAs, Drones, dare I say robots (see Atlas …
Continue reading "The Pipe Dream Of Easy War By H. R. McMaster"
DeM Banter: more "straight talk" required before we do anything...oh, and a plan would be cool as well. Politico.com July 20, 2013 ASPEN, Colo.—Recently retired CENTCOM commander James Mattis warned Saturday that a limited U.S. intervention in Syria will be costly and ineffective, while he also suggested that the U.S. public is not invested enough …
Continue reading "Mattis Skittish On Syria By Josh Gerstein"
DeM Banter: it is indeed time to have these conversations...it's about choices, it's about expectations, it's about finances....and a changing world...and possibly the decline of empire? It's time to think... ForeignPolicy.com July 19, 2013 Why the United States needs to get out of the 'indispensable nation' business Senator McCain is pushing Gen. Dempsey to get …
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