A Curator of Strategy, Leadership, Spirituality, and Rock and Roll…. "Changing the world…one "contact" at a time…."
We had an AUiX teammate PCS this week. As is tradition, we give our PCSing officers a Star Wars-themed farewell giftโthis time, a replica of Han Soloโs iconic blaster. I considered adding a plaque that simply read: โWho shot first?โ But as I floated the idea, I realized only about half the room caught the …
As a squadron commander, I spent countless hours with our team in Air Operations Centers around the world, developing strategy, writing operational plans, wargaming, and wrestling with the ambiguity that defines modern conflict. We were serious about our craftโso much so that we garnered a nickname: The Masterminds. It wasnโt a boast, but a reflection …
There is something unsettling, even dangerous, about the iconoclast. From the origin of the word itselfโa compound of the Greek eikลn, meaning "image," and klan, "to break"โthe iconoclast has always been defined in opposition to sacred norms. In its earliest usage, the term described those who quite literally smashed religious images during the Byzantine Iconoclasm …
In the evolving landscape of twenty-first-century conflict, traditional domains of warfareโland, sea, air, space, and even cyberโare now accompanied by a more elusive and insidious front: the human mind. Dubbed "cognitive warfare," this emerging domain does not target physical infrastructure or conventional forces, but the very frameworks individuals and societies use to perceive, interpret, and …
Iโve always been fascinated by great mindsโthose rare individuals who think across boundaries, lead with insight, and shape the world in ways most of us are still catching up to. Leaders, strategists, polymathsโthey tend to emerge at critical moments in history, and their influence often transcends the disciplines they touch. Over the past few years, …
Continue reading "Strategic Firepower and the Logic of Genius โ DeMarco Banter"
Friedrich Nietzsche warned us: โHe who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.โ It was a 19th-century philosophical warning about moral corruption and existential danger. Today, it reads like a headline. Nietzscheโs famous quote appears in …
"I am the Lizard King. I can do anything." โ Jim Morrison Jim Morrison was not a conventional leader. He was a poet-shaman, a provocateur, and a performer who unraveled boundaries rather than enforcing them. But in an age defined by complexity, ambiguity, and accelerating change, Morrisonโs self-styled personaโthe Lizard Kingโoffers more than artistic flair. …
| May the 4th Celebration, 2025 A Galaxy Far, Far Awayโand Closer Than We Think Maybe I read too much into Star Wars--but every year on May the 4th, fans around the world come together to celebrate one of the most powerful myths of the modern era: Star Wars. It is more than just a film …
A New Wave Dystopia In the early 1980s, The Police crafted a sound that blended punk, reggae, and new wave into anthems that were more than just catchy melodies. Beneath the radio-friendly hits lay deeper, darker themesโalienation, war, political decay, and the struggle for meaning in an increasingly mechanized world. Three songs in particularโโฮฉmegaman,โ โSpirits …
The paradox is as old as artistry itself: groups that are forged in the fires of struggle often dissolve in the warmth of success. This truth spans domainsโfrom military units to start-ups, from revolutionary movements to legendary rock bands. The tighter the early fight, the stronger the bond. But when the fight is over, cohesion …
Mastermind Century Group 