Chasing Ghosts: An Irregular Warfare Podcast
An unauthorized podcast that looks behind the curtain at the machinery and politics of counterinsurgency, counterterrorism and irregular warfare. Host Bill Buppert describes himself as a "COINtra" rather than a "COINdinista" — a skeptic of the vast apparatus of officials, contractors and apologists who sustain irregular warfare and special operations worldwide. Each episode examines the people, doctrines and incentives behind fighting insurgency, and argues that the dissenting view within the irregular warfare community is rarely heard. The show is affiliated with the Libertarian Institute, where the host holds the Smedley D. Butler Fellowship for Military Affairs, and is also published on Substack and YouTube.
Episodes
Ep 087 "Hybrid Warfare in the New Age: Japan Expands the Conflict Aperture (Part Two)"
Hybrid warfare Is a can of worms, a fascinating conjoining of kinetic and non-kinetic means of achieving victory or stale between warring nations.This second episode examines an historical example of what I think is the closest modern hybrid warfare modality in the Japanese Empire in the 1930s leading to WWII; the.Imperial Japanese Army’s Tokumu Kikan – Special Service Organizations that laid the
Ep 086 "Hybrid Warfare in the New Age: Stretching the Envelope (Part One)"
Hybrid warfare Is a can of worms, a fascinating conjoining of kinetic and non-kinetic means of achieving victory or stale between warring nations. This first episode tries to lay the ground work of what it is and in the next two episodes we will examine an historical and a contemporary example of hybrid warfare in meat-space.References:Report to Congress on Russian Hybrid Warfare in Europe 11 Augu
Ep 085 "Home is the High Ground: Reimagining a New Hermit Kingdom"
I discuss the possibilities of America relinquishing its global ambition to reduce its footprint to a regional hegemon in the Western hemisphere. The new technologies of AI, UAVs and hypersonics rather easily challenge the spending paradigms and mission architecture of the American armed forces.There are no near-peer competitors, every nation on Earth is now a peer to modern western war machines.A
Ep 084 "Blood in the Water: The US Navy is Sinking"
The US Navy is lost at sea and in the thrall of exquisite platform that be the maritime tombs of tens of thousands of sailors in the coming wars of the 21st century.The acquisition system is broken beyond repair, burn it down.The aircraft carrier has been a signature component of US naval power and prestige for more than a century. The utility has continued to diminish since the end of WWII. The t
Ep 083 "Memorial Day Remembrance 2026: Oceans of Blood, Wars of Choice""
I discuss the darker side of celebrating war and the moral injury of wars of choice. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance and an existential wake.This day is about the ashes of victory and blood lakes of defeat. I show how the American way of war is far more brutal and murderous than the usual suspects let on..***This episode is not for the squeamish or faint of heart.***U.S. WAR CRIMES IN THE PHI
Ep 082 "The CG Mailbag: Question Time"
It's been quite some time since I have responded to "mail" so I have curated five questions to address:.What should the USAF do now?Is fraud a form of irregular warfare?What should the DoW do with 1.5 trillion dollars?References:Unauthorized History of the Pacific War PodcastRAND wish-casting on drones in 2015.Slaughterbots (2017)Slaughterbots: if human: kill() (2021)How are Drones Changing Modern
Ep 081 "Strategic Empathy: Grokking the Pendulum of Indecision"
I examine the strategic deficit disorder that absolutely dominates the US and western military establishmentsI speak to the tools and critical thinking modalities that could spark and encourage competent martial imagination. Moral courage is necessary to tell the flag officer dullards and their Senior Executive Service (SES) necromancers that the emperor has no clothes.If not, the unblemished reco
Ep 080 "The Cargo Cult of Martial Belief, Wishcasting and Bloodshed"
Episode 100!Well, when I combine the 20 episodes of WarNotes with the CG podcasts but a chance to pop the bubbly anyway.Today we discuss the critical lack of critical thinking that has led the US into the unenviable position of being an extraordinarily 20th century fighting force nor fit for purpose for 21st century peer combat.It will get worse.I'll offer some more recommendations and a path forw
Ep 079 "Iran, Salvo Competition and the Inevitable Stalemate"
I'll discuss Iran and the grunt math of salvo competition.Buppert’s Law of Military Topography:“Mountainous terrain held by riflemen who know what they are about cannot be militarily defeated.”For other insight on Iran, I recommend CG episodes 061 , 067 and 078.References:The Boogeyman of 21st-Century Warfare: DronesWhy the US is facing strategic defeatPoints of Resistance and Departure: An interv
Ep 078 "Iran and I Lost: The American Empire Tilts Again"
With Western conflict in Iran escalating and in train, I discuss the vagaries and verities of the nuclear gambit in Iran in the Middle East and what this will mean to the future of warfare for the reminder of this century.I assess how the RMAs rapidly displacing centuries-old conflict norms are going to look for the remainder of the century.Buppert’s Law of Military Topography:“Mountainous terrain
Ep 077 "The CG Mailbag: Question Time and the Backbenchers Lament 26.1"
It's been quite some time since I have responded to "mail" so I have curated five questions to address:.What are your thoughts on the Maduro and VZ kerfuffle?How do you fix the defense acquisition system and fraud?What should the US Navy do in the 21st century?How did GEN Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck do it (preview)?Are American SOF capable of 21st century mission success?References:Soryu (16SS) c
Ep 076 "Modern Antifa: Communist Insurgency in the US Part Five (Conclusions)"
I offer my scorched earth solutions to fighting Antifa and communism in the US..America is in a Civil War with a major political party and its blacked-shirted paramilitary arm going from cold to hot war.Prepare accordingly.Part Four at Episode 075Part Three at Episode 074Part Two at Episode 073Part One at Episode 072.I did a primer on cell organization in Ep 051 "Cellular Ecology: Guerrilla Organi
Ep 075 "Modern Antifa: Communist Insurgency in the US Part Four"
I further examine the educational feeder mechanism for communist and terrorist insurgency that is Antifa and its affiliated organizations both governmental and non-government. In this third episode, I examine the pedagogical origins of government supremacist ideology in American schools.America is in a Civil War with a major political party and its blacked-shirted paramilitary arm going from cold
Ep 074 "Modern Antifa: Communist Insurgency in the US Part Three"
I examine the feeder mechanism for communist and terrorist insurgency that is Antifa and its affiliated organizations both governmental and non-government. In this third episode, we examine the epistemology that created a rump state of communist resistance in America. now.America is in a Civil War with a major political party and its blacked-shirted paramilitary arm going from cold to hot war.Prep
Ep 073 "Modern Antifa: Communist Insurgency in the US Part Two"
I examine the domestic communist and terrorist insurgency that is Antifa and its affiliated organizations both governmental and non-government. In this second episode, we examine the history that brought the US to the brink of civil war it is at now.America is in a Civil War with a major political party and its blacked-shirted paramilitary arm going from cold to hot war.Prepare accordingly.Part On
Ep 072 "Modern Antifa: Communist Insurgency in the US Part One"
I examine the domestic communist and terrorist insurgency that is Antifa and its affiliated organizations both governmental and non-governments;. In this first episode, we shall examine origins, terminology and some expositions on methodology.America is in a Civil War with a major political party and its blacked-shirted paramilitary arm going from cold to hot war.Prepare accordingly.I did a primer
Ep 071 "The Devil's Thermostat: Turning Up the Heat on American Civil War"
This episode examines civil war manifesting itself in the US and the world over the next few years and makes a forecast on how close we are on the doomsday clock of civil war on American soil.The probability and possibility of civil kinetic conflict in the US is closer than in decades..My Storming America Series covers the gamut of what a spontaneous attack in the US will look like when terror cel
Ep 070 "Bolivar's Revenge: The Venezuelan Tar Pit and American Ambition"
We examine the emerging Venezuelan kerfuffle.There are many currents and undercurrents in the latest incipient war debacle in America history. This will be a disaster for America if it clacks off and; expect the American government to make this a preamble to go kinetic on the drug war generally and the following catastrophes.I covered this in detail in both parts of Ep 059 and 059 "The Mexican Car
Ep 069 "The CG Mailbag: Question Time and the Backbenchers Lament 25.1"
It's been quite some time since I have responded to "mail" so I have curated five questions to address:.What are your personal weapons of choice: rifle or pistol?How do you fix the defense acquisition system?Is the American military really in terminal collapse?Storming America; is it still coming to the US?Is America headed to civil war?I'll offer some more recommendations and a path forward.Refer
Ep 068 "The Military Drone Revolution: Make All Flesh Forfeit"
Despite what you are told by the mainstream news sources in the media, the drone war is here to stay and it will be the most significant war modality for the next generation. It has literally exposed all ground troops and the exquisite platforms the West relies upon in war-making for detailed neutralization and destruction.In concert with the democratized distribution of ubiquitous missile technol
Ep 067 "The Mountains of Madness: Military Defeat and Terrain Part II"
This will be the first CG episode to get the complete audio upgrade and revision to achieve the cleanest sound ever for the podcast series. The WarNotes episode catalog has been completely re-fabbed using the new technology at Chris Williams' Podsworth.Let me know what you think.We discuss the latest missteps by the West in Iran.The recent American involvement in direct military intervention in Ir
Ep 066 "Civil War on the Horizon: The Empire Strikes Back"
This CG episode got the complete audio upgrade and revision to achieve the cleanest sound ever for the podcast series effective 22 June 2025 using the new technology at Chris Williams' Podsworth.This episode examines civil war manifesting itself in the world in the west in the 21st century and some of my modest forecasts of war weather in the next few years.Dr. David Betz and others have started t
Ep 065 "Color Revolutions: Weaponizing Subterfuge"
This CG episode got the complete audio upgrade and revision to achieve the cleanest sound ever for the podcast series effective 22 June 2025 using the new technology at Chris Williams' Podsworth.We discuss coups, color revolutions and the changing face of political manipulation in the world.The world is not what it seems even in non-military political manipulation. The hybrid and grey zone conflic
Ep 064 "War and Remembrance: Drawing the Wrong Lessons"
This CG episode got the complete audio upgrade and revision to achieve the cleanest sound ever for the podcast series effective 22 June 2025 using the new technology at Chris Williams' Podsworth.Memorial Day is a day to reflect on the existential moral outrage and trail of tears American military might has draped over the planet since the end of the nineteenth century.Wars of choice are by their v
Ep 063 "Spanner in the Works: Sabotage and War"
This CG episode got the complete audio upgrade and revision to achieve the cleanest sound ever for the podcast series effective 22 June 2025 using the new technology at Chris Williams' Podsworth.Military sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a government effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization, destabilization, division, disruption, or destruction. It c
Ep 062 "Storming America: One Year Later"
This CG episode got the complete audio upgrade and revision to achieve the cleanest sound ever for the podcast series effective 22 June 2025 using the new technology at Chris Williams' Podsworth.This episode examines American landscape one year later and whether the probability of attack is reduced or increased.My Storming America Series covers the gamut of what the spontaneous attack in the US wi
Ep 061 "The Mountains of Madness: Military Defeat and Terrain Part I"
This CG episode got the complete audio upgrade and revision to achieve the cleanest sound ever for the podcast series effective 22 June 2025 using the new technology at Chris Williams' Podsworth.With Western conflict possible in Yemen and Iran, I discuss the vagaries and verities of mountain warfare. The special hell of high altitude and colder temperatures and their effect on fighting and warfare
Ep 060 "The Military Historian's Craft: Past Tense Imperfect"
This CG episode got the complete audio upgrade and revision to achieve the cleanest sound ever for the podcast series effective 22 June 2025 using the new technology at Chris Williams' Podsworth.I am an un-credentialed amateur historian who has done very little archive work and lack the substantial infrastructure credentialed historians have to practice their craft. I have debated esteemed histori
Ep 059 "The Mexican Cartel Conundrum: War Without End Part Two"
This CG episode got the complete audio upgrade and revision to achieve the cleanest sound ever for the podcast series effective 22 June 2025 using the new technology at Chris Williams' Podsworth.Here is Part One:Ep 058 "The Mexican Cartel Conundrum: War Without End Part One"We continue the inquiry into the implications and future returns on going kinetic in the drug war as elucidated by worthies i
Ep 058 "The Mexican Cartel Conundrum: War Without End Part One"
Chasing Ghosts is back!This CG episode got the complete audio upgrade and revision to achieve the cleanest sound ever for the podcast series effective 22 June 2025 using the new technology at Chris Williams' Podsworth.There has been chatter and enthusiasm to use military means to take on the drugs and human trafficking organizations and cartels in Mexico (and I imagine the cartels in the north in
Ep 057: "CG Announcement November 2024: WarNotes Podcast Rising"
I will be pausing Chasing Ghosts from its fortnightly cadence of issuance for the remainder of the year.I am taking the time to regroup and focus on the new occasional podcast series, WarNotes: A Conflict Podcast as a companion podcast focusing on conventional conflict and strategic thought.I think the new election results may be the time for the western military complexes to take a knee and refoc
Ep 056 "Pearl Snap Tactical Interview with Mark Booher"
Mark Booher at Pearl Snap Tactical interviewed me discussing irregular warfare and the threat to the homeland.We discuss irregular warfare and the impacts of an up-sized catastrophic attack on the US homeland. We riff on and discuss my "Storming America" series (episodes 37, 41-43 and 49-50) on the CG podcast.The election results don't change the imminent danger but may alter the warp and woof of
Ep 055 "The Shapiro-Ferguson Kerfuffle: History at War""
I am the Smedley D. Butler Fellow for Military Affairs at the Libertarian Institute.They asked me to comment on the recent podcast interview between Ben Shapiro and Niall Ferguson which of course, was a reaction to Darryl Cooper's (Martyrmade Podcast) recent appearance on Tucker Carlson.I find members of the academic historian cartel (even "right of center" types like Ferguson) are horrified that
Ep 054 "CG Excursion: The American Military Empire is in Terminal Collapse"
The trillions dollar fragile American military complex is in big trouble in big war.It doesn't work.Robotics and drones are the new "low tech" answer to the First World's exquisite military platforms that are over priced and have the same provenance of battleships planet-wide in January 1942.Autonomous targeting will become more and more relevant as the speed of munitions increases and the salvo c
Ep 053 "CG Excursion: The Revolution Will Be Televised: Near Peer and Peer Conflict in the 21st Century"
Robotics and drones are the new "low tech" answer to the First World's exquisite military platform that are over priced and have the same provenance of battleships planet-wide in January 1942.The electronic emissions environment in future conflicts will be a two-way street that will put any active acquisition sensors and attached effectors in the hazards if they emit and remain in one place.Autono
Ep 052 "CG Excursion: Churchill: Imperial Bombast and the Death of the West"
This is an episode to examine what Churchill really did for the West after witnessing the emotional & ahistorical outbursts by the usual suspects after Darryl Cooper from the Martyrmade Podcast appeared on Tucker Carlson on 2 SEP 2024.I am simply addressing the claims of Churchill as "the chief villain" which I think was hyperbolic (Cooper accedes to this) because I think Churchill was one of
Ep 051 "Cellular Ecology: Guerrilla Organizations and Grunt Math"
This is an episode to examine what cell structures look like and the methodologies of guerrillas and insurgents use to conduct clandestine or covert action.I further discuss traditional, subversive, critical cell and mass-oriented and unconventional cell structures. We visit some historical parallels and why the US and the West may not catch the next wave of terror in America (not cooked up by the
Ep 050 "Storming America: TTP to Make you Free (Part II)"
My Storming America Series covers the gamut of what the spontaneous attack in the US will look like when terror cells launch a simultaneous attack on the US homeland.I cover it further in Episodes 37, 41-43 and 49 of my Chasing Ghosts podcast.This is an episode to examine what you can do about the coming civil unrest in America. I discuss some of the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) the f
Ep 049 "Storming America: TTP to Make you Free (Part I)"
My Storming America Series covers the gamut of what the spontaneous attack in the US will look like when terror cells launch a simultaneous attack on the US homeland.I cover it further in Episodes 37, 41-43 and 50 of my Chasing Ghosts podcast.This is an episode to examine what you can do about the coming civil unrest in America. I discuss some of the tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) the fr
Ep 048 "CG Excursion: Peer Strike ISR Complex: The Need for Rational Fires Coordination"
***Apologies; this episode appears to have some technical issues that I will address on return to my home studio; I am on the road right now.***Fires synchronization is the effective coordination of sensors and effectors in near-real time or real time in a hostile non-permissive combat environment.The West has no working system to coordinate its artillery, air and Integrated Air and Missile Defens
Ep 047 "Nagorno-Karabakh: A Dark and Robotic Future"
I discuss the Fall 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the tiny sliver of Nagorno-Karabakh and why I would suggest that it was a glimpse into the future of warfare for the remainder of this century. the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) for the following reasons:Robotics and drones are the new "low tech" answer to the First World's exquisite military platform that are over priced and hav
Ep 046 "Review and Discussion: My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness by Howard Jones"
I discuss the slaughter of over 500 unarmed men, women and children in My Lai in March 1968 by American soldiers.In concert with the Tet Offensive in 1968, this was the end of American arms in Vietnam.The collision of barbarism, toxic leadership and moral injury make everyone of these pages bleed. One of the most searing indictments of American arms you will read. This book is an acquired taste be
Ep 045 "CG Excursion Praxis: Rational Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) (Part Two)"
I continue a rather technical treatment of developing and using Concepts of Operations (CONOPS).This episode examines the finer points of getting baselines and expectations right for small and large projects alike.If you take these simple concepts for building a CONOPS to include how to do decomposition in Product Breakdown Structures (PBS) and Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) as described in MILST
Ep 044 "CG Excursion Praxis: Rational Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) (Part One)"
I discuss a rather technical treatment of developing and using Concepts of Operations (CONOPS).This episode examines the timeless and tedious process of getting baselines and expectations right for small and large projects alike.References:Special Forces Detachment Mission Planning Guide GTA 31-01-003 January 2020DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STANDARD PRACTICE WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURES FOR DEFENSE MATERIE
Ep 043 "Storming America: The Aftermath"
My Storming America Series covers the gamut of what the spontaneous attack in the US will look like when terror cells launch a simultaneous attack on the US homeland.I cover it further in Episodes 37, 41-42 and 49-50 of my Chasing Ghosts podcast.I discuss the outcome of the probable jihadist invasion of America. America is in a unique position in history in which it has facilitated the unfettered
Ep 042 "Storming America: War Comes Home"
My Storming America Series covers the gamut of what the spontaneous attack in the US will look like when terror cells launch a simultaneous attack on the US homeland.I cover it further in Episodes 37, 41, 43 and 49-50 of my Chasing Ghosts podcast.In this episode I discuss what the attack looks like in America.This is not if, this is when.The country is poised to experience this through a combinati
Ep 041 "Storming America: Intelligence Failure is Now and Forever"
My Storming America Series covers the gamut of what the spontaneous attack in the US will look like when terror cells launch a simultaneous attack on the US homeland.I cover it further in Episodes 37, 42-43 and 49-50 of my Chasing Ghosts podcast.This is a continuation of my "Storming America Series" where I will tease out and describe why the inevitable internal attack on America by external force
Ep 040 "The Middle East: Shuffling to the Apocalypse (Part Two)""
This episode will be an addendum to my initial coverage in October 2023 of the Gaza-Israel conflict in Episode 027 and riffing off the domestic implications in Episode 037 of a similar attack on CONUS. If you wish to listen to those before you do this one, you may but I have crafted this so that isn’t necessary.The clock is closer to midnight than it was in October 2023.References:William Forstche
Ep 039 "CG Excursion: Stoicism: Who Dares Leads"
I am reusing a previous episode I used in the now moribund Stoicism podcast I started, The Dash, which I ran out of steam on.Applying Stoic values and discipline to the vocation and avocations we practice in life may be the hardest part outside of making a Stoic life a lived lifestyle. I find the management industry is a giant cargo cult that publishes books whose pages number in the hundreds but
Ep 038 "Moral Injury: The Invisible Warrior Marks"
The concept of moral injuries for soldiers and non-soldiers alike, the gift of fear and being a dead man walking and how to handle regret and shame.“As beasts are beneath human restraints, gods are above them... It would be foolish and untruthful to deny the appeal of exalted, godlike intoxication....We have seen the paradox that these godlike exalted moments often correspond to times when the men
Ep 037 "Storming America: Another War Will Come Home"
My Storming America Series covers the gamut of what the spontaneous attack in the US will look like when terror cells launch a simultaneous attack on the US homeland.I cover it further in Episodes 41-43 and 49-50 of my Chasing Ghosts podcast.The hybrid and gray zone fight will come to America in the next war. Once the declining American colossus shuffles into the next near-peer and peer conflict,
Ep 036 "Drunk on Direct Action: The Destruction of Army Special Forces in the GWOT"
The direct action concentration of US Army Special Forces (SF) in the conduct of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan at the expense of the specialized and storied legend of what SF could do in non-permissive environments raising partisan forces behind enemy lines. The Army SF concentrated on perfecting a craft that numerous other combat organizations like the USMC 0311, .Army 11Bs and the exquisitely
Ep 035 "Review and Discussion: Counterinsurgency: Exposing the Myths of the New Way of War by Douglas Porch"
Everyone and everything has an origin story, while I had a sneaking suspicion early on in my modest career in special operations and irregular warfare (IW) that something was fundamentally wrong with the western way of war in these endeavors, it was Douglas Porch who probably set my course straight. In this book, he makes a compelling historical and logical case for why the IW efforts planet-wide
Ep 034 "CG Excursions: Deep Six the Carrier Force: Naval Power in the 21st Century"
Excursions is a new addition to the CG universe to cover adjacent conflict issues to the irregular warfare fight.***In the future near-peer and peer fight, salvo competition will be the preeminent means by which one country will kinetically overwhelm the other in a fight. I discuss the way the West is in an existential hazard of being woefully under-prepared to meet the threat if Western forces go
Ep 033 "CG Excursions: Salvo Competition and the Big Fight"
Excursions will be a new addition to the CG universe to cover adjacent conflict issues to the irregular warfare fight.In the future near-peer and peer fight, salvo competition will be the preeminent means by which one country will kinetically overwhelm the other in a fight. I discuss the way the West is in an existential hazard of being woefully under-prepared to meet the threat if Western forces
Ep 032 "US Military Special Operations Forces Can't Do UW (Part Two)"
The emerging anti-fragile forces of indigenous irregular warfare forces in concert or independent of near-peer and peer competitors challenging US and western global hegemony are on the march and will in the end succeed.References:David Maxwell Counter-Unconventional Warfare (2014)Douglas Porch Counterinsurgency: Exposing the Myths of the New Way of WarAnn Scott Tyson American Spartan: The Promise
Ep 031 "US Military Special Operations Forces Can't Do UW (Part One)"
In this episode, I will be a heretic to the current military establishment in America and the west. They can't do unconventional warfare and I must be very specific in the conditional problem I propose: the western military has no capability to conduct long term partisan warfare in concert with indigenous forces fighting an insurgency in a non-permissive environment. It doesn't have the language s
Ep 030 "US Military Special Operations Forces: US Army Special Forces"
Here we do a deep dive in US Army Special Forces (SF) and why a complete overhaul is needed to resurrect the original charter to save SF from itself. Over two decades of fighting neo-colonial conflicts throughout the Middle East and Africa has decimated the original construct and mission of what made SF so special.References:Douglas Porch Counterinsurgency: Exposing the Myths of the New Way of War
Ep 029 "US Military Special Operations Forces: US Army"
Today, I'll do a deep dive into the US Army vanilla SOF organziations and get acquainted with the capabilities and opportunities for US Army special operations.My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.
Ep 028 "US Military Special Operations Forces: A Primer"
A brief introduction to the Department of Defense activities in special operations. I will not be discussing the dark organizations and specifically address the "vanilla" SOF in all the services.References:Douglas Porch Counterinsurgency: Exposing the Myths of the New Way of WarAnn Scott Tyson American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim GrantH. John Poo
Ep 027 "The Middle East: Shuffling to the Apocalypse (Part One)"
We discuss the Israeli emergency in its latest iteration in the horrific attacks by Hamas into Israel in October 2023 and the simmering conflict bands that emerging globally in which this is another explosion in the global conflict rift. For those who thought the podcast died, its death has been greatly exaggerated. My move to FL from AZ is now complete and many apologies for the disturbance of my
Ep 026 "Review and Discussion: Tattoo Zoo by Paul Avallone"
Every war has a seminal novel, a book that really resonates with generation that wrote it and the following generations from the Iliad to Gore Vidal's historical fiction to The Centurions by Jean Larteguy to From Here to Eternity by James Jones to this one.References:Paul Avallone Tattoo Zoo: A Novel of the Afghan WarJean Larteguy The CenturionsAnton Myrer Once an EagleMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8
Ep 025 "Technicals: Toyotas Go To War""
In the one year anniversary episode (!), we chat about the use of thin-skinned vehicles in the modern age and the asymmetric nature of the fight. The employment of commercially produced vehicles for conduct of raids and ambushes employing a wide array of weapons medium- to heavy-machine guns to mortars to ATGMs and everything in between. Please note that Toyota outside of Japan does not produce th
Ep 024 "The Other Fight: Understanding the Conventional Conflict""
I take the time to discuss some of the conventional ramifications of modern warfare and book recommendations that have given me a deeper and more nuanced understanding of why wars begin and end as they do.References:Sun Tzu The Art of WarCarl von Clausewitz On WarMiyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to StrategyH. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warf
Ep 023 "Afghanistan: The Soviet Debacle 1978-1989"
The defeat of the USSR in Afghanistan was part of a broad tapestry of disasters that eventually brought the Russian communist state crashing down. The shattering of Soviet forces by the indigenous rebels aided by foreign fighters and sophisticated weapons technology from the West doomed the USSR to failure. The Americans would later respond with: "Hold my beer..."References:Ahmed Rashid Taliban: M
Ep 022 "Review and Discussion: Day of the Rangers: The Battle of Mogadishu 25 Years On""
We examine the Day of the Rangers: The Battle of Mogadishu 25 Years On by Leigh Neville and Matt Eversmann to discuss the book, the event and what led up to the event.References:Leigh Neville & Matt Eversmann Day of the Rangers: The Battle of Mogadishu 25 Years OnMark Bowden Blackhawk DownMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.
Ep 021 "Review and Discussion: Jack Hinson's One-Man War by Tom C. McKinney "
We discuss the book, guerrilla and insurgency warfare during the American war in 1861-65, the atrocity cycle, guerrilla math and the hopelessness of occupation avoiding the injury of civilians.References:Tom McKinney Jack Hinson's One-Man War, A Civil War SniperDaniel E. Sutherland A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil WarMy Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail
Ep 020 "COIN Malpractice: Lessons Never Learned (Part One)"
It appears the West just can't get counterinsurgency right. I talk about some of the framework ideas that would be good lessons learned for those who I think wisely and would try to avoid COIN. The major takeaway is that insurgencies are rather antifragile and bureaucracies are the enemy of effectiveness and innovation.References:Nassim Taleb Incerto: Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, The Bed
Ep 019 "Murphy Rex: Complexity and War"
I discuss the complex adaptive system that is war that Clausewitz categorically identified as "friction" in the nineteenth century. We'll examine what chaos and complexity has to do with conflict, why it is inevitable and why wars are won by the least incompetent armies and navies.References:Nassim Taleb Incerto: Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, The Bed of Procrustes, Antifragile, Skin in the
Ep 018 "French COIN: Paras in Paris (Part Three)"
The April 1961 Generals’ Putsch of Algiers (Putsch des généraux), was a failed military action to press French President Charles de Gaulle to not abandon French Algeria, along with French people and pro-French Arabs living there. The putsch in French Algeria was conducted by four retired generals, led by Maurice Challe, the commander of the French Armed Forces in Algeria in 1958-60 and the author
Ep 017 Memorial Day Mailbag
In this episode, I go through some of the more interesting emails and comments I have gotten since the podcast began in September 2022.My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.
Ep 016 "TE Lawrence and the Guerrilla Mind (Part Three)"
his episodes examines the unconventional and eccentric mind sets of Lawrence and other famous and obscure military figures. We examine the way some armies embrace this while others discourage it.References:Scott Anderson Lawrence of Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle EastJames J. Schneider Guerrilla Leader: TE Lawrence and the Arab RevoltTE Lawrence Seven Pilla
Ep 015 "TE Lawrence and the Guerrilla Mind (Part Two)"
In this episode we will discuss how Lawrence's medievalism gave him a tremendous advantage serendipitously advising and leading the local Arab revolt during WWI against the Turks and more deeply, Allied efforts to map a post-war world. His predilections in study, preparation and application of his 27 points led to a success the British army and the larger Allied effort could not have achieved with
Ep 014 "TE Lawrence and the Guerrilla Mind (Part One)"
One of the peak guerrilla fountainheads in the early twentieth century, TE Lawrence has been in both the popular imagination and a large part of the engine in the Middle East that signed the death knell for foreign colonial powers to leave the region, Eccentric and brilliant, one of the few successful insurgency leaders during WWI.References:Scott Anderson Lawrence of Arabia: War, Deceit, Imperial
Ep 013 "CG Goes to the Movies: Red Dawn (1984)"
The brilliant John Milius helmed this production in the thick of the cold war waning with the USSR. This will be the first episode where we examine the collision between irregular warfare and popular culture.My Substack:https://t.co/7a8jn2MmnxEmail at cgpodcast@pm.me.
Ep 012 "Sisyphus is God: Government Incompetence and Martial Failure"
Government, for a variety of reasons, is manifestly incompetent in everything it does and this lends parts of the explanatory framework in why systemic failure is the feature not a bug in Western martial efforts.The critiques of the government supremacist mindset are legion and one can find many rational and elegant theses if you start at the Mises Institute and listen to the podcasts of Scott Hor
Ep 011 "Three Strikes of the Match: American Divorce 1775"
As a former Appleseed instructor and Shoot Boss in AZ, I had the opportunity to teach a marksmanship/history project that had me master the origins and details of the first month of the First American Revolution. I cover the "Three Strikes of the Match" that we used as an organization to educate folks about the marriage between marksmanship and liberty that initiated the divorce from London in 177
Ep 010 "Review and Discussion: Stalin's War by Sean McMeekin"
I review and discuss Sean McMeekin's brilliant tome on Stalin being the ascendant and most successful antagonist in WWII.References:Sean McMeekin Stalin's War: A New History of World War IIJohn Koster Operation Snow: How a Soviet Mole in FDR's White House Triggered Pearl HarborHerbert Romerstein, Eric Breindel The Venona Secrets, Exposing Soviet Espionage and America's TraitorsM. Stanton Evans, He
Ep 009 "French COIN: Algeria: Losing Afrique (Part Two)"
I discuss the French experience in north Africa and the devastating consequences of the double blow of losing Indochina in the same time-frame in Algeria in north Africa.References:Martin Windrow Our Friends Beneath the Sands: The Foreign Legion in France's Colonial Conquests 1870-1935Douglas Porch The French Foreign Legion: A Complete History of the Legendary Fighting ForceDouglas Porch Counterin
Ep 008 "French COIN: Introduction and the Indochina Dénouement (Part One)"
In this first episode, I discuss the fundamentals of French irregular warfare doctrine with a concentration on COIN, French martial history in a thumbnail and the tragedy of French arms in post-WWII Indochina.References:Martin Windrow The Last Valley: Dien Bien Phu and the French Defeat in VietnamBernard Fall Hell in a Very Small PlaceBernard Fall Street Without JoyTed Morgan Valley of Death: The
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