Midrats

We're back live after a mid-winter break!If there were some topics you'd like us to cover, or want to call in with a question for the hosts - now is your time.We have a full and open hour. Call in at the number above or join in the chatroom as we catch up on the developments in the national security arena this month.From the Med, to the South China Sea, to shipbuilding, to Syria, and whatever else strikes our fancy, we'll be there.

Looking for a "Best of" this Valentine's Day, I realized there is a guest we need to bring back on for an update. With Russia being Russia, you have to think Big Things that make Big Booms.From a bit more than three years ago,They're back; ICBM, IRBM, SRBM. Strategic forces. Long range strike and long range counter-air.Some real old ones are coming back in to the lexicon: ABM.Some new ones have joined the party as well - ASBM and super sonic ASCM.Of course, they never really left us.After the post-Soviet softness of the 1990s and the decade plus of COIN and small wars - the big toys are coming back. Old and new.From Russia, China, Iran, & India - technology is reaching back out and spreading out.Where does that leave the US military in 2012 (NB: original air date of this show)? Few leaders under the age of 45 even remember operating in the Cold War disciplines that peer technology required; range, EMCON, defense in depth.Global reach will require more and better AAW, deep strike, I&W - it will also require a renewed understanding that for a Fleet at sea - the enemy gets a vote, and a shot.Our guest for the full hour to discuss in detail will be Will Dossel, CAPT USN (Ret), a former E-2C NFO with over 3500 hours and 525 traps in the E-2C and other TACAIR. Retiring after 26 years, he held a number of Navy and Joint operational and staff positions afloat and ashore including VAW squadron command, CVN navigator, Deputy Director for Strategy and Policy, Navy Planner, and Reconnaissance Systems Officer. Currently employed as a senior analyst with a top 5 defense firm, he has been heavily involved in the policy and operational side of ballistic and cruise missile defense the past seven years.

From shortly after he was The Under and prior to moving on to DepSecDef, Bob Work came on to discuss the broad picture.When one hangs up the uniform after decades of service, but still wants to contribute to their nations national security needs, what paths can that take? How does one find a path forward, and what are the keys to success?In a budgetary challenge not seen by the US military in two decades, what are the important "must haves" that need to be kept at full strength, and what "nice to haves" may have to be put in to the side?What are the legacy ideas, concepts, and capabilities that the Navy and Marine Corps need to make sure they maintain mastery of, and what new things are either here or are soon on the way that we need to set conditions for success now?Our guest to discuss this and more will be Robert O. Work, Col. USMC (Ret), now Deputy Secretary of Defense, and former Undersecretary of the Navy from 2009-2013.After 27-years of active duty service in the Marine Corps, Work joined the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), where he focused on defense strategy and programs, revolutions in war, Department of Defense transformation, and maritime affairs. He also contributed to Department of Defense studies on global basing and emerging military missions; and provided support for the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review. During this time, Work was also an adjunct professor at George Washington University, where he taught defense analysis and roles and missions of the armed forces. In late 2008, Work served on President Barack Obama’s Department of Defense Transition Team.  He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Illinois; and has Masters Degrees from the University of Southern California, the Naval Postgraduate School; and Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

From the same school as "If you want peace, prepare for war," a global maritime power must maintain a presence at sea. It must design a national strategy in line with its economic capability and political will, and make sure it mans, trains, and equips its navy in line with the design.If presence is a critical function of a navy, how is it best accomplished, what are the tradeoffs, and how does it impact friends, competitors, and those sitting on the fence?Our guest for the full hour to discuss this and more will be Dr. Henry J. Hendrix, Jr, CAPT USN (Ret).Jerry is a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Defense Strategies and Assessments Program at the Center for a New American Security.When on active duty, his staff assignments include tours with the Chief of Naval Operation’s Executive Panel (N00K), and the OSD Office of Net Assessment From 2011-2012 he served as the Director and Designated Federal Officer of the Secretary of the Navy’s Advisory Panel.  He also contributed to the 2012 Department Posture Statement to the Congress.  Following the fall, 2011 Navy Inspector General’s Report on the state of the Naval History and Heritage Command, he was verbally ordered by the Secretary to assume the position of Director of Naval History. Hendrix previously served as the Navy Fellow to the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. He has been awarded a Bachelor Degree in Political Science from Purdue University, Masters Degrees from the Naval Postgraduate School (National Security Affairs) and Harvard University (History) and received his doctorate from King’s College, London (War Studies).

How do we get combat integration of women right? The quest has moved well away from "if" and in to "how."With an apparent broad disconnect between biological realities, cultural norms, and political desires, what is the right way for military leaders to carry out their orders while ensuring that combat effectiveness is maintained.Our guest to discuss this and related issues for the full hour will be Lieutenant Colonel Kate Germano, USMC.Commissioned in August 1996, LtCol Germano has served for over 19 years on active duty in the United States Marine Corps.  A combat veteran, she additionally participated in numerous operational and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief deployments.  Ashore, her duties including a year as the Marine Aide to the Secretary of the Navy. She was selected for command twice, most recently as the commanding officer of the Marine Corps’ only all-female unit, the 4th Recruit Training Battalion. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Goucher College, where she majored in History with a pre-law emphasis.  In 2011, she graduated with distinction from the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, earning her Masters of Military Science degree.  She is actively engaged in the struggle to end gender bias in the military, and is a vocal proponent for equal rights and the elimination of double standards and lowered expectations for female conduct and performance.

A decade and a half of ongoing ground combat under their belt, what are the hard-won lessons we need to keep, and what should be left behind? Looking forward, what are the challenges our ground forces need to make sure they are prepared to meet? From growing conventional strength from nations who desire to challenge our nation's global position, to the unending requirements for Counter Insurgency excellence, what is the balance?Our guest to discuss this and more will be Paul Scharre, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and a former Army Ranger with service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Yes Shipmates ... we are now in our 6th year of Midrats!To mark the day, we are going to have a radically different format as a thank you gift to our listeners.The focus of the show today is one question; "Where do you see as the most critical thing to watch for Navy and Marine Corp issues in 2016."To get the answer, we are bringing on a series of prior guests one at a time in their own segment. To kick off we bring back our fellow Midrats plankowner co-host Raymond Pritchett, founder of Information Dissemination. Following Raymond will be Bill Roggio, managing editor of The Long War Journal; James R. Holmes, Professor of strategy and policy at the Naval War College; The Original Chapomatic CDR Chap Godbey, USN (terminal leave); author and former National Defense University Professor James S. Robbins; CTR1(IDW/SW) Lucien Gauthier, USN; and Lieutenant Matthew Hipple, USN.Live radio. One question. Seven men.Two drink minimum.

How do you balance cost, risk, peacetime habits and wartime requirements in designing and using the world's largest Navy?How do we maximize the most the utility of our platforms now, and create a future fleet best suited for what is coming up?Our guest for the full hour to discuss will be Barney Rubel, CAPT, USN (Ret.).Robert C. “Barney” Rubel is a retired naval officer. From 2006 to 2014, he was Dean of the Center for Naval Warfare Studies at the US Naval War College. Prior to assuming this position, he was Chairman of the Wargaming Department. A thirty-year Navy veteran, he received his commission through the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Illinois. He subsequently became a light attack naval aviator, flying the A-7 Corsair II and later the F/A-18 Hornet. He commanded Strike Fighter Squadron 131 and also served as the Inspector General at U.S. Southern Command.

While good ideas are often forgotten, bad ideas seem to pop up over an over again - especially the sexy ones that sound so good, but never seem to work well. The answer, of course, is to try again and hope for a better result.Some would argue that sea swap is one of those sexy ideas that just isn't that practical in actual operation.A good idea? One of the good ideas mostly forgotten is that of the Junior Officer in significant positions of authority. LTJG as XO? LT as Skipper? Sure... used to be common; now not so much outside the MIW and PC community.What are the different challenges for the officer on a smaller warship? As JO command opportunities shrink, what is our Navy losing?Our guest for the full hour to discuss this and anything else the squirrels deliver will be Lieutenant Matthew Hipple, USN.We'll start the conversation from his article in the July 2013 Proceedings, Sea Swap - Its a Trap - then we'll be off to the races from there.LT Hipple is a surface warfare officer who graduated from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. He is president of CIMSEC, and hosts of the Sea Control podcast. While his opinions may not reflect those of the United States Navy, Department of Defense, or US Government, he wishes they did.

From a 2012 show; everyone knows CENTCOM, many know PACOM or EUCOM ... but what about NORTHCOM?What is their role in national defense, and what special role does it have inside the United States - specifically in disaster response?Our guest for the full hour to discuss this and more will be Brigadier General Donald A. McGregor, in 2012 the Deputy Director of Operations for Domestic Operations, Headquarters, United States Northern Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.