Nathan Finney

Location
Kansas City, Missouri Area
Industry
Military
Current
  1. Combined Arms Center, US Army,
  2. The Strategy Bridge,
  3. Council on Foreign Relations
Previous
  1. Defense Entrepreneurs Forum,
  2. Headquarters, Department of the Army,
  3. Infinity Journal
Education
  1. The University of Kansas
Recommendations5 people have recommended Nathan
Websites
  1. Personal Website
  2. Facebook
  3. Blog
500+ connections

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Summary

Career officer rowing for the U.S. Army...also write as I'm able.

Specialties: Policy Development, Strategic Planning, Speech Writing, Strategic Communication, Red Teaming

Experience

  • Strategic Planner, Commander's Initiatives Group

    Combined Arms Center, US Army
    – Present (8 months)

  • Founder and Managing Editor

    The Strategy Bridge
    – Present (2 years 7 months)

    Manages the editorial process and creation of all online content for the site, provides guidance and vision to editors and staff. Provides strategic vision for content, interviews, and series production to ensure the ever-changing demands of a broad readership are met. The Bridge is a collaborative effort founded by Nathan Finney which provides an online forum for the discussion of Policy, Strategy, National Security and Military Affairs. Mikhail Grinberg and Richard Ganske serve as Contributing Editors and Tyrell Mayfield serves as the Communications Director. The Bridge is widely read in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Eastern Russia averaging over 30K original page views per month and carries thousands of followers across Medium, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

  • Term Member

    Council on Foreign Relations
    – Present (10 months)

  • Managing Director, Military Fellowship

    Project on International Peace & Security, College of William & Mary
    – Present (1 year 8 months)

  • Non-Resident Fellow

    Modern War Institute, US Military Academy, West Point
    – Present (1 month)

    The purpose of the scholars and fellows program is to help build on this success and develop the institute’s research program, contribute to programming and events, and assist in the development of West Point curricula, advise cadets, and provide guest lectures. The positions are highly competitive and open to anyone whose research, writing, and professional interests are in line with MWI’s mission statement to provide intellectual tools on recent and on-going conflicts to educate present and future leaders on military problems and the necessary problem solving skills to win in a complex world.

  • Founding Member and Management Committee

    The Military Writers Guild
    – Present (1 year 4 months)

    The Military Writers Guild exists to gather writers committed to the development of the profession of arms through the exchange of ideas in the written medium. Through its members, The Guild will encourage an open dialogue from diverse perspectives, thereby supporting the study of military affairs, spread knowledge of the military profession, and increase the assistance available to those writing in the national security space. The Guild will help foster a strong peer ecosystem focused on writing about military affairs through our ability to, “Advocate, Collaborate, and Promote.”

  • Member of the Editorial Advisory Board

    Infinity Journal
    – Present (2 years 2 months)

  • Fellow

    British-American Project
    – Present (1 year 6 months)

  • Founding Board Member, Senior Advisor

    Defense Entrepreneurs Forum
    – (3 years 2 months)

    Support the management and strategic direction of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum (DEF). Recruit and support speakers and senior leaders for the premier conference on defense innovation and junior leader development.

  • Strategy Cell, 39th Army Chief of Staff Transition Team

    Headquarters, Department of the Army
    – (3 months)

  • Strategic Planner, War Plans Division

    Headquarters, Department of the Army
    – (1 year 11 months)

  • Member of the Special Advisory Group

    Infinity Journal
    – (2 years)

  • US Army Harvard Strategist Fellow

    Harvard Kennedy School of Government
    – (1 year)

    - Studying war, government, politics, international relations, diplomacy, digital power, nonprofit management, ethics, and game theory.
    - News Editor of the HKS newspaper, The Citizen (http://www.thehkscitizen.com/)
    - Member of the Belfer Center Cyber Security Seminar hosted by Joseph Nye
    - Member of the Political Islam Seminar hosted by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
    - Member of the "Mastering Team Work: Communication, Agility and Results" workshop taught by Brian Mandell
    - Panel Manager for the "Future of Afghanistan" Conference held by the 21st Century Diplomacy Project (http://afghanistanconference.com/)

  • Speechwriter

    Combined Arms Center, US Army
    – (1 year 4 months)

    Based on performance in Afghanistan, was selected by Lieutenant General Caslen to research, analyze, coordinate, and prepare speeches, congressional testimony, presentations, written publications, and personal correspondence. Also edit and assist other senior leaders within the command in the development of their speeches and written documents to ensure consistency of the command’s message.

  • Speechwriter

    NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan
    – (1 year 1 month)

    Was hand-selected to fill this nominative position by Lieutenant General Caldwell to research, analyze, coordinate and prepare speeches, congressional testimony, presentations, and written publications for his job at NATO Training Mission Afghanistan. Also edited and assisted senior leaders within the command with the same products, facilitated communication among the Combined and Joint Staff, and was responsible for part of the overall strategic communication and outreach effort of the command.

  • Joint and Multinational Doctrine Author

    Combined Arms Center, US Army
    – (1 year 4 months)

  • Armor Officer

    US Army
    – (6 years 6 months)

Volunteer Experience & Causes

  • Springfield, VA Chapter

    Wear Blue: Run to Remember
    – (1 year 1 month)Social Services

    http://www.wearblueruntoremember.org

  • Boston Chapter Leadership

    Team Red, White & Blue
    – (11 months)Social Services

    http://teamrwb.org

Opportunities Nathan is looking for:

  • Joining a nonprofit board
  • Skills-based volunteering (pro bono consulting)

Causes Nathan cares about:

  • Education
  • Social Services

Organizations Nathan supports:

  • Team Red, White & Blue
  • Wear Blue: Run to Remember

Projects

  • The Bridge

    Starting

    The Strategy Bridge is a collaborative effort founded by Nathan Finney which provides an online forum for the discussion of Policy, Strategy, National Security and Military Affairs. Mikhail Grinberg and Richard Ganske serve as Contributing Editors and Tyrell Mayfield serves as the Communications Director. The Strategy Bridge is widely read in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Russia averaging over 30K original page views per month and carries thousands of followers across Medium, Twitter, and Facebook.

    Team members:

  • Defense Entrepreneurs Forum

    –

    The Defense Entrepreneurs Forum promotes collaboration and innovation between emerging military leaders and civilian counterparts, providing a professional network and tools to shape units and organizations for the future.

    Team members:

  • Read 2 Lead

    –

    Read 2 Lead is a grassroots-developed leader development program that uses historical and classic texts to enhance the self-development of our military leaders. By building a community, we increase intellectual development.

    Team members:

Skills

Organizations

  • The Bridge

    Founder and Managing Editor
    Starting

    The Bridge is a collaborative effort founded by Nathan Finney which provides an online forum for the discussion of Policy, Strategy, National Security and Military Affairs. Mikhail Grinberg and Richard Ganske serve as Contributing Editors and Tyrell Mayfield serves as the Communications Director. The Bridge is widely read in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Russia averaging over 30K original page views per month and carries thousands of followers across Medium, Twitter, and Facebook.

  • Project on International Peace & Security

    Managing Director, Military Fellowship
    Starting

    http://www.wm.edu/offices/itpir/pips/index.php

  • The Military Writers Guild

    Founding Member and Management Committee
    Starting

    The Military Writers Guild exists to gather writers committed to the development of the profession of arms through the exchange of ideas in the written medium. Through its members, The Guild will encourage an open dialogue from diverse perspectives, thereby supporting the study of military affairs, spread knowledge of the military profession, and increase the assistance available to those writing in the national security space. The Guild will help foster a strong peer ecosystem focused on writing about military affairs through our ability to, “Advocate, Collaborate, and Promote.”

  • Council on Foreign Relations

    Term Member
    Starting

    The Stephen M. Kellen Term Member Program encourages promising young leaders in government, media, nongovernmental organizations, law, business, finance, and academia to engage in a sustained conversation on international affairs and U.S. foreign policy. The program allows these younger members to interact with seasoned foreign-policy experts and participate in a wide variety of events designed especially for them. Each year a new class of term members, between the ages of 30 and 36, is elected to a five-year membership term.

  • Modern War Institute, US Military Academy, West Point

    Non-Resident Fellow
    Starting

    The purpose of the scholars and fellows program is to help build on this success and develop the institute’s research program, contribute to programming and events, and assist in the development of West Point curricula, advise cadets, and provide guest lectures. The positions are highly competitive and open to anyone whose research, writing, and professional interests are in line with MWI’s mission statement to provide intellectual tools on recent and on-going conflicts to educate present and future leaders on military problems and the necessary problem solving skills to win in a complex world.

  • Defense Entrepreneurs Forum

    Founding Board Member, Senior Advisor
    –

    http://defenseentrepreneurs.org/

  • Infinity Journal

    Member of the Editorial Advisory Board
    Starting

    https://www.infinityjournal.com/editorial-advisory-panel/nathan_k_finney/

    Previously, Member of the Special Advisory Group (2012-2014)

  • British American Project

    Fellow
    Starting

    http://www.britishamericanproject.org/becomeafellow.asp

  • United States Military Strategists Association

    1st Vice President from 2010-2014
    Starting

  • United States Armor Association

    Member
    Starting

  • Society of the 1st Infantry Division

    Life Member
    Starting

  • Pi Alpha Alpha (The National Academic Honor Society for Public Administration)

    Member
    Starting

  • Atlantic Council's Young Atlanticist Program

    Member, Young Atlanticist Working Group
    –

  • Army Press

    Book Reviewer
    Starting

    Review books for Military Review, particularly on strategy and World War I.

  • ARMY Magazine

    Book Reviewer
    Starting

    Review books for ARMY Magazine, particularly on strategy and World War I.

  • Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR)

    Member
    Starting

  • Society for Military History

    Member
    Starting

Publications

  • The Human Terrain Team Handbook

    Government Printing Office

    Human Terrain Teams (HTTs) are five- to nine-person teams deployed by the Human Terrain System (HTS) to support field commanders by filling their cultural knowledge gap in the current operating environment and providing cultural interpretations of events occurring within their area of operations. The team is composed of individuals with social science and operational backgrounds that are deployed with tactical and operational military units to assist in bringing knowledge about the local population into a coherent analytic framework and build relationships with the local power-brokers in order to provide advice and opportunities to Commanders and staffs in the field.

    Authors:

  • Unity of Effort: A Culture of Cooperation and the Cooperation of Cultural Systems

    Armor and Cavalry Journal
    Authors:

  • Commander’s Handbook: Employing a Human Terrain Team

    Center for Army Lessons Learned

    As the Army continues irregular warfare and counterinsurgency operations such as Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, the value of understanding the many aspects of what motivates and forms the value system of the local population has never been greater. Current operational environments are made up of diverse groups of people with differing languages, thoughts, and beliefs. Trying to understand these cultures in order to better support the development of cohesive and stable communities and governments was beyond the capabilities initially designed for Soldiers and units. To fill that knowledge void, the Army developed the Human Terrain System and human terrain teams (HTTs).

    Authors:

  • Human Terrain Support to Current Operations

    Infantry Magazine

    Human Terrain Teams have supported brigades in numerous ways, including identifying local populations’ needs and perceptions from the “grass-roots” perspective; engaging influential political, military, business, tribal, religious and other cultural leaders to cultivate credible local, provincial and national governing institutions; and identifying the formal and informal centers of gravity and external influences on the local populations through social network analysis.

    Authors:

  • Developing Foreign Security Forces In the Era of Persistent Conflict

    Army Magazine

    The nature of U.S. military support to these partners varies widely, but a vital aspect of this support is ad- vising and assisting partner security forces, also known as se- curity force assistance (SFA). This support will be an enduring strategic requirement for the Army.

    Authors:

  • A Culture of Inclusion: Defense, Diplomacy, and Development as a Modern American Foreign Policy

    Small Wars Journal

    Observers and commentators on modern American foreign policy have consistently identified that collaboration between the elements of national power appear to be punctuated by years of uncoordinated programs and internecine fighting. In the past the U.S. approach (to foreign policy) was a rather messy amalgam of the dominant preoccupations of the Department of Defense, State Department, and USAID, oftentimes in that order. Broadly speaking, the Pentagon views fragile and post-conflict states primarily through the national security prism, as part of a larger counterterrorist and counterinsurgency agenda, with a particular focus on the Muslim world; the State Department is preoccupied with transforming a wider range of weak and war-torn states into effective democracies; and USAID regards state weakness as a developmental challenge to be addressed by working with local actors to create the institutional foundations of good governance and economic growth.

    Authors:

  • Building Police Capacity in Afghanistan: The Challenges of a Multilateral Approach

    PRISM

    An effective police force is critical to achieving Afghan aspirations for stability and U.S. strategic objectives in Afghanistan. As the most visible representation of the government in towns and villages across the country, police capacity must be the highest priority of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) and international community. When a sufficient and sustainable Afghan National Police (ANP) is built and employed, it will help assure the people that the GIRoA is committed to their security and prosperity, serving as a shield to protect them from malign actors and insurgent forces. The acquisition of this legitimacy is the primary objective that will help defeat the insurgency and bring enduring peace and stability to Afghanistan.

    Authors:

  • Security, Capacity, and Literacy

    Military Review

    Stability in Afghanistan hinges on the capacity of the Afghan National Security Forces to provide security. In order to support the Afghans in building this capacity, a foundation of professional and capable leaders is required, which begins with the basics of education, namely literacy.

    Authors:

  • Developing a Sustainable Security Force

    Canadian Military Journal

    The development of the Afghan National Security Force is one of the key elements of the international strategy to secure and stabilize Afghanistan. The development of professional and self-sustaining soldiers and police is critical to set the
    conditions for irreversible transition to full Afghan security responsibility and leadership by the end of 2014. Few nations have contributed, or have pledged to do in the future, as much as the government of Canada.

    Authors:

  • Helping Afghans Help Themselves

    Proceedings

    As the alliance’s security challenges changed, NATO changed and adapted as well. The organization continues to ensure the collective security of 28 nations in Europe through the deployment of servicemen and women around the globe, conducting eight major operations. Today, NATO leads a 48-nation coalition—the largest in modern history—working to stabilize Afghanistan and thereby the security of nations worldwide.

    Authors:

  • Building the Security Force That Won’t Leave

    Joint Forces Quarterly

    The mission of building partner capacity is not only a strategic necessity for the Inter- national Security Assistance Force (ISAF), but also a national security imperative that has been dictated by all levels of the U.S. Government.

    Authors:

  • Austere Challenge 2009: Exercising Unity of Effort

    Armor and Cavalry Journal

    As the U.S. Army increasingly conducts complex operations in this era of persistent conflict, all Army leaders, including Armor officers, must recognize the importance of maintaining flexibility and working with joint and interagency partners. We offer the exercise Austere Challenge 2009 as an example of operational adaptability – the exercise demonstrated that when a comprehensive, integrated approach to civilian and military planning in stability and security force assistance operations is used, potential synergies are gained.

    Authors:

  • The Army Ethic, Public Trust, and the Profession of Arms

    Military Review

    In adapting to the demands of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to the new strategic realities of the 21st century, our army has been so busy that we have not consistently thought through how those challenges, and our solutions to them, have affected the institution as a profession.2 to address this issue, our army’s senior leadership began a campaign of learning in order to understand what impact the last 10 years of war have had on the profession of arms. this campaign will identify where we need to bolster professional successes and where we need to address deficiencies evident from the last decade of war.

    Authors:

  • Doctrine at the Speed of War: A 21st Century Paradigm for Army Knowledge

    Army Magazine

    Doctrine 2015 transcends the traditional Army paradigm, whereby we developed and published approximately 550 doctrinal manuals on a multi-year cycle, revitalizing our doctrinal base with a series of tabletop publications, digital applications and online resources designed to revolutionize how we address the learning needs of a dynamic force. This “doctrine at the speed of war” provides intellectual currency at the point of need: the soldier on the ground.

    Authors:

  • Why Operational Access Is No Revolution

    Rethinking Security

    The newest shiny object in the military – the concept that will bring about a “revolution in military affairs” following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan – is operational access. This concept has its roots in two reports from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, which asked “Why AirSea Battle?” and set “A Point-of-Departure Operational Concept” around AirSea Battle.

    Authors:

  • Using Technology to Train America’s Decisive Force

    Army Magazine

    As the Army reshapes its force structure and begins consolidating its operational experience after a decade of war, the Army Chief of Staff is focusing on maintaining and then enhancing the quality and readiness of Army forces. An effective way to do this is through integration of our training domains (operational, institutional and self-development) to include lessons learned and by encouraging career and lifelong learning.

    Authors:

  • Advisors: Creating a Strategic Effect or Political Window Dressing?

    The Kabul Cable

    Advisors have taken many forms, from internally-resourced groups to Joint-resourced groups formed and trained before deployment, and even civilian Ministry of Defense Advisors (MoDA) with personnel volunteering from within almost any US federal agency to fill a specific skill set. There has been little coherence or strategic direction given to each program, aside from the general concept of “developing indigenous capacity to stand up, so we can stand down”. This is the result of scaling up a niche capability beyond where it has strategic utility. Ultimately, I believe large, ad hoc, conventional force-focused capacity building programs focused on developing security forces doesn’t work, mainly due to a lack of a viable policy for them to achieve.

    Authors:

  • Air-Sea Battle as a Military Contribution to Strategy Development

    Infinity Journal

    A large degree of the discussion on the United States’ focus on the Asia-Pacific has conflated Air-Sea Battle with strategy. In this article Nathan Finney argues that Air-Sea battle and its associated concepts are in reality merely the military’s contribution to strategy development; a starting point in the negotiation.

    Authors:

  • Preventing Mass Atrocities in Sub-Saharan Africa through Strategic Engagement

    Military Review

    We must develop creative solutions to prevent atrocities. This is the only way to responsibly protect populations. A cost-effective solution for a complex geographic area that can prevent mass atrocities and help lead to democratic development for long-term security could be an East African Staff College that would help the African Union prevent mass atrocities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Authors:

  • Values and National Security: The Value of an Education in Power

    Diplomatic Courier

    As a nation, we no longer value the education and thinking required as a great power in the world. We focus our children on technology, innovation, and the next “big thing” while overlooking the basics like history and government that allow them to integrate that innovation into their own society and the improvement of the international system as a whole. What we are missing in our society is a focused education and understanding of power.

    Authors:

  • Constructive Disruption: The Defense Entrepreneurs Forum

    Small Wars Journal

    Those of us writing today believe the next step in the evolution of Disruptive Thinking is not just through increased online interaction or relying upon status quo bureaucratic processes. Rather, it will be accomplished by bringing the most agile and innovative minds from across the military together in one place for a lively exchange of ideas and solutions. This is the heart of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum.

    Authors:

  • Run with Endurance

    The Citizen

    A reflection on the Boston Marathon bombing and friendship.

    Authors:

  • Fostering Military Entrepreneurs

    Armed Forces Journal

    Our generation has returned from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, where we met war’s chaos with the creativity it demanded, to a garrison life where innovation remains both badly needed and too often stifled. We want to put our natural entrepreneurship and our shared experience to further use in the military we serve, to advance useful new policy and technology solutions within an institution that often has difficulty absorbing unorthodox ideas.

    Authors:

  • Using the Threat of Violence to Contain Syria: An External Approach

    Infinity Journal

    The U.S. has relied heavily upon the use of force over the last decade to achieve its goals, overlooking the equally effective role of the threat of violence. This is particularly the case in foreign policy issues that are of only of marginal national interests, such as the ongoing conflict in Syria. In this article, the author postulates that the U.S. should pursue a policy of containment, supported by a strategy of coercion by denial that leverages the threat of violence. This would deter adversaries and assure allies in the region, while ultimately creating a stalemate between the belligerent parties, exhausting all involved.

    Authors:

  • Why the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum Matters: Peripheral Networks & Innovation

    War on the Rocks

    If you follow the military blogosphere, you’ve probably heard something about the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum (DEF2013), which convened its first conference in Chicago over Columbus Day weekend. Every attendee will tell you DEF2013 was a smashing success, but does it have any broader significance for the Department of Defense? Does it create any value?

    We at the DEF board believe that it does. Armed forces have long depended on informal networks to generate fresh thinking. DEF is only the latest of such networks, and could potentially become one of the most powerful.

    Authors:

  • On 'US Options in Syria'

    Parameters

    In a time when interservice rivalries seem to be only growing (see the Autumn issue’s Commentaries and Replies between Major General Charles Dunlap and Dr. Conrad Crane, for instance), I was pleased to read the thoughtful and balanced article by the Air War College’s Professor David Sorenson, “US Options in Syria.” His realistic and knowledgeable approach to the region and its largest internal conflict was refreshing.

    Authors:

  • Out of Balance: Rebalancing Access and Overcoming Denial

    The Journal of Military Operations

    Against a backdrop of shrinking defense budgets and a diminishing military commitment in Afghanistan, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has developed several concepts to address future defense challenges. Among those challenges, the proliferation of anti-access, area denial (A2/AD) capabilities has drawn the most attention. Enabled by cheap, easily acquired, yet advanced weapons, potential adversaries are building the capability to contest access to the global commons to a degree not seen since the demise of the Soviet Union and the decline of its navy. To combat this rising A2/AD threat, the U.S. Air-Sea Battle Office has proposed the Air-Sea Battle concept (ASB). This concept is, naturally, primarily focused on the technology and processes that maintain freedom of movement in the air and at sea. Whilst the ability to defeat A2/AD is vital, we argue that DOD should write about and communicate ASB as only one piece of a larger set of concepts. The DOD should also avoid allowing the ASB to drift to become more than a concept for A2/AD. Recent discussion of ASB has included the use of precision strikes to change an opponent’s strategic calculus, such as the debate between Harry Kazianis and William Yale in The Diplomat.[i] This carries the danger of being conflated with ASB: while related, strategic precision strikes are a separate concept and a separate discussion. The U.S. also needs to demonstrate effort in developing other concepts, such as land operations, to reassure American allies and potential coalition partners that the U.S. military has the capability to do more than remain behind a blockade, which would leave these partners potentially exposed.

    Authors:

  • Relativity and Negotiation: Core Elements of a General Theory of Strategy

    Infinity Journal, The Strategy Bridge Special Edition

    Few modern intellectuals have had as large an impact on military strategists as Colin Gray. From articles that reluctantly (and somewhat tongue-in-cheek, I believe) describe strategists as heroes for struggling to overcome the innumerable issues with creating purposeful strategy, to treatises on the strategic effectiveness of air and cyber power, Gray has covered practically every aspect of strategy and its place in the modern world. The most far-reaching of his works, in both ambition and scope, is his 2010 magnum opus, The Strategy Bridge: Theory for Practice. I only half-jokingly refer to this book as the “strategist’s bible”, as much for its ambiguity that can provide for diverse interpretations as its sound analysis and the provided dicta inherent to strategy. Akin to Carl von Clausewitz’s On War, another work that can be considered the “strategist’s bible”, The Strategy Bridge provides some key concepts that strategists must understand. Foremost among them are the relativity of strategy and the primacy of negotiation in strategy development.

    Authors:

  • Land Power: More than Simply the Element of Decision

    Personal Theories of Power: The Bridge-CIMSEC Compendium

    When a political decision requires a definitive, more enduring answer, land power will likely be the main element of national power employed — there’s a reason the key theorist of war and land power focused on destroying an adversary’s armed forces, occupying his country, and breaking that nation’s will as his three main objectives in war. Such use of large amounts of men and women in campaigns of physical control are not the only use for land power, however. While it is the only element of national power that can compel through physical dominance (or as some have described in recent posts by quoting Wylie, through a sequential strategy), land power can also accomplish tasks through three other approaches to the use of force — assurance, deterrence and coercion — to create strategic effect.

    Authors:

  • Personal Theories of Power: The Bridge-CIMSEC Compendium

    The Bridge

    When professionals hear the word theory, their eyes tend to glaze over. Most believe theory is purely academic. While understandable, this is only one view of theory. For those of us that will be sharing our personal theories of military power, theory frames our worldview. It changes how we approach problems. Theory shapes how we project power. In this series, this will become blatantly apparent as you read how a broad range of national security professionals share their personal theories here on The Bridge. We are presenting our personal theories as a starting point for a wider and deeper national security and strategy discussion.

    Authors:

  • The Defense Entrepreneurs Forum: Developing a Culture of Innovation

    Military Review

    Patton and Eisenhower were, to use a modern phrase, disruptive innovators. They were applying innovative solutions and creative approaches to a novel problem faced by their military service (how to use tanks effectively). Their ideas, however, challenged and even threatened the established organizations and traditions of their respective branches. The history of military innovation reveals that this is not a new phenomenon. In fact, most revolutionary ideas emerge from junior-level practitioners—who are unlikely to be able to refine or implement their innovations within the straightjacket of the military bureaucracy.

    Authors:

  • How to Discover Defense Innovation

    War on the Rocks

    Discovery activities can include associating, questioning, observing, experimenting, and networking. In a study of private sector Chief Executive Officers, Christensen and his partners found that business leaders with a reputation for innovation spent 50% more time on discovery activities than their less-innovative counterparts. Discovery activities bear valuable fruit in ways that cannot be anticipated, forging mental connections and suggesting ideas that would never occur without exploring beyond one’s usual domain. This finding turns conventional wisdom on its head, particularly for those in the military.

    Authors:

  • The Long Gray Online

    Cicero Magazine

    A core group of mid-grade officers are changing the way professional discussions, doctrinal analysis, and institutional innovations take place in the Army. Like the famous interwar dialogue between Patton and Eisenhower that later found battlefield application during WWII, this group is attempting to foster a smarter, more relevant Army. Unlike those dialogues, they are using the internet and military blogging to drive change and new ideas, aligning with the culture of innovation that defense leaders hope will ensure advantage over potential future adversaries. Initially born of tactical-level information sharing on junior-officer message boards during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this movement is comprised of officers now working at the field-grade officer level—Major through Colonel—having traded tactical discussions for institutional ones.

    Authors:

  • How Grassroots Initiatives are Spanning The Civilian-Military Gap

    Task & Purpose

    There is an increasing number of grassroots initiatives taking place across digital and physical spaces that are re-engaging the civilian-military relationship in America.

    There’s been a lot of press on the breaking down of the civilian-military relationship in America. I speak here not of the inherent friction between those providing civilian oversight and control of the military and the leaders in the Pentagon and the regional combatant commands around the world. Instead, I want to address a more positive aspect of the interaction of civilians and the military — that between our service members and their civilian peers. This interaction comes in multiple forums, from writing to organizing, to daily interactions, and will be the most successful path to re-engaging the civilian-military relationship in America.

    Authors:

  • Preparing Soldiers for Uncertainty

    Military Review

    There is no doubt that new technologies, emerging tactical techniques and capabilities, geopolitical and strategic trends, and the character of contemporary conflict affect our understanding of our
    profession considerably. Yet, war’s enduring nature and the commonly accepted principles of war come from venerable, even ancient, sources, particularly the classic texts of Thucydides and Carl von Clausewitz. Both of these time-honored luminaries of military theory can shed light on an element of warfare that the Army must confront as it prepares for current and future challenges: uncertainty.

    Authors:

  • After Regime Change: "Dunsinane" as a Window into War and Warfare

    Asides

    This post is the first in a series hosted by The Strategy Bridge and the Center for International Maritime Security, entitled #Shakespeare and Strategy. Thanks to the Young Professionals Consortium of the Shakespeare Theatre Company for setting up the series. All posts contain the authors’ opinions alone and do not represent any of the military services or the Department of Defense.

    Authors:

  • 2026: Operation Iranian Freedom

    The Bridge

    It is 2026 and the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran has failed.

    Authors:

  • Land Power: More than Simply the Element of Decision

    Infinity Journal, Volume 5, Issue 1, Fall 2015

    In a discussion over the modes of power that are employed to achieve political purpose, the above quote would likely halt all communication before it even started. Some would even immediately engage their cognitive biases and fill their slings with the tried-and-true military service-focused and parochial rhetorical ammunition. Contemporary narratives from the various services can certainly be seen to support such an assertion. However, while the above quote captures repeated insistence on the importance of land power, Professor Gray also indicates that while land power is vital, it is not sufficient, for “In practice, thus far, no single geographical domain suffices as provider of all strategic effect that belligerent states need.”

    Authors:

  • Consequences of Fear: Callousness

    Consequence Magazine

    The part of a "flash" essay series on the consequences of fear, this article dives into the consequences of overreaction due to fear.

    Authors:

Education

  • The University of Kansas

    Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), History
    –

  • Harvard University Kennedy School of Government

    Masters, Public Administration
    –

    Activities and Societies: News Editor of The Citizen, Member of the Belfer Center Cyber Security Seminar

  • University of Kansas

    Masters, Public Administration
    –

    Activities and Societies: KUCIMAT, ASPA

  • US Army War College

    , Basic Strategic Art Program
    –

    The Basic Strategic Art Program is an intensive program designed to educate Army majors who are newly designated Functional Area 59 (Strategists) in the fundamentals of national strategy. It also introduces the officers to the unique skills, knowledge, and attributes needed as a foundation for their progressive development as Army strategists.

  • US Army Command and General Staff School

    , Intermediate Level Education
    –

    A US Army program that prepares midgrade officers to serve in command and staff positions as majors and lieutenant colonels and consists of a common-core curriculum and a follow-on professional credentialing program.

  • University of Arizona

    BA, Anthropology
    –

    Activities and Societies: President - Archaeology Club

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