In the second half of their two-part episode, host Tom Spahr and Sean Shields discuss the Hurricane Helene relief efforts in western North Carolina. Shields details his experience leading the 20th Engineer Brigade and the critical importance of collaborating with other organizations like FEMA, the National Guard, and local officials. He notes this was a real-world application of his Army War College studies on defense support to civil authorities. The mission also marked the first use of the ...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
In response to the Western Front-like stalemate seen in the Ukraine war, the U.S. Army is getting innovative. Sean Shields, commander of the 20th Engineer Brigade, joins host Tom Spahr to discuss his unit's "Sand Hills Project," an initiative born from observing the mobility challenges faced by Ukrainian forces. The project’s goal is to figure out how to breach modern, complex obstacle belts and restore maneuver to the battlefield, all while keeping soldiers out of harm's way. To achieve th...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
From late 2024 to early 2025, numerous unidentified drones were reported over U.S. cities and military bases. While some of these "mystery craft" were later attributed to FAA-authorized research and other purposes, their presence highlighted the potential threat and vulnerability of defense and infrastructure facilities. Paul Lushenko, chief strategist for the U.S. military's Joint Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO), joined host Tom Spahr to discuss these concerns. Lushenko ...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
The successful adoption of new technology in the military depends on the organization's culture, the technology's applicability and ease of incorporation into existing systems and processes, and, perhaps most importantly, the leadership guiding the transformation. Dan Gregorio and Andy Knight join host Tom Spahr to discuss the I Corps’s adoption of the Maven Smart System to enhance mission command. Gregorio and Knight discuss the practical technical and leadership actions necessary to intro...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
Hold on tight, this episode is a whirlwind of data-infused targeting, intel, and logistics. Joe O'Callaghan joins host Tom Spahr in the virtual studio to discuss the Department of Defense's Maven Smart System. Maven was first developed to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to help speed intelligence analysis, but has since been applied to targeting, logistics, and even disaster relief. Joe, as the former Chief of Fires in the XVIII Airborne Corps, was one of the key archite...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
Andrew Hill and Steve Gerras return to the studio with host Tom Spahr to further explore the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in national defense. This episode delves into the critical question of human oversight in lethal force decisions with AI assistance. Join the debate as they dissect the potential consequences of over-reliance on human intuition and the bottlenecks human intervention can create in the process. They emphasize the need for transparency and open dialogue about AI's rol...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
In September 2024, Andrew Hill and Steve Gerras authored a compelling three-part series that explored the evolving role of artificial intelligence (AI) in national defense. They provocatively argued that the conventional wisdom is wrong: human intuition is not indispensable, even though we might all wish it were. Recognizing the significance of this debate, War Room invited the authors to join host Tom Spahr for a deeper dive into their perspective. This episode, the first of a two-part discu...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
Talent management is simple. All that is necessary is to match the many people in any particular rank and specialty who are moving at a given time to the right job that matches talent, enables professional growth, meets personal and family needs, and maximizes unit effectiveness and efficiency. Maybe it is not so simple after all. Sarah Kaiser and Jacy Park join host Lou Yuengert to discuss the results of their research on talent management in the Army and larger Department of Defense (DoD). ...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
Normally he's the host of our On Writing series, but Michael Neiberg has a new interest he'd like to discuss: artificial intelligence (AI). He's gathering industry and academic experts to gain a better understanding of the technological wonders that are commonly lumped together under the AI moniker. Michael's first guest is Zena Wood, an Associate Professor in Digital Economy and Director of the Defence Data Research Centre at the University of Exeter Business School. Their discussion focuses...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
There are plenty of studies of armies at war or in pre-war periods as preparations were made for conflict, but the study of post-war armies, specifically the U.S. Army, is far less complete. Fortunately, we happen to know Brian Linn, a renowned scholar of the U.S. Army as an institution and the author of Real Soldiering: The US Army in the Aftermath of War, 1815–1980, and he's in the studio to discuss his body of research. He joins Editor-in-Chief J.P. Clark for a comprehensive conversation...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
The United States Air Force Security Service (USAFSS) was created in October 1948, just 13 months after the recognition of the Air Force as a separate branch with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. Cloaked in secrecy, it arose out of a need for air-minded intelligence that just wasn’t being provided by the Army or the Navy. Our good friend and fellow podcaster Philip Shackelford is in the studio to discuss his new book Rise of the Mavericks: The U.S. Air Force Security Serv...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
What happens when you get three experienced soldiers together to discuss something they've worked on for much of their careers? Well, the first thing that happens is that they "go secure" and start speaking in acronyms. More importantly, you get an enthusiastic conversation about transforming the Army to support soldiers now and well into the future. LTG Ross Coffman is in the virtual studio with hosts Lou Yuengert and Bob Bradford, and as the Deputy Commanding General of Futures Command, he'...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
When faced with a challenge, a soldier will always come up with some sort of solution to make the system, process or piece of equipment work. It may not be an elegant solution or a good use of time, but they will find a way to make it work. Lori Mongold and Andrew St. Laurent are doing everything in their power to make sure soldiers don't have to find workarounds to disconnected systems, at least in the force management world. They are the chief and deputy chief of the office in the Army staf...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
In the closing scene of James Michener's novel The Bridges of Toko-Ri, an admiral thinks of the aircrew he just sent to the Korean conflict--some never to return--and asks, "Where did we get such men?" President Ronald Reagan asked the same question years later at the Medal of Honor presentation to Master Sergeant Roy P. Benavidez, speaking of both the awardee and his many comrades in Vietnam. It is often overlooked that many who served in both of those conflicts came from the activated reser...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
Michael Neiberg is back in the studio for the next installation of the On Writing series. This week's guest is Shashank Joshi, Defense Editor for The Economist. This episode is a slight variation from the normal On Writing discussion because Shashank is a journalist writing a much shorter form than our usual guests, and then there's the little issue of the deadlines associated with a fast-paced news cycle. Their conversation turns to the organization and formulation of an interesting and acce...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
Once upon a time, a wound as simple as a scratch could lead to death. Many of incredible advances in medicine and medical care since were driven by the exigencies of war. Tanisha Fazal has conducted a fascinating study that examines the relationship between military medicine and military effectiveness in interstate wars globally since 1900. She's in the studio with podcast editor Ron Granieri to discuss the outcomes of the study and the methodology her team used to arrive at their conclusions...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
Fiction can be liberating. It offers authors latitude to think, propose, and prognosticate about real-world topics in ways that non-fiction does not allow. The ability to ask "what if?" can be an incredible tool in the national security realm that can inform real-time, real-world efforts and offer "solutions" to wicked problems. Retired Australian Major General Mick Ryan has joined the ranks of fiction writers to help leaders think about what conflict with the People's Republic of China (PRC)...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast
Sixty-six years ago, the Soviet Union placed Sputnik in orbit around the Earth and it changed everything. Since then, more than 80 nations and 100 commercial entities have also found their way into space. Yet much of the public is not aware of the extent to which hardly any event, transaction, or communication occurs that doesn't rely on some aspect of technology developed for or residing in space. A Better Peace welcomes General James Dickinson, Commander, U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM), to t...| A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast