Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Chasing Ghosts: An Irregular Warfare Podcast
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ep 088 "Hybrid Warfare in the New Age: The Future Forward (Part Three)" | 21 Sep 2026 | 00:44:12 | |
Hybrid warfare is a can of worms, a fascinating conjoining of kinetic and non-kinetic means of achieving victory or stale between warring nations. We continue our conversation. References: The Arcata Summit 13-14 November 2026 War Without a Center: Iran’s Mosaic Defense Richard J. Samuels Special Duty: A History of the Japanese Intelligence Community Interrogation of IJF CDR Miyazaki Report to Congress on Russian Hybrid Warfare in Europe 11 August 2026 Hybrid Warfare: How to Escape the Conceptual Gray-Zone The Evolution of Hybrid Warfare: Implications for Strategy and the Military Profession Richard Feynman Cargo Cult speech at CalTech 1974 RAND wish-casting on drones in 2015. Slaughterbots: if human: kill() (2021) How are Drones Changing Modern Warfare? H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China’s Master Plan to Destroy America Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 087 "Hybrid Warfare in the New Age: Japan Expands the Conflict Aperture (Part Two)" | 08 Sep 2026 | 00:54:13 | |
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 groundwork for this phenomenon in the modern west. References: Richard J. Samuels Special Duty: A History of the Japanese Intelligence Community Report to Congress on Russian Hybrid Warfare in Europe 11 August 2026 Hybrid Warfare: How to Escape the Conceptual Gray-Zone The Evolution of Hybrid Warfare: Implications for Strategy and the Military Profession Richard Feynman Cargo Cult speech at CalTech 1974 RAND wish-casting on drones in 2015. Slaughterbots: if human: kill() (2021) How are Drones Changing Modern Warfare? Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 086 "Hybrid Warfare in the New Age: Stretching the Envelope (Part One)" | 24 Aug 2026 | 00:49:42 | |
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 August 2026 Hybrid Warfare: How to Escape the Conceptual Gray-Zone The Evolution of Hybrid Warfare: Implications for Strategy and the Military Profession Richard Feynman Cargo Cult speech at CalTech 1974 RAND wish-casting on drones in 2015. Slaughterbots: if human: kill() (2021) How are Drones Changing Modern Warfare? Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 085 "Home is the High Ground: Reimagining a New Hermit Kingdom" | 06 Jul 2026 | 00:52:12 | |
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. America boasts a magnificent 20th century war machine is not fit for purpose for 21st century peer warfare. The crossroads is chock-full of landmines. References: Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America Martin van Creveld The Transformation of War: The Most Radical Reinterpretation of Armed Conflict Since Clausewitz Fighting Power: German and U.S. Army Performance, 1939-1945 Colin Gray Strategy and History: Essays on Theory and Practice Fighting Talk: Forty Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy William Lind Maneuver Warfare Handbook John Boyd Patterns of Conflict Michael Weiner Legacy of Ashes: History of the CIA John Prado The Ghosts of Langley: Into the CIA's Heart of DarknessSun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 084 "Blood in the Water: The US Navy is Sinking" | 07 Jun 2026 | 00:56:06 | |
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 tremendous disadvantage of putting so much manpower and treasure into these single use leviathan systems in the modern world of distributed missile and PGM systems, emerging near-peer & peer adversaries and concentration of power in vulnerable systems is a recipe for future disaster. The US Navy surface fleet is in tatters and shattered by readiness, maintenance and armament issues that are critical indicators of a navy totally unprepared. More on the carrier dilemma in Chasing Ghosts Episode #034, WarNotes #10 and Dispatch #006. Note: This post is published a little early due to my attendance at the Military Operations Research Society Annual Symposium in CO this week. References: The Documents Exist: Nobody Assigned Them As Mandatory Reading. Jeff Vandenengel National Policy and the Panoceanic Navy James D, Hornfischer Who Can Hold the Sea: The U.S. Navy in the Cold War 1945-1960 Gregory Vistica Fall from Glory: The Men Who Sank the U.S. Navy Michael Junge Crimes of Command: in the United States Navy, 1945-2015 Gerry Doyle Carrier Killer: China's Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles and Theater of Operations in the early 21st Century David Lee Russell Early U.S. Navy Carrier Raids, February-April 1942: Five Operations That Tested a New Dimension of American Air Power Jeff Vandenengel Questioning the Carrier: Opportunities in Fleet Design for the U.S. Navy Jeff Vandenengel interview on Midrats with CDR Salamander Ivan Gogin Fighting ships of the PEOPLE LIBERATION ARMY NAVY 1949 - 2023 Jerry Hendrix Retreat From Range: The Rise and Fall of Carrier Aviation Write me at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 083 "Memorial Day Remembrance 2026: Oceans of Blood, Wars of Choice"" | 25 May 2026 | 00:50:45 | |
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 PHILIPPINES James M. Scott Rampage: MacArthur, Yamashita, and the Battle of Manila Howard Jones My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness Karl Marlantes What It Is Like to Go to War Bill Russel Edmonds God is Not Here: A Soldier's Struggle with Torture, Trauma, and the Moral Injuries of War Clark Savage King of All Things: A Guide to Man's Martial Purpose Dick Couch A Tactical Ethic: Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battlespace Andrew Bacevich Paths of Dissent: Soldiers Speak Out Against America's Misguided Wars Shauna Springer WARRIOR: How to Support Those Who Protect Us Jonathan Shay Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character Jonathan Shay Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming Another podcast: Martyrmade: Anything That Moves - The My Lai Massacre (w/History on Fire) Email me at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 082 "The CG Mailbag: Question Time" | 11 May 2026 | 00:35:45 | |
It's been quite some time since I have responded to "mail" so I have curated five questions to address:.
References: Unauthorized History of the Pacific War Podcast RAND wish-casting on drones in 2015. Slaughterbots: if human: kill() (2021) How are Drones Changing Modern Warfare? Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 081 "Strategic Empathy: Grokking the Pendulum of Indecision" | 13 Apr 2026 | 01:02:05 | |
I examine the strategic deficit disorder that absolutely dominates the US and western military establishments I 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 record of defeat and stalemate will continue. I describe some of the reasons I do it and the techniques I employ to get the single most accurate picture of what happened then to determine what’s going on now. Note: The list of sources is limited here due to RSS but my Substack is more comprehensive. Recommended Listening: Recommended Reading: Christian Madsbjerg Sensemaking: The Power of the Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm Johnson and Abbe Developing Strategic Empathy and Perspective Taking in Military Zachary Shore A Sense of the Enemy: The High Stakes History of Reading Your Rival's Mind Dave Snowden Cynefin - Weaving Sense-Making into the Fabric of Our World Mortimer Adler How To Read a Book Robert Strassler The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika (Landmark Series) Mike Snook How Can Man Die Better: The Secrets of Isandlwana Revealed Mike Snook Like Wolves on the Fold: The Defence of Rorke’s Drift David Stahel Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East David Hackett Fischer Historians' Fallacies : Toward a Logic of Historical Thought Keith Windschuttle The Killing of History Harry Elmer Barnes A History of Historical Writing US Army Center of Military History Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 080 "The Cargo Cult of Martial Belief, Wishcasting and Bloodshed" | 30 Mar 2026 | 00:57:09 | |
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 forward. References: Richard Feynman Cargo Cult speech at CalTech 1974 RAND wish-casting on drones in 2015. Slaughterbots: if human: kill() (2021) How are Drones Changing Modern Warfare? Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 079 "Iran, Salvo Competition and the Inevitable Stalemate" | 16 Mar 2026 | 00:43:53 | |
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: Drones Why the US is facing strategic defeat Points of Resistance and Departure: An interview with James C. Scott Lester Grau and Charles J. Bartles Mountain Warfare and Other Lofty Problems: Foreign mountain combat veterans discuss movement and maneuver, training and resupply (Helion Studies in Military History) Lester Grau The Bear Went Over The Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics In Afghanistan [Illustrated Edition] Lester Grau The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War Mark Thompson The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915-1919 James C. Scott The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America My Substack: Email at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 078 "Iran and I Lost: The American Empire Tilts Again" | 02 Mar 2026 | 00:44:51 | |
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 held by riflemen who know what they are about cannot be militarily defeated.” For other insight on Iran, I recommend CG episodes 061 and 067. References: Points of Resistance and Departure: An interview with James C. Scott Lester Grau and Charles J. Bartles Mountain Warfare and Other Lofty Problems: Foreign mountain combat veterans discuss movement and maneuver, training and resupply (Helion Studies in Military History) Lester Grau The Bear Went Over The Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics In Afghanistan [Illustrated Edition] Lester Grau The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War Mark Thompson The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915-1919 James C. Scott The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America My Substack: Email at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 077 "The CG Mailbag: Question Time and the Backbenchers Lament 26.1" | 06 Jan 2026 | 00:50:37 | |
It's been quite some time since I have responded to "mail" so I have curated five questions to address:.
References: Soryu (16SS) class Attack Submarine - SSK Robert Gaudi African Kaiser: General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and the Great War in Africa, 1914-1918 David Smith The East Africa Campaign 1914–18: Von Lettow-Vorbeck’s Masterpiece (Campaign, 379) RAND wish-casting on drones in 2015. Slaughterbots: if human: kill() (2021) How are Drones Changing Modern Warfare? Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 076 "Modern Antifa: Communist Insurgency in the US Part Five (Conclusions)" | 08 Dec 2025 | 01:03:34 | |
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. I did a primer on cell organization in Ep 051 "Cellular Ecology: Guerrilla Organizations and Grunt Math". References: House Un-American Activities Committee records, 1945-1975 Why Schools Don't Educate by John Taylor Gatto F A Hayek The Intellectuals and Socialism Bryan Borrough Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence Andy Ngo Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy An Analysis of Al-Qaida Tradecraft Modeling Terrorist Networks - Complex Systems at the Mid-Range Stephen Biddle Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and Militias Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 075 "Modern Antifa: Communist Insurgency in the US Part Four" | 24 Nov 2025 | 00:57:24 | |
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 to hot war. Prepare accordingly. I did a primer on cell organization in Ep 051 "Cellular Ecology: Guerrilla Organizations and Grunt Math". References: House Un-American Activities Committee records, 1945-1975 Why Schools Don't Educate by John Taylor Gatto *** F A Hayek The Intellectuals and Socialism Bryan Borrough Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence Andy Ngo Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy An Analysis of Al-Qaida Tradecraft Modeling Terrorist Networks - Complex Systems at the Mid-Range Stephen Biddle Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and Militias Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 074 "Modern Antifa: Communist Insurgency in the US Part Three" | 10 Nov 2025 | 00:57:21 | |
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. Prepare accordingly. Part Two at Episode 73 I did a primer on cell organization in Ep 051 "Cellular Ecology: Guerrilla Organizations and Grunt Math". References: House Un-American Activities Committee records, 1945-1975 *** F A Hayek The Intellectuals and Socialism Bryan Borrough Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence Andy Ngo Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy An Analysis of Al-Qaida Tradecraft Modeling Terrorist Networks - Complex Systems at the Mid-Range Stephen Biddle Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and Militias Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 073 "Modern Antifa: Communist Insurgency in the US Part Two" | 27 Oct 2025 | 00:54:17 | |
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. I did a primer on cell organization in Ep 051 "Cellular Ecology: Guerrilla Organizations and Grunt Math". References: House Un-American Activities Committee records, 1945-1975 *** Bryan Borrough Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence Andy Ngo Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy An Analysis of Al-Qaida Tradecraft Modeling Terrorist Networks - Complex Systems at the Mid-Range HR Kedward In Search of the Maquis: Rural Resistance in Southern France, 1942-1944 George Millar Maquis: An Englishman in the French Resistance Ian Wellsted SAS with the Maquis: In Action with the French Resistance, June–September 1944 Stephen Biddle Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and Militias Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 072 "Modern Antifa: Communist Insurgency in the US Part One" | 13 Oct 2025 | 00:55:54 | |
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 on cell organization in Ep 051 "Cellular Ecology: Guerrilla Organizations and Grunt Math". References: House Un-American Activities Committee records, 1945-1975 *** Andy Ngo Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy An Analysis of Al-Qaida Tradecraft Modeling Terrorist Networks - Complex Systems at the Mid-Range HR Kedward In Search of the Maquis: Rural Resistance in Southern France, 1942-1944 George Millar Maquis: An Englishman in the French Resistance Ian Wellsted SAS with the Maquis: In Action with the French Resistance, June–September 1944 Stephen Biddle Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and Militias Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 071 "The Devil's Thermostat: Turning Up the Heat on American Civil War" | 22 Sep 2025 | 01:00:43 | |
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 cells launch a simultaneous attack on the US homeland which in my mind is the primary man-made vector for civil war in America. I cover it in Episodes 37, 41-43, 49-50 and 62 of my Chasing Ghosts podcast. References: Video: NCTC Islamist Attacks on US Forecast 2025 Andrew Gold CIVIL WAR is Coming - Professor David Betz Books: Stephen Biddle Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and Militias Barbara Walter How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them David Armitage Civil Wars: A History in Ideas William Forstchen Day of Wrath Kurt Schlichter The Attack Karl Dahl Enemies Foreign and Domestic Foreign Enemies And Traitors Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun Castigo Cay Eric Frank Russell The Wasp Michael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series) Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler’s Conquest of France Robert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Robert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In History Howard Jones My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 070 "Bolivar's Revenge: The Venezuelan Tar Pit and American Ambition" | 08 Sep 2025 | 01:02:11 | |
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 Cartel Conundrum: War Without End". Gird your loins for the first war in American history that will lead to significant foreign-born bad actors making war on American soil. *** References: US Treasury Sanctions Venezuelan Cartel Headed by Maduro Marie Arana Bolivar: American Liberator Carlos Lizarralde Venezuela's Collapse: The Long Story of How Things Fell Apart Justin Podur Extraordinary Threat: The U.S. Empire, the Media, and Twenty Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela Tom Wainwright Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel Benjamin T. Smith The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade Anabel Hernandez Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their Godfathers Ioan Grillo El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency David F. Marley Mexican Cartels: An Encyclopedia of Mexico's Crime and Drug Wars Carmen Boullosa A Narco History: How the United States and Mexico Jointly Created the “Mexican Drug War” Patrick Winn Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Survived the CIA Jesse Fink Pure Narco: One Man's True Story of 25 Years Inside the Cartels Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 069 "The CG Mailbag: Question Time and the Backbenchers Lament 25.1" | 04 Aug 2025 | 01:04:06 | |
It's been quite some time since I have responded to "mail" so I have curated five questions to address:.
I'll offer some more recommendations and a path forward. References: RAND wish-casting on drones in 2015. Slaughterbots: if human: kill() (2021) How are Drones Changing Modern Warfare? Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 068 "The Military Drone Revolution: Make All Flesh Forfeit" | 07 Jul 2025 | 00:59:44 | |
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 technology, it is the end of Western dominance in warfare. Despite what you may think, the US conventional forces are in terminal collapse and completely unprepared for 21st century peer conflict. I'll offer some more recommendations and a path forward. References: RAND wish-casting on drones in 2015. Slaughterbots: if human: kill() (2021) How are Drones Changing Modern Warfare? Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 067 "The Mountains of Madness: Military Defeat and Terrain Part II" | 23 Jun 2025 | 00:54:44 | |
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 Iran changed the temper and nature of the war inevitably. 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 held by riflemen who know what they are about cannot be militarily defeated.” References: Points of Resistance and Departure: An interview with James C. Scott Lester Grau and Charles J. Bartles Mountain Warfare and Other Lofty Problems: Foreign mountain combat veterans discuss movement and maneuver, training and resupply (Helion Studies in Military History) Lester Grau The Bear Went Over The Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics In Afghanistan [Illustrated Edition] Lester Grau The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War Mark Thompson The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915-1919 James C. Scott The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America My Substack: Email at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 066 "Civil War on the Horizon: The Empire Strikes Back" | 16 Jun 2025 | 01:06:16 | |
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 to float the balloons of probability and possibility of civil kinetic conflict in the West. My Storming America Series covers the gamut of what a spontaneous attack in the US will look like when terror cells launch a simultaneous attack on the US homeland which in my mind is the primary man-made vector for civil war in America. I cover it in Episodes 37, 41-43, 49-50 and 62 of my Chasing Ghosts podcast. References: Video: Andrew Gold CIVIL WAR is Coming - Professor David Betz Books: Barbara Walter How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them David Armitage Civil Wars: A History in Ideas William Forstchen Day of Wrath Kurt Schlichter The Attack Karl Dahl Enemies Foreign and Domestic Foreign Enemies And Traitors Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun Castigo Cay Eric Frank Russell The Wasp Michael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series) Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler’s Conquest of France Robert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Robert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In History Howard Jones My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 065 "Color Revolutions: Weaponizing Subterfuge" | 02 Jun 2025 | 00:51:42 | |
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 conflict is real. Color revolution have hijacked Western democracy and precipitated he slow decline of modern civilization. References Global Instances of Coups from 1950 to 2010: A New Dataset KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov's warning to America A Retrospective on RMA, 2000-2020. Edward Luttwak Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook, Revised Edition Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics Oleg Karpovich Color Revolutions: Techniques in Breaking Down Modern Political Regimes Ervand AbrahamianThe Coup: 1953, The CIA, and The Roots of Modern U.S.-Iranian Relations David Talbot The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government Georgii Samoilovich Isserson G.S. Isserson and the War of the Future: Key Writings of a Soviet Military Theorist Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 064 "War and Remembrance: Drawing the Wrong Lessons" | 26 May 2025 | 00:55:21 | |
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 very nature a path to corruption, excess and unintended consequences. 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 who have survived them say that they have acted like beasts....Above all, a sense of merely human virtue, a sense of being valued and of valuing anything seems to have fled their lives....However, all of our virtues come from not being gods. Generosity is meaningless to a god, who never suffers shortage or want. Courage is meaningless to a god, who is immortal and can never suffer permanent injury. The godlike berserk state can destroy the capacity for virtue. Whether the berserker is beneath humanity as an animal, above it as a god, or both, he is cut off from all human community when he is in this state.” ― Jonathan Shay, Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character Those millions of men who have been in combat over the millennia have always brought home invisible scar tissue and regret that manifests in many ways but most of us take it to our graves. References: The Roots Tribunal in Congress Nick Turse Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam Bill Russel Edmonds God is Not Here: A Soldier's Struggle with Torture, Trauma, and the Moral Injuries of War Clark Savage King of All Things: A Guide to Man's Martial Purpose Dick Couch A Tactical Ethic: Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battlespace Andrew Bacevich Paths of Dissent: Soldiers Speak Out Against America's Misguided Wars Shauna Springer WARRIOR: How to Support Those Who Protect Us Jonathan Shay Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character Jonathan Shay Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming Email at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 063 "Spanner in the Works: Sabotage and War" | 05 May 2025 | 01:02:27 | |
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 can take place left of bang or during war with the object the weakening of the military effort by an adversary. Military sabotage has been taking place since the early military adventures of men. The apocryphal story of the Trojan Horse is an ancient example and variations on the theme echo through historical warfare. References: Ian Jones Booby Traps!: The History of Deadly Devices, from World War I to Vietnam Gordon L. Rottman World War II Axis Booby Traps and Sabotage Tactics Gordon L. Rottman World War II Allied Sabotage Devices and Booby Traps Lester Grau and Michael Gress The Red Army's Do-it-Yourself, Nazi-Bashing Guerrilla Warfare Manual: The Partizan's Handbook, Updated and Revised Edition, 1942 Roman Mars The 99% Invisible City: A Field Guide to the Hidden World of Everyday Design Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration OSS Simple Sabotage Field Manual TM 31-201-1 Unconventional Warfare Devices and Techniques: Incendiaries Eric Frank Russell The Wasp Michael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series) Robert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Robert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In History Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 062 "Storming America: One Year Later" | 14 Apr 2025 | 00:56:36 | |
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 will look like when terror cells launch a simultaneous attack on the US homeland. I cover it in Episodes 37, 41-43 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 invasion of its borders and a large swath of military age males have been granted asylum or gone undetected to link up with legacy underground Islamist and terrorist groups across the country. References: William Forstchen Day of Wrath Kurt Schlichter The Attack Karl Dahl Enemies Foreign and Domestic Foreign Enemies And Traitors Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun Castigo Cay Eric Frank Russell The Wasp Michael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series) Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler’s Conquest of France Robert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Robert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In History Howard Jones My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 061 "The Mountains of Madness: Military Defeat and Terrain Part I" | 31 Mar 2025 | 00:53:28 | |
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. 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 held by riflemen who know what they are about cannot be militarily defeated.” References: Points of Resistance and Departure: An interview with James C. Scott Lester Grau and Charles J. Bartles Mountain Warfare and Other Lofty Problems: Foreign mountain combat veterans discuss movement and maneuver, training and resupply (Helion Studies in Military History) Lester Grau The Bear Went Over The Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics In Afghanistan [Illustrated Edition] Lester Grau The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War Mark Thompson The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915-1919 James C. Scott The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia Sun Tzu The Art of War Carl von Clausewitz On War Miyamoto Musashi A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy H. John Poole The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO’s Contribution to Warfare Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America My Substack: Email at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 060 "The Military Historian's Craft: Past Tense Imperfect" | 17 Mar 2025 | 00:51:52 | |
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 historians and won on stage (Daniel Walker Howe looked at my CV and did not prepare) but that doesn't make me better than them. I think my various detours in life mostly outside the formal academy gives me a unique insight into how history works and why I think I am more sober than university historians. I describe some of the reasons I do it and the techniques I employ to get the single most accurate picture of what happened then to determine what's going on now. I am the Smedley D. Butler Fellow for Military Affairs at the Libertarian Institute. Recommended Reading: Mortimer Adler How To Read a Book Robert Strassler The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika (Landmark Series) Mike Snook How Can Man Die Better: The Secrets of Isandlwana Revealed Mike Snook Like Wolves on the Fold: The Defence of Rorke’s Drift David Stahel Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East David Hackett Fischer Historians' Fallacies : Toward a Logic of Historical Thought Keith Windschuttle The Killing of History Harry Elmer Barnes A History of Historical Writing US Army Center of Military History Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 059 "The Mexican Cartel Conundrum: War Without End Part Two" | 03 Mar 2025 | 00:59:20 | |
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 in the new administration. I examine the implications and the second and third order effects of this endeavor which is, by extension, a declaration of war on the Mexican government. *** Anyone attending the Special Operations Forces Week festivities in Tampa on 5-8 May 2025? If so, we should arrange a rendezvous. *** References: Tom Wainwright Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel Benjamin T. Smith The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade Anabel Hernandez Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their Godfathers Ioan Grillo El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency David F. Marley Mexican Cartels: An Encyclopedia of Mexico's Crime and Drug Wars Carmen Boullosa A Narco History: How the United States and Mexico Jointly Created the “Mexican Drug War” Patrick Winn Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Survived the CIA Jesse Fink Pure Narco: One Man's True Story of 25 Years Inside the Cartels Mark Santiago A Bad Peace and a Good War: Spain and the Mescalero Apache Uprising of 1795–1799 Amy S. Greenberg A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 058 "The Mexican Cartel Conundrum: War Without End Part One" | 10 Feb 2025 | 00:55:10 | |
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 Canada), this will not end well. I examine the implications and the second and third order effects of this endeavor which is, by extension, a declaration of war on the Mexican government. References: Benjamin T. Smith The Dope: The Real History of the Mexican Drug Trade Anabel Hernandez Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and Their Godfathers Ioan Grillo El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency David F. Marley Mexican Cartels: An Encyclopedia of Mexico's Crime and Drug Wars Carmen Boullosa A Narco History: How the United States and Mexico Jointly Created the “Mexican Drug War” Patrick Winn Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Survived the CIA Jesse Fink Pure Narco: One Man's True Story of 25 Years Inside the Cartels Mark Santiago A Bad Peace and a Good War: Spain and the Mescalero Apache Uprising of 1795–1799 Amy S. Greenberg A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 057: "CG Announcement November 2024: WarNotes Podcast Rising" | 25 Nov 2024 | 00:06:14 | |
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 refocus and re-calibrate strategic and grand strategic opportunities in addressing the real-time shortfalls in facing Revolutions in Military Affairs (RMA) that are littering the battlefields of the 21st century. My first WarNotes series will be a comprehensive survey of how to fix the broken, shattered and most expensive paper tiger in the history of the world, the US military complex. The Fixing Fight Club series will be weekly until I finish the survey. The US is at a crossroads: continue to invest and spend on exquisite platforms that will simply be missile sponges in the emerging salvo competition landscape or retool a more thoughtful application of military power in concert with rationally extrapolating second and third order effects to stymie the pristine track record of military failure and stalemate since 1945. I suggest the American military complex has a mere generation to reset its arthritic, sclerotic and top heavy platforms and stratagems before irrelevance and abject systemic military failure becomes the sole avenue left. You can find the WarNotes podcast at my substack or look for it on your podcast vendor of choice. Email me at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 056 "Pearl Snap Tactical Interview with Mark Booher" | 11 Nov 2024 | 00:58:36 | |
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 the probability and timeline of attack. Pearl Snap Tactical interview can be found here: https://substack.com/home/post/p-150848439?source=queue I talk about William Forstchen's "Day of Wrath" and Kurt Schlichter's "The Attack". References: William Forstchen Day of Wrath Kurt Schlichter The Attack Enemies Foreign and Domestic. Foreign Enemies And Traitors. Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista. The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun. Castigo Cay. Eric Frank Russell The Wasp Michael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series) Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler’s Conquest of France Robert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Robert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In History Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 055 "The Shapiro-Ferguson Kerfuffle: History at War"" | 28 Oct 2024 | 00:38:26 | |
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 non-credentialed historical observers are weighing in on the consequences of war in history. I urge everyone to deprogram yourselves and listen to the rogue but right historians like Martyrmade and ProfCJ's Dangerous History podcasts to get the better and more accurate view of what actually happened in the past that shapes our present. Here's what you must realize about war: wars are won by the least incompetent forces and the world will not be shiny and new at the conclusion but it will different. I address some of these issues. I would urge you to listen to CG podcast Episode 052 on Churchill for a more in-depth indictment of His Nibs. My blogging at the Libertarian Institute. Write me at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 054 "CG Excursion: The American Military Empire is in Terminal Collapse" | 14 Oct 2024 | 01:03:19 | |
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 competition costs are driven down. Hypervelocity munitions are here to stay. The life of the light infantryman will change significantly since for the first time in human history, the cost of hunting individual soldiers and small groups of soldiers in an effective fashion has reached a cost in concert with technology [I will treat this with more detail in a future episode on the end of the legacy infantryman]. In my next podcast, we will discuss how to recover from the current collapse. "Quantity has a quality all of its own." - Thomas A. Callaghan Jr. References: A Retrospective on RMA, 2000-2020. The Russian Reconnaissance Fire Complex Comes of Age Army Futures Command Concept for Fires 2028 Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Daniel Bolger Why We Lost: A General's Inside Account of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars Craig Whitlock The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War Email at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 053 "CG Excursion: The Revolution Will Be Televised: Near Peer and Peer Conflict in the 21st Century" | 30 Sep 2024 | 01:01:34 | |
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. Autonomous targeting will become more and more relevant as the speed of munitions increases and the salvo competition costs are driven down. Hypervelocity munitions are here to stay. The life of the light infantryman will change significantly since for the first time in human history, the cost of hunting individual soldiers and small groups of soldiers in an effective fashion has reached a cost in concert with technology [I will treat this with more detail in a future episode on the end of the legacy infantryman]. The Russian Strike Reconnaissance Complex has come of age and the Russians have one of the most effective fires synchronization modalities on Earth. The system is now battle proven in the first near-peer and peer conflict of the 21st century. Fires synchronization is the effective coordination of sensors and effectors in near-real time or real time in a hostile non-permissive combat environment to bring the metal on target. "Quantity has a quality all of its own." - Thomas A. Callaghan Jr. References: A Retrospective on RMA, 2000-2020. The Russian Reconnaissance Fire Complex Comes of Age Army Futures Command Concept for Fires 2028 Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Lester Grau & Charles K. Bartles The Russian Way of War: Force Structure, Tactics, and Modernization of the Russian Ground Forces David Glantz Soviet Operational and Tactical Combat in Manchuria, 1945 (Soviet (Russian) Study of War) David Glantz Soviet Military Operational Art: In Pursuit of Deep Battle (Soviet (Russian) Military Theory and Practice) Georgii Samoilovich Isserson G.S. Isserson and the War of the Future: Key Writings of a Soviet Military Theorist Email at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 052 "CG Excursion: Churchill: Imperial Bombast and the Death of the West" | 16 Sep 2024 | 01:01:28 | |
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 many villains during WWII. I am a reluctant Anglophile and I think historical revisionism is a healthy reaction to triumphalist historiography in the West that has made questioning accepted narratives a scholar crime. Listen to the interview yourself before arriving at any conclusions. References: William Manchester The Last Lion Box Set: Winston Spencer Churchill, 1874 - 1965 Andrew Roberts Churchill: Walking with Destiny David Reynolds In Command of History: Churchill Fighting and Writing the Second World War John Charmley Churchill: The End of Glory : A Political Biography John Charmley Churchill's Grand Alliance: The Anglo-American Special Relationship 1940-57 Gordan Corrigan BLOOD, SWEAT AND ARROGANCE: The Myth's of Churchill's War Madhusree Mukerjee Churchill's Secret War: The British Empire and the Ravaging of India during World War II Thomas Ricks Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom Patrick J. Buchanan Churchill, Hitler, and "The Unnecessary War": How Britain Lost Its Empire and the West Lost the World Nicolai Tolstoy Victims of Yalta: The Secret Betrayal of the Allies: 1944-1947 Robert A. Pape Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in War Ralph Raico on Rethinking Churchill The Libertarian Institute Blog Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 051 "Cellular Ecology: Guerrilla Organizations and Grunt Math" | 02 Sep 2024 | 01:05:38 | |
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 clownish FBI like the Whitmer disaster). References: An Analysis of Al-Qaida Tradecraft Modeling Terrorist Networks - Complex Systems at the Mid-Range HR Kedward In Search of the Maquis: Rural Resistance in Southern France, 1942-1944 George Millar Maquis: An Englishman in the French Resistance Ian Wellsted SAS with the Maquis: In Action with the French Resistance, June–September 1944 Stephen Biddle Nonstate Warfare: The Military Methods of Guerillas, Warlords, and Militias Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 050 "Storming America: TTP to Make you Free (Part II)" | 26 Aug 2024 | 00:55:24 | |
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 free range human can employ to prepare and protect themselves for the coming unpleasantness. I further discuss weapons, kit, preps and training to prepare for what I consider the inevitable conflict emerging in the West. One morning we will all wake up to simultaneous attacks by bad actors across the country on soft targets, if you agree with that morbid notion, you have an obligation to act since you are warned. References: Richard Feynman's Cargo Cult Commencement Address at CalTech 1974 Water Filter: Katadyn Pocket Water Filter for Backpacking, Group Camping & Emergency Preparedness Gunshot Trauma Kit/IFAK: EVERLIT Advanced Emergency Trauma Kit, CAT GEN-7 Tourniquet Tactical IFAK My Vehicle Kit: North American Rescue Squad Medics Kit (CCRK) w/ Free Retractable Shears Leash (Multicam) Rations: Humanitarian Daily Ration MRE Case 10 pack, Inspection Date 1/2024 or Better. https://premierbodyarmor.com/blogs/pba/understanding-body-armor-ratings https://backofbeyondsite.wordpress.com/2024/08/02/ammo-inventory/ INTERVIEW WITH C. REED KNIGHT, JR.: PART 2 Gordon L. Rottman World War II Allied Sabotage Devices and Booby Traps World War II Axis Booby Traps and Sabotage Tactics William Forstchen Day of Wrath Kurt Schlichter The Attack Karl Dahl Enemies Foreign and Domestic. Foreign Enemies And Traitors. Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista. Eric Frank Russell The Wasp Michael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series) Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 049 "Storming America: TTP to Make you Free (Part I)" | 12 Aug 2024 | 01:07:04 | |
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 free range human can employ to prepare and protect themselves for the coming unpleasantness. I wanted to add a great note from one of my listeners [H/T to MG] that is a great addition to the recommendations for an entry price point Stoner platform. Be sure to get a red dot. I would like to bring one thing to your attention. Garand Thumb did a video on the Palmetto State Armory (PSA) $400 AR-15 platform. Title of video: "How Many Rounds Will A 400 Dollar AR-15 Last"? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHGtjx_2qbQ He matched up the PSA upper to a lower that allowed automatic fire to speed up the test. The rifle performed flawlessly into the 6500 rnds fired range to include engaging targets out to 700m to demonstrate barrel wear conditions. Now consider that your high end AR platform will start experiencing problems in the 10-12 thousand rounds fired range and cost 3-4x the price of the PSA AR platform. For that same high end AR price you could purchase 3-5 of the PSA's rifles. My key takeaway from the video, for new gun owners and/or strict budget due to our current economic decline and late stage empire, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend someone to buy 1-2 PSA rifles, a quality optic, and a 1-2 thousand rounds and yet still be under the price of a high end AR and it's high end optic normally paired. References: https://backofbeyondsite.wordpress.com/2024/08/02/ammo-inventory/ INTERVIEW WITH C. REED KNIGHT, JR.: PART 2 William Forstchen Day of Wrath Kurt Schlichter The Attack Karl Dahl Enemies Foreign and Domestic. Foreign Enemies And Traitors. Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista. The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun. Castigo Cay. Eric Frank Russell The Wasp Michael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series) Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler’s Conquest of France Robert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Robert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In History Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 048 "CG Excursion: Peer Strike ISR Complex: The Need for Rational Fires Coordination" | 29 Jul 2024 | 01:22:34 | |
***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 Defense (IAMD) assets in a peer or near-peer fight that works. The Russians do. The Russian Strike Reconnaissance Complex has come of age and the Russians have one of the most effective fires synchronization modalities on Earth. The system is now battle proven in the first near-peer and peer conflict of the 21st century. Fires synchronization is the effective coordination of sensors and effectors in near-real time or real time in a hostile non-permissive combat environment to bring the metal on target. "Quantity has a quality all of its own." - Thomas A. Callaghan Jr. References: The Russian Reconnaissance Fire Complex Comes of Age Army Futures Command Concept for Fires 2028 Christian Brose The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High-Tech Warfare Lester Grau & Charles K. Bartles The Russian Way of War: Force Structure, Tactics, and Modernization of the Russian Ground Forces David Glantz Soviet Operational and Tactical Combat in Manchuria, 1945 (Soviet (Russian) Study of War) David Glantz Soviet Military Operational Art: In Pursuit of Deep Battle (Soviet (Russian) Military Theory and Practice) Georgii Samoilovich Isserson G.S. Isserson and the War of the Future: Key Writings of a Soviet Military Theorist Email at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 047 "Nagorno-Karabakh: A Dark and Robotic Future" | 15 Jul 2024 | 00:47:17 | |
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 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. Autonomous targeting will become more and more relevant as the speed of munitions increases and the salvo competition costs are driven down. The life of the light infantryman will change significantly since for the first time in human history, the cost of hunting individual soldiers and small groups of soldiers in an effective fashion has reached a cost in concert with technology [I will treat this with more detail in a future episode on the end of the legacy infantryman]. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has seen a remarkable increase in martial effectiveness since the Russians looked carefully at what happened in N-K, took notes and made changes to Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTP) in concert with the wholesale revamping of the Russian armed forces since 2008. Email me at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 046 "Review and Discussion: My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness by Howard Jones" | 01 Jul 2024 | 00:53:55 | |
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 because it may crush your soul. I caution you before you listen to this that the telling of this tale is will haunt any decent human being forever. References: Howard Jones My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness Karl Marlantes What It Is Like to Go to War Bill Russel Edmonds God is Not Here: A Soldier's Struggle with Torture, Trauma, and the Moral Injuries of War Clark Savage King of All Things: A Guide to Man's Martial Purpose Dick Couch A Tactical Ethic: Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battlespace Andrew Bacevich Paths of Dissent: Soldiers Speak Out Against America's Misguided Wars Shauna Springer WARRIOR: How to Support Those Who Protect Us Jonathan Shay Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character Jonathan Shay Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming Another podcast: Martyrmade: Anything That Moves - The My Lai Massacre (w/History on Fire) Email at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 045 "CG Excursion Praxis: Rational Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) (Part Two)" | 17 Jun 2024 | 00:56:22 | |
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 MILSTD 881F and apply it wherever you happen to work at a small or large company, everybody will be in awe of the black magic you perform and it a. guaranteed Return on Investment (ROI) in how much money you will save downstream. References: Special Forces Detachment Mission Planning Guide GTA 31-01-003 January 2020 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STANDARD PRACTICE WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURES FOR DEFENSE MATERIEL ITEMS MILSTD 881F 13 May 2022 NASA Systems Engineering Handbook Rev 2 Cost of 13 NASA projects skyrocket due to improper reviews The US Submarine Force is Sunk James Hornfischer "The Fleet at Flood Tide" Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 044 "CG Excursion Praxis: Rational Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) (Part One)" | 03 Jun 2024 | 00:59:43 | |
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 2020 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE STANDARD PRACTICE WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURES FOR DEFENSE MATERIEL ITEMS MILSTD 881F 13 May 2022 NASA Systems Engineering Handbook Rev 2 Cost of 13 NASA projects skyrocket due to improper reviews Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 043 "Storming America: The Aftermath" | 27 May 2024 | 00:57:15 | |
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 invasion of its borders and a large swath of military age males have been granted asylum or gone undetected to link up with legacy underground Islamist and terrorist groups across the country. This episodes examines the smoking ruins and speculate what the next stage of American civilization will look like. References: Howard Jones My Lai: Vietnam, 1968, and the Descent into Darkness William Forstchen Day of Wrath Kurt Schlichter The Attack Karl Dahl Enemies Foreign and Domestic. Foreign Enemies And Traitors. Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista. The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun. Castigo Cay. Eric Frank Russell The Wasp Michael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series) Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler’s Conquest of France Robert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Robert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In History Email at cgpodcast@pm.me | |||
| Ep 042 "Storming America: War Comes Home" | 13 May 2024 | 00:58:03 | |
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 combination of neglect and the sheer hubris of meddling in the world without realize the unintended consequences. I wish I had better news but you have been warned, it's on the horizon. I talk about William Forstchen's "Day of Wrath" and Kurt Schlichter's "The Attack". References: William Forstchen Day of Wrath Kurt Schlichter The Attack Enemies Foreign and Domestic. Foreign Enemies And Traitors. Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista. The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun. Castigo Cay. Eric Frank Russell The Wasp Michael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series) Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler’s Conquest of France Robert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Robert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In History Email at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 041 "Storming America: Intelligence Failure is Now and Forever" | 29 Apr 2024 | 01:24:14 | |
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 forces will be made real. In this episode, I will examine what intelligence looks like from a professional perspective and why America and the West consistently engage in existential chaos avalanches that make the world a worse place. The bureaucratic impulse in the West has been a significant factor in making the intelligence community (IC), like the military community, a paper tiger that is a far greater danger to the inhabitants of the west than an ally. Until the IC is restructured and made more effective, it will consume roughly 100 billion a year to produce shoddy analysis, inform bad policy and a Keystone Kops foreign covert operations history that is a national shame. Like 9/11 and its existential failures, the next attack on America will have them simply asking for more money and more power. If you leveled the FBI, NSA and CIA tomorrow morning, made each of their budgets one dollar and fired all their employees, you would still be safe as a country. References: Richard J. Heuer The Psychology of Intelligence Analysis David Talbot The Devil's Chessboard: Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government Mortimer Adler How to Read a Book Tim Weiner Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA John Prado The Ghosts of Langley: Into the CIA's Heart of Darkness Contact me at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 040 "The Middle East: Shuffling to the Apocalypse (Part Two)"" | 15 Apr 2024 | 00:55:22 | |
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 Forstchen Day of Wrath Kurt Schlichter The Attack Enemies Foreign and Domestic. Foreign Enemies And Traitors. Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista. The Red Cliffs of Zerhoun. Castigo Cay. Eric Frank Russell The Wasp Michael Z. Williamson The Weapon (and the entire Freehold series) Ernest R. May Strange Victory: Hitler’s Conquest of France Robert Heinlein The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Robert Asprey War In The Shadows: The Guerrilla In History Email me at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||
| Ep 039 "CG Excursion: Stoicism: Who Dares Leads" | 01 Apr 2024 | 00:31:03 | |
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 could simply be a page or two. References: James Clear Atomic Habits Marcus Aurelius Meditations Whitney J. Oakes (editor) The Stoic and Epicurean Philosophers: The Complete Extant Writings of Epicurus, Epictetus, Lucretius and Marcus Aurelius Email me at cgpodcast@pm.me. | |||