Much of the conversation about the USMC over the last decade has been about its "Second Land Army" status .... well .... Marines are still second to none at their core skill set. In case someone forgot that - our next guest and his Marines reminded everyone of not just that - but the power of the Navy-Marine Corp team.

Over a 48 hour period , the 15th MEU/PELARG team conducted offensive air operations in Afghanistan resulting in the deaths of 5 confirmed enemy fighters, provided disaster relief in Pakistan to 120 victims who had been without aid since July, and seized a pirated vessel, rescuing a crew of 11 hostages and detaining 9 suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia.

Our guest will be Captain Alexander Martin, USMC - the leader of the team that took back The Magellan Star.

The last few decades have seen the growing quality and quantity of the People's Republic of China's Navy. Along with this rise has been a maturing of their maritime strategy and their view of what to do with their growing sea power.

Join Sal from "CDR Salamander" and EagleOne of "Eagle Speak" as they discuss this topic with United States Naval War College Associate Professors Toshi Yoshihara & James R. Holmes, the authors of the book, Red Star over the Pacific: China's Rise and the Challenge to U.S. Maritime Strategy.

A decade as a land army, its future combat systems either cancelled, delayed, or under pressure, and a Navy that finds itself getting shore-shy, what is the next step for the USMC? Our guest to discuss will be Dakota Wood, Lt. Col., USMC (Ret), a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He is currently involved in studying the operational challenges of irregular warfare, complex contingencies under high-technology conditions, and proliferated nuclear environments. Before his retirement, LtCol Wood served in a wide variety of operational and staff assignments, including the Corps’ Military Assistant to the Director of the Office of Net Assessment and, provided defense issues analysis support to the Commandant of the Marine Corps on assignment to the Strategic Initiatives Group. Following his retirement, he provided support to the DHS as Operations Officer for the National Biosurveillance Integration System.

Join "Sal" from the blog "CDR Salamander" & "EagleOne" from the blog "EagleSpeak" for the one year anniversary special of Midrats.

Mark your calendars; we are going to have a live expanded panel discussion you will not want to miss. In addition to EagleOne and me, we'll have some of your favorite guest hosts and regulars; Galrahn from "InformationDissemination," along with Bryan McGrath, Jerry Hendrix, and Claude Berube.

Global security, maritime strategy, the future of the defense budget, and the general direction of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine and all things maritime.

A pre-recorded best of with three of the authors we interviewed this year; James S. Robbins, Senior Editorial Writer for Foreign Affairs at the Washington Times on his book, "This Time We Win: Revisiting the Tet Offensive."

David Sears' book on Navy Air in the Korean war with, "Such Men as These."

United States Naval Academy Professor Bruce Fleming's new book on one part of the culture battle, "Bridging the Military-Civilian Divide: What Each Side Must Know About the Other - And About Itself."

We will be back next week with a live 2-hour show, in addition to EagleOne and myself, we will have an expanded panel with Galrahn, Bryan McGrath, CAPT Henry J. Hendrix, Jr., USN, and LCDR Claude Berube, USNR.

Earlier this year, I had another opportunity to hear Admiral James Stavridis, USN - Supreme Allied Commander Europe - speak in person. On this occasion it was at the U.S. Naval Institute Honors Night Commemorating the Naval Institute's 137th Anniversary. He gave the keynote speech titled, "Whispers on a Wall." You can find the text over at my home blog "CDR Salamander" - but as with most speeches, it is better listened to. For this Christmas, EagleOne and I will provide you this gift. The audio is rough, so be patient; is is worth it.

Join maritime bloggers Sal from the blog "CDR Salamander" and EagleOne from "EagleSpeak" as they look back at the United States Coast Guard's recent history and the direction forward with our guest, Dennis L. Bryant, CAPT USCG (Ret.), of Bryant’s Maritime Consulting.

We'll be covering the full spectrum of the USCG's missions and the general maritime security environment from homeland security to environmental protection.

Join Navy Milbloggers Sal from "CDR Salamander" and EagleOne from "EagleSpeak" as they discuss the subject of his new book, "Bridging the Military-Civilian Divide: What Each Side Must Know About the Other - And About Itself" with United States Naval Academy Professor Bruce Fleming. For the second half of the show our guest will be Robert C. (Barney) Rubel, CAPT USN(Ret), The Dean of the Center for Naval Warfare Studies at the Naval War College to review his recommended reading list for this year and his perspective on our Chinese counterparts.

Open topic, open lines free for all.

Navy, USMC, Coast Guard, or merchant marine focus. Afghanistan, Long War, history, strategy, shipbuilding, national security or any topic that comes to Sal or EagleOne's nogg'n.

We'll have open phones and will be pulling topics you identify in the chat room.

For our new listeners and for those who just need to hear the goodness all over again, here is a repeat of our Memorial Day Weekend Best Of. For the first half hour, from Episode 11, prolific author, historian, and military strategist Dr. Norman Friedman. Not to miss Midrats. The second half will be from Episode 4, regular commenter in the Navy Blogosphere our "Yeoman in the 'Stan" AKA "Battle Yeoman" calling in from Bagram, Afghanistan. Enjoy the "Best of" - we'll be back live next Sunday.