SSI Live Podcast

How does DoD go about defining, identifying, and mitigating risk? Are DoD risk assessment practices and procedures effective and useful to the Department and other stakeholders? SSI Research Professor Nate Freier joined Dr. John R. Deni to discuss the release of a major U.S. Army War College study on DoD risk assessment. Prof. Freier led an interdisciplinary team of faculty and student researchers in researching and writing At Our Own Peril: DoD Risk Assessment in a Post-Primacy World.

Is the Army ready for a ‘Great Power War’ against a peer competitor, in terms of the number of Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs)? If the Army had to double in size, what challenges would it face in terms of expanding the number of maneuver units? What steps should the Army consider to overcome these hurdles? Over the last nine months, an interdisciplinary team of Army War College student researchers, under the direction of Dr. Tony Echevarria, have examined issues related to great power war and whether the Army is ready. One of those team members, COL Esli Pitts, a resident student at the War College, joined Dr. John R. Deni to discuss increasing the number of BCTs, the last in a series of podcasts on challenges of, and recommendations for, expanding the Army.

Is the Army ready for a ‘Great Power War’ against a peer competitor, in terms of its organization and materiel? If the Army had to double in size, what challenges would it face in terms of expanding its organization and ensuring sufficient materiel? What steps should the Army consider to overcome these hurdles? Over the last nine months, an interdisciplinary team of Army War College student researchers, under the direction of Dr. Tony Echevarria, have examined issues related to great power war and whether the Army is ready. One of those team members, COL Mitch Mitchell, a resident student at the War College, joined Dr. John R. Deni to discuss organization, materiel, and an expanded Army.

Is the Army ready for a ‘Great Power War’ against a peer competitor, in terms of personnel? If the Army had to double in size, what challenges would it face in terms of expanding its personnel pool? What steps should the Army consider to overcome these hurdles? Over the last nine months, an interdisciplinary team of Army War College student researchers, under the direction of Dr. Tony Echevarria, have examined issues related to great power war and whether the Army is ready. One of those team members, LTC Chad Bridges, a resident student at the War College, joined Dr. John R. Deni to discuss SOF and an expanded Army.

Is the Army ready for a ‘Great Power War’ against a peer competitor, in terms of military intelligence? If the Army had to double in size, what challenges would it face in terms of expanding its intelligence capability and capacity? What steps should the Army consider to overcome these hurdles? Over the last nine months, an interdisciplinary team of Army War College student researchers, under the direction of Dr. Tony Echevarria, have examined issues related to great power war and whether the Army is ready. One of those team members, COL Rose Keravuori, a distance education student based at CENTCOM headquarters, joined Dr. John R. Deni to discuss military intelligence and an expanded Army.

Is the Army ready for a ‘Great Power War’ against a peer competitor, in terms of its force generation installations? If the Army had to double in size, what challenges would it face in terms of using its Mobilization Force Generation Installations (MFGIs) to leverage the reserve component? What steps should the Army consider to overcome these hurdles? Over the last nine months, an interdisciplinary team of Army War College student researchers, under the direction of Dr. Tony Echevarria, have examined issues related to great power war and whether the Army is ready. One of those team members, LTC Ana Navarro, joined Dr. John R. Deni to discuss MFGIs, the reserve component, and an expanded Army.

Is the Army ready for a ‘Great Power War’ against a peer competitor, in terms of expanding its Special Operations Forces? If the Army had to double in size, what challenges would it face in terms of increasing Special Operations Forces? What steps should the Army consider to overcome these hurdles? Over the last nine months, an interdisciplinary team of Army War College student researchers, under the direction of Dr. Tony Echevarria, have examined issues related to great power war and whether the Army is ready. One of those team members, COL Eric Schwedo, joined Dr. John R. Deni to discuss SOF and an expanded Army.

Is the Army ready for a ‘Great Power War’ against a peer competitor, in terms of maintaining and sustaining an expanded Army? If the Army had to double in size, what challenges would it encounter in maintaining and sustaining that large of a force? Over the last nine months, an interdisciplinary team of Army War College student researchers, under the direction of Dr. Tony Echevarria, have examined issues related to great power war and whether the Army is ready. One of those team members, COL H.R. Willingham, joined Dr. John R. Deni to discuss maintaining and sustaining an expanded Army.

On 24-25 May, NATO heads of state and government will meet in Brussels. This will be President Trump’s first NATO summit, and although the meetings will lack the scope and number of initiatives and other deliverables many have come to expect from a formal alliance summit, there are some key, even contentious issues that will be addressed. In addition to whether and how the alliance contributes to the anti-ISIS coalition, burden-sharing is expected to be a major focus. Although not the worst in terms of burden-sharing, Germany has come under particularly criticism lately. However, German officials have often parried Washington’s cajoling through several increasingly dubious arguments, as Dr. John R. Deni argues in this latest SSI Live podcast.

The Helsinki summit meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin may be the first step in a rapprochement between the United States and Russia. If so, what are the strategic and policy implications in Europe, with specific regard to the security of U.S. allies in Eastern Europe, with regard to the conflict in Syria, vis-à-vis U.S. partners in the Middle East, or in other regards? SSI Live host Dr. John R. Deni invited his SSI colleagues Prof. Nate Freier and Dr. Chris Bolan to think about and discuss the potential implications of a reset with Russia. Released 31 June 2018.