Just as they share a common tradition going back to before the American Revolution, the United State's Navy and Britain's Royal Navy, today both nations' navies share a similar challenge of prioritizing and finding the navy - and the industrial base to support it - that both nations need in order to secure their nation's from global threats and cha…

For the first two decades of this century, as the West and her friends were distracted by small wars in Central Asia and the Middle East, the People's Republic of China slowly, deliberately, and steadily grew her economic, diplomatic, and economic power. As we are in the last year closing out the first quarter of the 21st Century, the West distract…

For navalists from Souda Bay to San Diego, April has started not with a whimper, not a grin - but with a scream. For the full hour, we'll start in Baltimore, review the latest revelations about shipbuilding, and some enlightening developments on our allies from Australia to NATO…and end things up after a little spot of tech bother, with a discussio…

For our last podcast of March, come join us for and open-ended free-for-all format to look at the national security environment as we head in to April. From the water cannons off the Philippines to the folly of keeping your naval bases in range of your enemies missiles ... and perhaps a dive in to the long winter for navalists that 2024 is lining u…

If people are policy and policy shapes decisions, then that is the start in understanding why a nation like the USA wound up neglecting what should be a core sector of not just its economy, but its strategic advantage - its civilian maritime industry. Using his recent article, The Urgent Need for U.S. Maritime Reform as a starting point, our guest …

Especially for the Royal Navy, it was assumed the military leaders, politicians, and the general population understood that they were island nations and that their security and prosperity depended on a strong navy and civilian maritime commerce. Even the greatest naval power of the last century, the United States of America seems to be unable to ha…

Feel like the chaos from the Black Sea, Red Sea, South China Sea and various places ashore seems just too much to keep track of? Well, if you need an hour to catch up and ponder as Sal & Eagle One will take you from the Houthi's sinking their first ship, Darwinism at war, to the US Navy heading in to Haiphong witih guns blazing ... for peace.…

From the February 12th guest post over at Sal's substack, our guest today opened with a firm point;"..the combat performance of U.S. Navy destroyers in the Red Sea against a variety of weapons employed by the Houthis from Yemen stands as a monument to decades of brilliance, hard work, and dedication across generations of naval officers, government …

The vulnerability of aircraft carriers is nothing new. They are vulnerable not just because of how they are designed - really just a thin hulled ship full of fuel and explosives - but because of what they do. At peace and at war, there is no other platform that can project power and national will on a global scale at sea than an aircraft carrier. A…

Feel like there is too much going on in the national security world to keep up with? Well, let your heart not be troubled. Mark & Sal will deliver a full hour of discussion of not just what's breaking in to the news in the last week of January 2024, but whatever else pops up. Iranian proxies causing American military losses from Jordan to the Horn …

If we are approaching the end of the almost century-long age of the aircraft carrier, for the United States Navy, what are some of the options we could have in fleet designed to execute the Navy's mission in its place? Challenges, opportunities, and compromises - we'll dive into it all with guest Jeff Vandenengel, CDR USN.The reference point for ou…

While everyone is focused on the Red Sea or the goings on in Ukraine, there are serious developments between The Philippines and the Peoples Republic of China that is not going to wait for the other world's problems to finish up their time in the sun. If the main game is in the Western Pacific, then The Philippines are the center square. Returning …

From moving grain to the world markets from the Black Sea to global trade through the Red Sea, and the People’s Republic of China’s unabashed bullying of The Philippines and the nations surrounding the South China Sea – the US Navy is not large enough to carry the burden of maintaining the international order at sea. We have a series of alliances w…

With a few exceptions on the sidelines by Japan and France, what has been clearly apparent in the last two months has been the absence of the International Community's presence in the Red Sea to enforce the International Order everyone seems to consider of utmost importance to the economic system that gives us the standard of living the globe is ac…

With Thanksgiving behind us and another month of the Holiday Season to go, it's time to catch up on the goings on at the waterfront with a special guest calling in who we decided to hijack and keep for the rest of the show - returning listener favorite Mark Vandroff.Midrats

How is a maritime power like the United States going to be able to sustain a fight against a land power with four times its population, a larger Navy, and is located on the other side of the Pacific? The only reliable way you can get the fuel, weapons, and supplies is with a robust force of combat logistics ships.Do we have that force? Do our budge…

You're heard people talk - and on occasion argue - about "presence" as a naval mission, but what exactly is it? What does that actually mean for our nation and what role does it have in promoting its national security requirements? What does our nation need to do to properly resource it? We're going to dive in deep on the topic today with returning…

There are few naval leaders who had a legendary reputation and such a long running - and not uncontroversial - record of service as Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, USN. Talk to any submarine officer or surface nuclear power officer over the age of 60 and they will have a personal story directly or indirectly about the man who is generally seen as the "F…

Fall is in the air ... so Sal and EagleOne return to the podcast to get you caught up now that FY24 is behind us. We'll cover the waterfront. Links mentioned during the show: SECNAV Del Toro Calls for a New, Bold Maritime Statecraft. What’s Keeping the USS Ronald Reagan in Yokosuka? Taiwan launches its first homemade submarine. What is a DASH? What…

Since its first formation in 2007, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or "Quad" of the Australia, India, Japan and the United States of America has continued to evolve in to something that isn't a fully formed alliance, but is a bit more than just a talking shop as well. Encouraged by the changing nature of the People's Republic of China, it is ev…

While almost all the intellectual energy in the American military establishment is focused on the end of the FY potlatch of spending before fiscal year 2024 kicks off in under three weeks, it's time for EagleOne and Sal to take a deep breath and take a look around the national security waterfront. For the first third of the show we discuss DEPSECDE…

Today we’re going to discuss a helpful solution to the simple reality in our busy world that it is difficult to build a culture of understanding of any challenge unless those involved in addressing that challenge have a similar foundational knowledge of it. As in most complicated issues, addressing the rise of the People’s Republic of China suffers…

We are two years since the greatest national humiliation since the Fall of Saigon almost half a century ago. The negotiated surrender of Afghanistan to the Taliban, retreat to Kabul, and withdraw from Kabul under the grace of our enemy in the summer of 2021 remains a mostly untold story. Partially is it from the attention given to the Russo-Ukraini…

What better way to recover from mid-August heat than to kick back and listen to Midrats as we check in on what the People's Republic of China is up to. This Sunday live is returning guest Dean Cheng.Dean is a Senior Adviser at the US Institute of Peace, a (non-resident) Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, and a Non-resident F…

In mid-July, a rather normal letter from the White House delivered at an awkward time about the authorization to activate 3,000 reservists to support operations in Europe enabling aid to Ukraine got everyone's attention. The reaction has a lot of reservists from all services and National Guardsmen cracking a little smile because even with the wars …

This week we were reminded, again, that the world relies on the free flow of goods at market prices across its oceans to maintain a reasonable standard of living. Most of the world consumes more food and fuel than it can produce locally. Most of the world's people live from paycheck to paycheck, and entire societies' stability rely on the grain and…

EagleOne and Sal pick up last weeks conversation to catch up on the conversation of the latest national security and maritime topics at hand. As always on the melee format, join us live with the open chatroom and studio line if you have some issues you'd like to discuss. We're taking requests! Links to items discussed: Stanford University’s Gordian…

It's too darn hot to do anything outside, so stay inside and put your mind to work! EagleOne and Sal start the show with the discussion of books they plan to use to help overcome the mid-summer heat and then cover some of the latest and greatest on the national security front, at least as we define it! Books Discussed: EagleOne’s List: Developing t…

For generations, a great comparative advantage the United States has enjoyed at sea is the superiority of its submarine force. It has become simply an assumption in our war planning to the point it is treated as almost a natural part of the environment.Of course, nothing stands still in war. Time and technology usually finds a way to blunt any adva…

By 2030, the People's Republic of China is expected to have a navy of 425 warships, up significantly from their 360 today - already larger than the United States Navy. In spite of her struggles ashore, demographic collapse, and structural deficiencies, the Russian Navy still maintains a significant submarine force.While the world's strategic situat…

From the abstract of the article in the Naval War College Review Winter 2023 Edition, Strategy, Uncertainty, and the China Challenge; "Despite China’s increasing aggressiveness, its intentions are indeterminate, even aligning with U.S. interests in some arenas. Furthermore, China simply may fail in achieving even its foremost national and foreign-p…

You're in for a treat this Midrats with a regular since 2010 returning to the podcast, Claude Berube. Claude will be with us the full hour to discuss his third novel in the Connor Stark series, The Philippine Pact, bringing back most of your favorite characters from the first two books in the series, The Aden Effect and Syren's Song. As with all of…

For generations, the US military’s senior leadership in the field had no reason to worry about being on the receiving end of enemy fires at their command posts. Even at the company level but especially at higher echelons, we expected that we would be safe and secure in our command posts. Command posts were where one watched, planned, and executed o…

It's a maritime and natsec free for all on Midrats! No fixed topic, open chat room and open studio line for those who are joining us live. From some rather strange comments in congressional briefing rooms to recruiting woes at home, to some rather interesting riverine amphibious operations in the Dnipro River in Ukraine, what it takes to fire a Rus…

History, heritage, ethos, and institutional culture are more than just books, lectures, static displays, songs, stories and rituals - they are part of a tapestry that define the characteristics of an organization and a people.In a cold, neutral review of individual parts, it can be a challenge to see why they are important, what they really signify…

Two of the above-the-fold topics in the last year in the national security arena both in involve one of the most technologically advance, complicated, and essential parts of modern warfare; ground based anti-air. For over a year we have watched and evolving ongoing real world laboratory in the Russo-Ukrainian War. On the other side of Asia, when no…

The last 13-months has seen a scenario few in NATO’s uniformed or civilian leadership either predicted, or for that matter, though was possible. How has the alliance reacted, grown, succeeded, or shown cracks under the pressure of the growing war in Ukraine as it moves it to its second year? Returning to Midrats for the full hour will be Jorge Beni…

Except for those over a 85, no one alive has ever existed at a time when the US Navy was not the premier naval power - and no one alive at all has known a world where the US Navy was not the premier naval power in the Pacific. Though on paper it could be challenged in the first third of the 20th Century by the Royal Navy, and was challenged in a ve…

As we ended last week's show with a whole list of topics we wanted to discuss, this Sunday we're going to pick up right where we left off with a Midrats Maritime Melee! From submarines to Australia to the opening of mud season in Ukraine, we'll cover the latest - or at least the more interesting - topics in the national security arena.…

The news does not stop on the national security front, and as we approach the end of 1QCY23, a couple of weeks without a Midrats can only add to everyone's confusion. For the full hour we're going to cover the waterfront from the Sea of Azov to the parking lots of San Diego's waterfront. As with all our free-for-all formats, we have open topic and …

What path best enhances American security and prosperity, along with her allies, when it comes to the Russo-Ukrainian War? Are American's interests best promoted by more support of Ukraine's ongoing fight for her independence, or by backing away to let things take their natural course? Isolationists, realists, and idealists are all trying to make t…

From a navy of peasants to professionals on par with any Western navy; from coastal patrol to global reach, the slow and steady growth of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) crept up on some policy makers in the last decade, but as the PLAN eclipses the United States Navy in numbers and is accelerating their industrial capacity and capabilitie…

Officially the Navy may have a “new mission” but it is just putting in to law what has been in existence since the first Stone Age man outfitted his fishing canoe as a war canoe. In a modern society, words mean things and even what is self-evident must on occasion be put in writing. What is “Title 10?” That is what tells our Navy what it’s mission …

When we started Midrats, President Obama hadn't even been President for a year, I only left active duty 4-months ago, Russia was mostly forgotten about except for Secretary of State Clinton famous "Reset/Overload," anyone worried about China was considered an alarmist, and no one really knew what a "podcast" was except for a very small group of to-…

There is still a lot of fighting to be done in the Russo-Ukrainian War, but important lessons can already be drawn from the first 10-months of conflict. One of the most hyped "new" domains of war the last three decades has been what is generally referred to as "cyber." Its growth in interest and buzz paralleled the decline and neglect of a more tra…

From the NDAA to some rather positive words from the SECNAV on some of our favorite maritime areas of concern, so far December has produced a few positives to think about - if you don't think too much about the Army-Navy game on Saturday... This week's Midrats free for all will start here and then we'll work our way around the national security lan…

Now that you’re in that time where you’re trying to make that transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas & New Years saturation … give your stomach and mind a break and join EagleOne and Sal for a maritime and national security free for all this Sunday from 5-6pm Eastern. As is usual with our free for all format, the studio line is open for you to c…

What do you need tp know to make sure you have all the right talking points around the Thanksgiving table? If someone brings up the Navy, China, Ukraine, inflation, or supply chain issues - well, we know Midrats regulars are already up to speed - but now's your opportunity to make sure all your talking points are up to date! No guests, no set agend…

Every election cycle provides a preview of what advocates for national defense and sea power will have on their side - or not on their side - in the next Congress. New people arrive, experienced people leave, and priorities, agendas, and advocacy will shift change with them. What can we expect in the next Congress based on changes we see and those …

When was the last time the US Navy made the case for a significantly larger navy to defend its interests on the high seas? Yep, back when Ole Sal was a Midshipman and EagleOne was as close to his service in Vietnam than Sal was to his service in Afghanistan - the 1980s. What lessons can we take from that relatively successful intellectual, politica…