*Note: This essay was originally published on the Modern War Institute’s Commentary & Analysis site. Colin Gray—who shaped strategic studies as much as anyone—died last week. And as difficult as it is to know he’s gone, he left us with a body of work that will live on in the minds of strategic practitioners for…
DetailsRachel and I just returned from a trip to New Zealand with a stopover in Hollywood. And though we live in a visual culture where pictures take precedence, here’s a brief textual rundown of what we did: Threw axes. Won a public pushup contest with a bachelor party fairy. Got tattooed. 6 flights, 7 hotels,…
Details*Note: This essay was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette print edition on March 1, 2020. An image of the column is included below, as well as the text of the essay. “Sesame Street” recently introduced its viewers to the face of modern war, and she goes by “Charlie.” For the first time in more than two decades, the…
Details*On Monday night, February 17, 2020, I spoke at a gathering of business, public, and non-profit leaders in Wellington, New Zealand. It was called the “Strategy Forge,” and I was honored to be the first to speak in the series. The host – a design firm called We Create Futures – maintains a website dedicated…
Details*Note: This essay was originally published on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s commentary and analysis site – The Strategist. When New Zealanders vote this September, they should consider closing a self-inflicted wound—decades of disarmament and dangerous strategic apathy. In 1949, a distinguished New Zealand soldier, Major General Sir Howard Kippenberger, warned: It may be a…
Details*Reader’s Note: Below are the remarks delivered in presenting the Manitou Springs “Manni Award for Health & Wellbeing” to Pastor Susie Merrin of the St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. Technically, this was an award given for 2019, but I’ve chosen to title it in the year it was given (2020). *“The people who live in darkness have…
Details*Note: A slightly edited version of this essay was published in the Pikes Peak Bulletin print edition on January 9, 2019. It can also be found online here, an image of the column is included below. New years are for turning pages. Starting again. This one already looks brighter. To keep that momentum going, next Tuesday night,…
Details*Note: This essay was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette print edition on December 31, 2019. An image of the column is included below, as well as the text of the essay. As we walked through the morning cold I was already thinking several hours ahead. My wife was out of town and the normal to-do list…
Details*Note: This essay was published in the Colorado Springs Gazette print edition on December 25, 2019. An image of the column is included below, as well as the text of the essay. About a year ago, I was running, puffing out white clouds like a jogging dragon in the early morning. Through the dark, I looked up…
DetailsIn an effort to hold onto some of our recently past family moments, I’m reaching back to our last four holiday letters and posting them here for long-term safekeeping. 2016 2017 2018 2019
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