Breaking my Flag

 

For those who missed the previous announcements, please read the previous posts for the details, but after 18 2/3 years here, I will no longer be posting on blogspot.

Worry not, just click here to go to substack.  

That is where I'll be.

Fullbore Friday

Housekeeping Note: As I mentioned earlier this month, as our British friends might say, this "blogspot" hosted part of the blog is "going in ordinary." 

The archived posts here back to the beginning in 2004 will remain, but all new posts will be going over to CDR Salamander on Substack. 

The reasons are simply, really. Google owns blogspot and for some reason has decided to turn it in to a very creator-unfriendly environment. 

As noted in my earlier post, they are going through and marking all sorts of posts going back over a decade and new as "SPAM" or worse, "dangerous" or a variation of the usual etc. Most of it derives, I believe, from some automated system that looks for images of guns or discussions of violence. 

I don't know what they plan blogspot to be ... but since google bought it, they have neglected it in a variety of ways. 

Well, this is a milblog ... so ... if I can't discuss violence...

I will put out a simple note tomorrow as well - and no this is not an April Fool's joke - directing everyone not already subscribed to my substack to go there. 

A note about "subscribe." This just signs you up to receive email notifications of new posts. You do not have to subscribe to read substack. The link will let you in. All posts are, and will continue to be, free. There is an option for a pay subscription as well that I have not turned on yet. I'm rather humbled by the number of pledges I've received to throw a few shekels in the tip jar if I turn it on ... so for those who have, thanks. I may in the future, but if I do I feel I should offer paying subscribers a little extra content - maybe a "message board" like podcast discussion of those things I found interesting but didn't write about. I'm not sure right now - still pondering.

So, to mark a pivot point in the history of this blog, let's go back to 2006 and the first Fullbore Friday entry. The FbF aperture is a bit more open than when we started, but it is a popular regular feature.

Remember, switch to substack if you have not already - this is the last functional post I'll put here.

---

Something new and regular, I think. Kind of like Sunday Funnies except I will post more than one thing on Fridays.

Each Friday I will start with a view of something near and dear to my heart, and that of Marines. Big guns. When able, I will provide a link to the Navy Historical Center if you want to see and learn more about the boat in question.

Of all the old battlewagons, none are closer to my heart than the one my Grandfather served on in WWI. The USS Arkansas.

Note the details. Always love the details. One more thing. Here is a cruise book from their 1913 Med Cruise.

Preliminary Notice to CDR Salamander OG Blog Readers

Great and wonderful members of the Front Porch, especially those regular readers since 2004.

As most of you may be aware of by now, I have been posting in parallel over at substack for the last few years.

I did that for a few reasons. Mostly because of the coding, NMCI, facebook and other location may block blogspot as it can seem as if it is SPAM. Bad on blogspot, irritating to readers. Because substack is a "cleaner" code, no one has that problem...yet.

Anyway, blogspot is owned by google and the last few weeks they have been pulling down some of my posts going back almost a decade for a variety of reasons. Many of them are because they contain pictures of ... military operations where "physical violence" is taking place. 

Well, that is that happens in a military. I am appealing the deletions, but this is not a satisfactory situation for a military related blog as I would have to pretty much stop posting any picture of video of ... combat. I can't stand the prospect of some bot or busy body running through and randomly deleting posts.

The last straw was them pulling down a post, text only, of our Declaration of Independence.

Just look at it.

It says "SPAM" but when you go to "/contentpolicy" you see the full range of things under SPAM that includes everything up to violent images.

So, and no this is not an April's Fool joke, but starting the 1st of April, no new content will be posted here. 

All new content will be over at substack. Just follow this link and update your bookmarks. 

You can also sign up to get an email notification whenever there is a new post.

I did not want to do this as we have a very well established community in comments here that means a lot to me. We've been at this together for the better part of two decades. 

Some members of the Front Porch have already migrated over to substack, so it just isn't the new kids. There's plenty of salt over there.

So, you have an 11-day warning.

I will not delete this blog. This will remain here as an archive of a time when blogspot was a freer place, as will all the older posts that google has not deleted for this arbitrary reason or another.

Come join  us ... its a cleaner look anyway.

 

Galrahn ... Rest in Peace

Life is short, and people are few.

That little cornerstone was pointed out to me yesterday when I found out that Raymond Pritchett, AKA "Galrahn" passed away last week.

How do you remember a friend and colleague who passes away too early? Everyone has there own way, mine is to tell a story. Here an outline of the Raymond I got to know.

I got to know him like most listeners here did - via the maritime natsec online community. Raymond and I used to have fun talking about "the early days" and that is where I'd like to start the story, as in this corner of the world, that is how we got to know Raymond.

While everyone is online and communicating via a huge constellation of methods today, the first phase where in addition to many of you, Raymond and I (unknowingly at the time) used to communicate was in Phase-1 of the online navalist community; bulletin boards, forums, and chat rooms. In the early 1990s through the early 2000's that is all there pretty much was. 

There was a community though, and in some ways it was a better community. Everyone had an online name they went by, that is where Galrahn came from. I ran under a variety of names, but the ethos of that era is where "CDR Salamander" came from. 

When Raymond and I first met face to face a dozen years ago, we pulled that thread for awhile until we realized we had actually been exchanging ideas for a long time, well before we both started blogging.

Yes, blogging. 

For those who were not there, milblogging in the early years was a surprisingly small space. I started in the summer of 2004 after being inspired by places such as National Review's The Corner and John Donovan's Castle Argghhh!!!. 

Plus or minus a year from when I started there was a Navy presence in the online discussion space. There was the late Neptunus Lex, Steeljaw Scribe, The Stupid Will Be Punished, Skippy-San, Boston Maggie, EagleOne, and a few others. It was a free wheeling place and we communicated and occasionally collaborated with each other. There was no social media churn like you see today. There was us and our comments sections; that was it.

Looking back at it, we all were writing for roughly the same reasons - it was a hobby and we did not care to rely on traditional institutional structures to get our ideas out there - if they would facilitate it at all. We would bounce in to each others comments sections, link to each other's posts ... it was a new place to exchange ideas and discuss topics we did not think were getting discussed properly.

That was Phase-2, and right in the juicy middle of Phase-2 was when Raymond came onboard with his blog, "Information Dissemination" (ID) in 2007 and we all started to get to know him.

ID started simple, but then quickly grew. ID grew fast and for all the right reasons. Raymond was good, clear, direct. He then brought on other writers who to this day represent some of the best thinking in navalist circles. 

That is a key part of Raymond's legacy. He knew this wasn't a zero sum game. More voices need space to come forward, to work around the barriers, filters, and warping nature of traditional institutions who dominated the discussion space. 

His sharp critique and tight arguments are why when you found yourself in disagreement with him, you had to pay attention. At the end of the day, you may remain in disagreement, but Raymond helped you better understand an opposing view, and as such, better refine your oppositional view to his. All without rancor ... if he saw you as an honest player. Bad actors or grifters? He did not suffer them all that well.

I spent last night reviewing the ID archives to where he commented on my writings and then in the CDR Salamander archives to where I mentioned his. It had me nodding my head, smiling on occasion, but more than anything else missing that phase. As a sidenote, in 2012 Wired had a nice overview of the rise of ID.

We then came to Phase-3; the podcast/social media expansion. A few months after I left active duty in 2009 I started to think about the possibility to take advantage of the growth of bandwidth that might present the opportunity to have a "radio show" without having access to a radio. Audio recordings were nothing new online, but at that time "podcast" was not the term of art or that common. In to the space came our friend Claude Berube who saw the same opportunity and thought that Raymond, EagleOne, and I should have a talk show. I had not thought of doing a group show - and without Claude's push may have never gone solo - but I could think of nothing better than spending an hour with two individuals I've communicated with for years and had the greatest respect for.

If you dig in to the Midrats archive's first year, there's "Galrahn" as our third co-host. Of course, life gets busy, and with work and a growing family of young'uns, weekend time became a premium. Raymond had to drop, but we managed to bring him back for an anniversary show in 2016. In 5-weeks we celebrate our 13th anniversary of a show that Raymond helped create. 

2016 is roughly where Phase-4 started and Raymond was not "out there" as much as we selfishly wanted him to be, but playing in the maritime natsec space was a hobby. He had a serious job and a big family ... but he was always there if you dropped him a line.

That was probably for the best. Phase-4 saw the closing of the Navy's mind in a way. Not a byproduct of, but in sympathy with, the rise of twitter - things started to get nasty. Senior leadership became more distant. PAO's who used to reach out on a regular basis, now were hard to get a word from ... for everyone. The Navy's information ecosystem is a more distracted, paranoid, and toxic environment - right at a time where it needs more ideas, more openness, and smart minds like Raymond's to face the challenges west of Wake. That revival, if it comes, will not have Raymond's help.

The last few years, Raymond and I would drop an email, send a DM, or like we did last in March of this year, tweet back and forth to each other - but that was it. We all think we have more time. Of course, he knew he was sick, but I didn't know. I wouldn't think someone almost a decade younger than I am would go so early. None of us in this space knew.

I last saw Raymond in person last almost exactly five years ago at NAVYCON One. As in San Diego the previous time, Raymond may not have been a Sailor, but he could hang with them. With an interesting gaggle of folks who many of you would recognize, we haunted the Annapolis pubs until closing. We all had the honor of meeting one of Raymond's daughters who was there I think to keep dad out of trouble. It was five years ago, but I still smile at our conversation and good company.

I'll miss him for two reasons; professionally I hoped he would find an opportunity to rejoin the conversation with vigor when work and family would allow; personally I was looking forward to an opportunity once again to spend an evening of good food and good drinks with a good man.

If you never met Raymond in person, take time to watch his presentation. I think he'd be honored if you would, a screenshot of it was his twitter profile.

This is where I'd like to make a point I've brought up to many in the past. Raymond started ID when he was 32. Didn't even have a Navy background and was always a great person to point to in order to tell people they aren't too young or too inexperienced to be a good thinker and share those ideas.

He was on the short list for me to point to whenever the usual suspects would bring credentialism-based barriers in the face of people bringing ideas forward. Look who listened to Raymond - and that defines the man. Ideas and character matter, not your CV.

Credentialism: those who care the most about credentials seem to know the least; those who care the least about credentials seem to learn the most.

We all learned a lot from Raymond.

For those who never got a chance to know Raymond in person, here is what I took away from three occasions covering a half dozen days we broke bread and shared drinks from San Diego to DC; he was funny. He loved, more than anything else, his family; he loved our Navy; he was self-deprecating, to a fault; he was welcomingly direct with his opinions of himself, you, and others; he was rough on those who deserved it, but understanding of everyone else, and exceptionally nice ... with a sly smirk when he decided someone needed to be poked in the rib.

He left too early. Selfishly, I wish I knew he was sick - but if he wanted others to know, he would have let us know. He was, in the end, a private man - and I respect that. He left us as we knew him; his own man on his own terms. 

Top-5 Blog Posts of 2021

Thought I would start out this week doing what I forgot to do last week - review the top posts from 2021.

I looked over the unique visits at both the OG home at blogspot and the parallel universe over at substack (so places where readers' IT managers block blogger.com can see it) and this is what seemed to get the most interest via sharing and being picked up by large follower accounts.

What does this tell us? I'm not sure, but I think it reflects a larger concern and feeling many people have that those we have trusted with the stewardship of our nation's military are not doing a good job. That and everyone is still fascinated by the Japanese Navy.

What will 2022 be most interested in? We'll see in a year.

1. Culture is Upstream of Everything (13JUL21): A congressional report on the culture of the Surface Navy.

2. This is What a Whole of Government Epistemic Failure Looks Like (17AUG21): A dozen days before the national humiliation in Kabul, a look at the inevitable. 

3. Japan Back in the Carrier Game ... (05OCT21): The joy and pleasure of the Japanese getting their carrier vibe back.

4. The Global Posture Review: Strategic Vapor Lock (30NOV21): Yes, the state of strategic thought in the US government is as bad as you think.

5. We're Designing Ourselves to Lose (26JUL21): Myopic and ill-focused leadership enabled by a culture that best suits their comfort leads to an unprepared force.

EMCON-Bravo

 Just a little note that at least for the first half of this week, I will have limited access to internet to properly blog on what I’d like to, so things will be thin for a bit ... all is well ... thanks for you patience.

Having Trouble Seeing the Blog?

Problems with accessing this content on facebook - mostly due to OPFOR action, has been longstanding and hard to fix. On NMCI and some other platforms, there are issues with the entire blogspot domain ... again, longstanding.

As such, while I am not changing platforms as of yet, from here on out I am going to be crossposting to the CDR Salamander page on Substack. I've decided to let Bryan's post be the test run as FB now won't let anyone link to my stuff, and NMCI trolls have done there work there as well.

Some of you may like that format, and through the years many of you have asked if I had a "tip jar." I have not moved to pay subscriptions, but may add that in the near future over there. If I do, it will be for you the same as a "tip jar" as you can't buy me all the beer you owe me, but I think I may offer extra content for paid subscribers.  More to follow ... but until then, you can head on over to my substack page where you can, as you can here, subscribe via email to have it come directly to you.

EMCON A

Hey there folks ... I have not had to do this for awhile, but things are going to go quiet here for about a week or so.

Everything is fine and I am well, I think, but I just have to drop off the grid for awhile.

For those who follow me on twitter, I may weigh in now and then there as the opportunity presents itself, but not that much.

What I won't have the ability to do is post anything of substance here.

Lord willing and the Creek don't rise, I'll be back here in a week or so - and we have a Midrats scheduled on the 15th of March ... so let not your heart be troubled.

Set the troll watch for me in comments and remember to wash your hands as much as you can.

Don't abandon the blog ... we'll pick up right where we left off next week.

As always, thank you to the Front Porch for being you, and I look forward to bouncing ideas off the bulkhead with you again in a bit.

No, you can't get enough Salamander, really.

The kiddies over at The Salty Herald invited me over to play last night for a bit over an hour.

Great conversation for over an hour ... and I had the chance to throw a little love over to you folks on the Front Porch who make this whole blogg'n thing worthwhile.

It's a good listen, I hope.

The Damming of the Free Flow of Information

As some of you know by now, after an over eight year presence on Facebook with thousands of followers there alone, I have been declared as persona no grata by the powers that be. 

Actually, that isn't completely true. Just as Mark Twain never had a passport, CDR Salamander does not have a photo ID. Millions of profiles are on FB that don't have one either, but they get by. They just don't acquire enemies like so many beggarweeds. You have enough people report you as not receiving a 1099 in the same name as your FB account, and there you go.

Well, it is a shame. I put some original stuff on there, like my recent commentary on the Imperial City, that I can no longer access, but no big deal. Skipper, Old Blue and a few others have been given boot too. Such is life.

I was thinking about this as I have been watching the slow motion train wreck that has been twitter in the last few weeks. There is something going on, what it is ain't exactly clear - but this much is; it is not trending in the direction of individual liberty.

I'm old enough that I remember when the internet was supposed to be this great open space for rough and tumble discussion. Regulars on the Front Porch here know that those who have a fetish for the jack-boot have always tried to silence those who differed in thoughts than their blinkered views - but they always seemed to lose out to the default towards freedom. Not any more. Freedom is waning.

If you don't like something, don't read it. If you don't want to hear something, block it, unfollow it, generally get on with your life. Sticks and stones may break my bones and all that. 

Well, no. In 2016, the bullies and fascists are on the march. Like rust, they never sleep.

Of all I have read recently, no one has put it together better than William A. Jacobson over at LegalInsurrection.

He starts out reviewing what some of those younger readers never knew - the salad days when I started blogging in 2004;

I’m so old I remember when conservative blogs and websites used to communicate with each other on email lists and by frequent linking to each other.

When Legal Insurrection started in October 2008, that was how we let the world know we existed and what we were writing. So-called “blog whoring,” whereby smaller blogs clogged the inboxes of people at larger websites hoping for a link, was how it was done. This website would not have thrived without the appreciated links from Instapundit, Hot Air, Michelle Malkin, and dozens of other blogs.

Our Twitter page says we joined in December 2008, but I think it was another year or so before Twitter became a central communication focus for conservatives. In those “early” days I remember conservatives dominating Twitter — the common wisdom was that liberals ruled on Facebook and conservatives ruled on Twitter. That has changed over time, and liberals are just as if not more influential on Twitter.

Along the way Twitter changed how conservatives interacted. Who needed mass emails when we could send a tweet and be seen by other conservatives? That ease of interaction and ability to mobilize people had a downside. I credit/blame Twitter for the demise of most smaller conservative websites.

I went through our blogroll recently, and deleted dozens of links to defunct or barely functioning conservative blogs. It was truly shocking how many no longer exist or rarely post. Part of it certainly is dreaded Blogger Burnout. But part of it is that Twitter is the new blogosphere.

Twitter helped destroy the conservative ecosystem of small blogs by replacing it with something easier to use and more effective.

But in the process, I can’t help but feel we have become prisoners of Twitter.

I remember it well. From bookmarks on the browser, to RSS feeds, to email - even pimp'n posts to those who started earlier. Checking where you were in the TTLB Ecosystem. Sigh.

That is why the recent changes at twitter, where they have brought on a strange mix of Star Chamber and French Terror committee, has left me a bit flummoxed. In a blink of an eye, what was once a libertarian bastion has become almost Stalinist;

Baldwin, who currently stars in the TNT hit show ‘The Last Ship,’ tells Independent Journal Review that Twitter’s new policy of punishing users for speech it finds “offensive” is the reason for his departure from the social platform:

“It’s really a shame that so-called ‘liberal thinkers’ and the so called ‘tolerant crowd’ is intolerant of varying viewpoints. They’re so afraid to hear people disagree with them. Instead of ignoring it or providing their own arguments in return, they say “shut up!”

“I’ve had enough. Twitter is dead to me,” Baldwin tells us, “I’m going to find greener pastures elsewhere and I’m not coming back.”
...
Baldwin cites the banning of prominent conservative tweeter Robert Stacy McCain as a major reason for leaving and points to a recent article by The Federalist for an explanation of the situation:

On Friday, Twitter suspended the account of Robert Stacy McCain, a conservative blogger and dogged critic of feminism, apparently without warning or explanation. This has led, in true Twitter fashion, to protests under the hashtag #FreeStacy.

Only a few weeks earlier, Twitter had announced the creation of a “Trust and Safety Council,” to which it appointed Anita Sarkeesian, a feminist known for denouncing “sexism” in video games, a prominent figure in the Gamergate controversy—and oh yes, a frequent target of criticism from McCain. So it sure looks like the moment Twitter gave Sarkeesian the power to do so, she started blackballing her critics.

Baldwin tells us Sarkeesian’s role in the new Safety council directly affected his decision.

The lights are going out all over the place. To be frank, I'm a little bit flatfooted on knowing what to do about it. Let's go to PopeHat;

I don’t have any problem with Twitter deciding that it wants to be less of a shithole and more of a place where people can go to express themselves and read other peoples’ expressions without it turning into an intellectual trash-heap. Remember: it’s their site, their rules.

Nevertheless, I do fault Twitter for is its hypocrisy and its outright lies about what it claims that it is doing. Twitter is not at all interested in making Twitter a "nicer" place, nor promoting more constructive discourse. Twitter is taking a side in the culture wars, and it has chosen that it will be the destination of choice for the "social justice warriors" echo chamber.

A stark example came to light this weekend when Milo Yiannopoulos discovered that his account had suffered the “discipline” of having his official public figure status revoked. On Twitter, the real public figures get a blue checkmark next to their names so that people realize that they’re dealing with the real celebrity, and not one of any number of imposters, impersonators, or satirists. Mr. Yiannopoulos is, for those who are uninitiated, a conservative who frequently disagrees with the “social justice warrior” mentality. And that’s strike one against him. Yiannopoulos had the audacity to disagree with certain politically correct notions, and thus he was subjected to this minor form of discipline.
...
There’s not a damn way that his account would have suffered any discipline at all had his views not been from the disfavored side of the debate. For all Twitter’s lip service to freedom of expression and prevention of abuse, Twitter believes in neither. As Allum Bokhari wrote, "The fingerprints of social justice warriors, who delight in redefining political disagreement as “harassment,” are all over this new rule. Twitter’s reputation for arbitrary, politically-motivated punishment looks set to grow."

In fact, in order to test Twitter’s so-called newfound prevention of harassment, I have tracked a number of Twitter accounts and even have set up decoy accounts. In what I've tracked, so far, pretty strong “harassment” emanating from accounts that purport to promote a "social justice" or feminist agenda remain unscathed – even with pretty extreme content, up to and including death threats. However, even slightly offensive messages coming from conservative voices wind up being disciplined. Thus far, the experiment has not gone on long enough to actually call it "scientific," so I'm not going to say that the early stages of studying the bias in Twitter suspensions is ready for prime time – but it is certainly confirming what we hypothesized.

Twitter, we see through your bullshit. It’s okay, you can simply announce that you’ve decided to take a side in the culture wars and you’re just not going to apply the rules the same way to conservatives as you will to liberals. You can say you’re going to discriminate on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, and anything else you want. But please don’t pander to us by trying to tell that this has anything to do with “harassment” or “free speech.” Somebody, or a group of somebodies in your organization has a political agenda and you’re going to use your power, diminishing as it is, to promote that agenda. That’s allowed. Maybe it will even make you more popular than ever, but just cut the lies. Because some of us are watching and we know better.

For now, I'm still on twitter. I'm also on Instagram, Snapchat, Periscope, Yik Yak and all that jazz ... but nothing seems to work or build community like facebook did and twitter once had.

I'm not sure if everyone sees what is going on here. There is a top-down narrowing of voices. Facebook and twitter are selling their souls and businesses for an ideology that is based on exclusion, punishment, and just petty bullying.

If you are interested in more detail on twitter specifically, TechRaptor is a must read.

Why do some become quiet?

Coming from the city and through a sparse, wooded river valley near the village of Echternach in Luxembourg, there is a ruin of a Roman Villa. It was dramatic in its scale and beauty at the height of the Empire, but then lost for almost 1,500 years.

When I first drove by the ruins, I wondered what the owners of that villa were thinking about 400AD (if I am allowed to use that term) of all the goings on in Rome. How often did they discuss what was going on in the Imperial capital with their neighbors who owned the villas in Borg, Bollendorf and others in their little corner on the edge of the Empire - and what, if anything, they should do.

Perhaps they heard of rumors of the Legions leaving Briton, but doubted that would happen and perhaps comforted themselves that, if they did leave, the legions would simply be reassigned to reinforce Gallia Belgica.

From across the Rhenus, they heard rumors of some restiveness on the part of the Franks - but they are good trading partners and really have no reason to challenge Rome again.

I am sure that, as time went by - they became exhausted keeping track with the drama in Rome as bad Emperors replaced worse Emperors selected from the same families or just the General of the Month Club. Each new Provincial Governor that cycled in and out only asked for more taxes and asked fewer questions on what was needed by the people.

Instead of regular correspondence with their neighbors on the topic of Roman politics and the dysfunctional Empire, they just invested more time riding their property, improving their orchards, talking with their shepherds about the upcoming lambing season and probably, after each harvest or return from market, took a few gold coins to hide away in their little hoard over the crest of the hill to the west ... well ... just in case.

On good days, they would take a deep breath and look around at their blessings as they have that day, with an edge of unease in the quiet. They would kiss their children on the top of their head and wonder, how much longer will this hold on? What more could they do than they are already doing? But mostly, their circle of concern pulls towards the center, the topics they worry about narrow, and the Glory of Rome starts to seem like something they were taught as a little kid and, the old legionnaire thought, perhaps something he was trying to be a part of in his decades long service.

Was it ever really there, or was it just a little fable for children that was sold and retold among mutually foolish young men?

Who knows. All he knows this morning is that they still have not found those five oxen that went missing three days ago. That is his mission today, and that is good enough.

And in the evening, as has been more frequent as of late, there is no messenger to bring news - and from the villa, no news or inquiry that needs to go out.

Just the quiet of the evening and only a hint of distant drums, mostly drowned out by the babbling brook behind the garden where he takes his evening drink, and the constant ringing in his ears - besides his villa, the most lasting vestige of his years of service to the Empire.

The USN and its History of Boatrocking

Intellectual churn. Creative destruction. Marketplace of ideas. Creative friction. Robust debate.

Is progress ever made in an organization whose leaders prescribe for others and have their own careers characterized by, "Shut up and color?"

Of course, the answer is and emphatic, "No." The lockstep and the yesman are characteristics of Soviets and late-period Ottomans - neither of which are a successful benchmark for success.

The members of the front porch are well aware that our modern Navy, with a few welcome exceptions, has not been the most open for debate - but I don't think there ever was a period that was a utopia of free thoughts. In many respects, free thought is not quite in line with the military mind - and depending on who owns paper on you and your career timing, trying to engage in a free discussion of ideas can end a career - but not always. That keeps many on the intellectual sidelines. It is getting better, but still too many remain in the shadows. 

As our friend LCDR BJ Armstrong, USN reminded us in the opening of his book 21st Century Mahan, it can work out for some;

“It is not the business of naval officers to write books.”
- Adm. F. M. Ramsey, USN in the 1893 FITREP of A.T. Mahan.

The last decade or so has been, at least from this blogg'r's perspective, a golden age for those interested in the free flow of idea and open debate on national security concerns. The Internet has not only open the doors to more voices, it has also allowed greater access to facts and ideas to the larger public and most importantly - has created a rather brutal but effective marketplace of idea where every concept, thought, theory, or claim is crowdsourced fact checked quickly and without quarter. 

This was enabled by technology, and the cycle time is very short - but is this something unique to our age? Are parallel efforts to the milblogosphere such as DEF et al something new, or just another iteration of a great tradition?

Our good friend Claude Berube points us in the direction to a great history of healthy debate in the latest edition of Naval History magazine, The Crucible of Enlightenment.

... an era of naval enlightenment blossomed during Andrew Jackson’s presidency from 1829 to 1837. This period of robust contemplation and debate is perhaps best embodied in the Naval Lyceum, an organization that would serve as a prototype for later naval intellectual forums.
...
The Naval Lyceum provided a home for naval reformers through a permanent, professional organization that could advance new concepts. 

This was not the first American attempt at a professional military organization. The U.S. Military Philosophical Society (1802–13) was established as the nation engaged in the First Barbary War. Its purpose was to collect and preserve military science from veterans of the American Revolution and share knowledge about warfare, primarily from an army perspective. The society’s members included the sitting president, Thomas Jefferson; Secretary of War Henry Dearborn; elected officials; and Army and Navy officers.

I don't think this point can be made too much - rocking the boat is exactly what our Navy's traditions demand; not mindless followership;

In the 1830s, publications began to be increasingly distributed to promote and share ideas. These platforms of free speech were integral to the officers’ reform movement. Until this time, articles about the Navy in journals—particularly by serving officers—appeared infrequently, and were usually simple accounts of naval actions or hagiographic biographical essays of early heroes. 

The rise of military-specific publications would change that. The Naval Lyceum published its own periodical, the Naval Magazine (1836–37), for two years. Others included The Military and Naval Magazine (1833­­–34), Army and Navy Chronicle (1835–44), and The Sailor’s Magazine (1829–1935). These publications would help stimulate intellectual debate about the Navy among officers and interested civilians. Secular journals also published a growing number of articles about the Navy and/or written by naval officers. 

These periodicals featured essays that covered topics as diverse as biography, emerging technologies, officer-penned travel notes about ports and countries, foreign naval capabilities, naval policies, and ideas for improving the Navy. In the Naval Magazine , for example, article titles included “Comparative Resources of the American Navy,” “A Pilot’s Story of a Shipwreck,” “History of Navigation,” “Hints on the Mineral Wealth of the United States, Suggested by the Recent Discovery of Diamonds,” “Malaria, Produced by Vegetable and Animal Putrefaction, as a Cause in Fever,” “Traits of the Mussulman,” “The Acropolis of Athens,” and “Remarks on Quarantine Systems.” 

Some debates on the subjects covered in these periodicals became extremely contentious, particularly when senior officers began to weigh in.

This final pull-quote is perhaps a bit self-serving - but as my email basket reflects - some "smart professionals" have no clue about their real historical heritage.

Anonoblogg'rs? Yes, it is old school;

These magazines provided junior officers a valuable opportunity to publicly engage with senior officers and citizens on topics they had begun to write about in their own private correspondence and journals. They typically did so under pen names (as did many civilians). This ensured that in the event of a contentious topic, the author’s privacy would be protected and the debate would be focused on the message rather than the messenger. Essays frequently appeared with the bylines of authors using only a letter: “C,” “D,” “M,” or “X,” for example. Others chose names or phrases such as “Coquille,” “Neptune,” “Candor,” or “A Friend of the Navy.” Had authors published under their own names, their naval careers could have suffered, and the public would have dismissed their concepts as those of inexperienced junior officers. When attributed to nameless, faceless entities, their messages could gain a wider audience. 

Pseudonyms were an effective means of challenging conventional thinking, but not all officers agreed with using them. One officer, ironically identified by the moniker “Writer,” wrote of the “odious system of anonymous communications. Fear of power originated it; fear of detection has continued it. . . . In the warfare of anonymous communications, we pierce the masque, without thought of the wound we inflict on him whom it conceals, but shelters not.”

Read it all.

So, in the likely event you find yourself working for someone who is a child of the Dark Ages and not the Enlightenment - perhaps keep your thoughts associated with your name close, but know this; you are in the right and fully in line with the "finest tradition of the naval service."

Wish Rusty a Happy 10th

One of the premier blogs in The Long War just marked their 10th anniversary.

TheJawaReport and Rusty are one of the reasons I decided to join the blogosphere - and he and his crew have done some incredibly important work for the West.

If you ever wonder where this blog gets some of its strange wandering from - you can point a finger at Jawa. A little spice to go with the stick-to-your-ribs goodness.

I don't think he has forgiven me for getting banned in Pakistan first - but we're still OK.

Happy blog-birthday to you and your crew Rusty.

The Kids Turned the Tables on Me!

For the regular listeners of Midrats, you may find it a bit funny to find me on the other side of the microphone.

The good folks over at CIMSEC were kind enough to invite me on their podcast for a visit. 

Matt and Grant made the mistake of giving me an open mic and a quasi captive audience.

What could go wrong?

Well, it ain't April 1st

Another of my blogfathers has hung up his spurs. I commented there well before I took this nom du plume.

All of a sudden, the milblogosphere just seemed a little stranger. I am a bit at unease.

The Maritime Marketplace of Ideas, on Midrats

Policy is never set - it is never agreed. As the global maritime security situation changes, so must the ideas and plans of nations.

In the best Western tradition, it is generally accepted that more ideas and more discussion is better in working towards the best solution to any challenge - especially national security challenges.

One of the newer additions to the discussion are the writers at the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC).

Since they joined the conversation in force in 2012, what is their view of the state of vigorous debate in the maritime security arena? What do they see as the major issues no only on maintaining a healthy culture of "Creative Friction Without Conflict" - and what do they see as the major subjects that naval thinkers need to concentrate on?

Today, Sunday June 9th from 5-6pm Eastern, our guest for the full hour will be Lieutenant Scott Cheney-Peters, USNR. Scott is a Surface Warfare Officer in the Navy Reserve and government civilian on the OPNAV staff at the Pentagon.

Scott is the former editor of Surface Warfare magazine and served aboard USS Fitzgerald (DDG-62) and USS Oak Hill (LSD-51).

In 2012 Scott founded the CIMSEC, a non-profit think tank/website/group focused on maritime security issues.

Scott is a graduate of Georgetown University and the U.S. Naval War College.

Join us live if you can so you can join with the usual suspects in the chat room and offer up your questions for our guest, but if you miss the show you can always listen to the archive at blogtalkradio.

Listen to internet radio with Midrats on Blog Talk Radio

Blogpause for Boston

I'm shifting my blogging plans to the right at least 24-hrs due to what happened in Boston; the post I was going to put up will just have to wait.

Most everyone will be focused on Boston anyway -  rightfully.

In case you're wondering, here are a few things that are marinating in my nogg'n.

1. Don't let others get away with, "Can you believe .... " type comments. We are at war, there will be more bombings, and not just by Islamic terrorists. Since I walked out of diapers we have had bombings from everyone from Communists to Eco-terrorists, to neo-naziesque wackjobs (CEN). The CEN attacks will be the exception, as we are in for at least a century of Islamic bombings regardless of who is in office and what their policies are. The weaker we are, the more bombings we will receive - but we can't stop them all. Accept it - and remind your neighbors.
2. Anyone from any part of the political system who tries to use such events for tactical gain should be shamed and shunned. I don't care who they are.  Ditto journalists.
3. Any politician that once again uses terrorists attacks as an excuse to take away individual liberty should be shamed and shunned. I don't care who they are. This nation does not exist to be a police state. 
4. Think about where you live and where you go. If the event is something that even remotely from an international POV breaks above the news ambient noise - have a plan. If wearing your red hat you would make a strike where you are - have a plan. Brief your friends and family that if anything should happen, no reason to be dramatic you can simply say "if we get lost or thing get weird", have a plan on how to communicate and where to meet. Primary, backup and ready spare. Have a plan.
5. Don't stress. Odds are, we will all go to our grave having a very ordinary uneventful life. You only get one run around the track, enjoy it.

One final note - Maggie; hugs and kisses to you and yours.

CIMSEC Ask the Right Question

The answer is a bit more complicated than 42. Asks Jason;

... where is the sailorbob or cdrsalamader ‘site on the high side? Given the requirement to keep much of our tactical discussion away from prying eyes, how easy has the Navy made it for the average watchstander to find high-side sites where tactics are routinely and robustly discussed?

Reminds me of the Great Loss of '92 when the PC police took away the Esoteric Book of Gouge. You know, the green-cloth covered watch-book written in the blood of years of upgraders/non-quals - boiling down piles of hard to get information in pubs with lessons learned and the most tricky oral board issues to one easily accessible package - where you could revise and improve the gouge as needed.

The PQS sadists always hated it - but the Gods of JOPA always protected it ... until ... some hinge of a fun-sponge post-Tailhook also realized that it had some of the better liberty gossip and "observations" about certain unevaluated "qualifications" and "specialties" some people had and how they could be procured. So, one day the XO took it and that was that.

Well ... that was about the only written TS forum I can think of that was close to what CIMSEC is asking for ... and it was on deadtree. The question is; does the Navy have the culture, infrastructure and hours in the day for their to be something new mediaish on the high side? I don't think so, for a variety of reasons.

I think a SB or CDRS in RED or ORANGE networks would, unless given proper the top cover, quickly die once the wrong person got butthurt because LTJG Upstart put out a scathing POSTEX about VADM Insecure's favorite program/theory that he just published that LT Nevergetscredit ghost wrote for him, and VADM Insecure called RDML Paranoid - the ISIC of CDR Needtofeedfivekids - the CO of USS COLDIRON - who was informed in no uncertain terms that the COLDIRON's wardroom needed to shut up and cover ... and then ... "Delete that post, ban that user, get me the number of the administrator's boss ... etc ... etc."

We talked about just that problem on the last Midrats with a Naval War College professor. That issue is very real.

While a lot of people know who SB-actual is, and a smaller number who CDRS-actual is - they are separate from DoN and their personalities are somewhat prickly and hard to eradicate. SB has a degree of separation from some of the ideas on his forum, and when on active duty - only two people knew who CDRS-actual was - so no real direct threats.  Govt. owned, govt hosted, and subject to all that means? A bit hard to duplicate.

Perhaps that isn't fair. Perhaps it is. Perhaps that is why the anon side of the web works - people can share with some protection if they trust the venue. SB has its own culture (stab, stab, twist, stab ..... just kidding, I kid because I love) and my little front porch has its own too. People know that their identity and confidentiality is safe with me. I only post 10% of the things that are sent my way. So many things are sent, "on background" or just, "don't even hint at this, but I wanted you to know..." or "Look at this, but don't publish the pic as its source would be easy to track back ..." because since 2004, people have learned that CDRS is a "safe place." Will people trust DoN RED and ORANGE SB and CDRS like that? Not for long methinks.

Though CDRS is a one-man-show, if someone is itching to tell story, I let guest posts once a quarter or so - or as is often the case, people will hand me a story and say, "Publish as your own if you wish in whole or part ... but keep me out of it." And of course, comments is a free-fire zone, where unless you are excessively personally rude or make psycho-sexual threats, you are as free to advertise your ignorance as the host is. You can't be that free wheeling in RED and ORANGE.

Both SB and CDRS serve a certain part of the information ecosystem - but they are what they are because Sailor Bob and 'ole Sal run their ships they way they do, service the same cause - just in slightly different flavors - and it works because of that. But ... as the folks at CIMSEC point out - it has a huge limitation; UNCLAS.

I exchanged emails with a friend of the blog who knows me IRL too, and we were talking around a few things that we used to do operationally back in the day - topics that we simply cannot dig in to via any UNCLAS means ... so we talk around it. The two specific topics just beg for the open forum of SB and CDRS - if there were such a thing TS-SCI. That is where the cynicism of the above paragraphs is pushed back against what is a real need for an open forum on the high side. Just and example.

X & Y is put out in industry publications claiming Z ... but we have known for WW years that what is put out by industry is a lie. A lie that a lot of national security assumptions are based. Lies that are fudged in wargames, simulators, and yes - open source publications. You cannot directly push back though because to do so breaks well past UNCLAS.

Behind the cypher door, I am quite sure people are still saying, "This won't kill sh1t outside very specific _____ and _____ if you happen to _____. Do they know that there are only ______ of ______ that will support_____ of _____ anyway?" ... just like we did about the same systems 10, 15, and even 20 years ago.

And no one outside that small circle hears that. A dozen people read what has been written before behind the cipher door - but for most up the chain the Best Case is briefed as the Most Likely, the Most Likely is briefed as the Worst Case, and the Worst Case is put in backup slides. The filter performs its function - and the programs continue unchanged.

It would be good to have such a Navy wide forum online in RED and ORANGE ... but I don't think right now we have the culture to support it. Heck, I remember a specific topic that came out of a RIMPAC that was cut out of the TS brief simply because it was too negative an estimation of a new system's performance in the real world vice simulation. Not inaccurate ... just different than what the Flags were briefed about what its performance would be. We didn't say it was great, we didn't say what it actually did, we just said it was tried.

From what I hear in the Fleet, not much has changed in the last few years. Put another way;

The more insidious factor being a silencing of innovation in warfighting thought because of the perception that sharing of views outside of one’s own chain of command is seen in a negative light. Jeff Gilmore’s excellent post titled “Where is Lt Zuckerburg“ illustrates the challenges the military has placed upon its own innovators, from the lack of a coherent social media policy to the impediments placed upon junior thinkers by senior staffs. When coupled with the perception of ideas flowing into a doctrinal “black hole” once they leave the unit (due to the length of the vetting process, or due to failing to find advocacy outside the lifelines), what motivation do junior leaders have to share their ideas?

That is a panel discussion I would like to see led by Admiral Stavridis with a bunch of uppity-LTs.

We can overcome the lack of organizational inertia that bureaucracy forces upon warfighting; but doing so requires us to train our young leaders to use a healthy dose of critical thinking, some self-righteous zeal, and a bulldozer when necessary.

Critical thinking, self-righteous zeal, and a bulldozer personality ...  a pain in the tail at times - but isn't that what you want in the balance of your warfighting JOs to be?

This is a tough line of work - we should encourage a wide ranging and intellectually challenging exchange of ideas - it is better to do it in peace, than to wish you had in war.

Salamander Woman of the Week: Laura Byrnes

Now and then I read something like this, and I feel a lot better about what I have done since 2004, and why I have done it.

I am not longer in "deep cover" and 100% anon, and haven't been for the last 4 years. Many of the front porch know my very normal and garden variety self - but I don't walk around blaring it all over the place. Part of that is an online branding, part of that is I am comfortable with my alter-ego, part of it is I don't want it to be about "me" but about the ideas - and part of it is the fact I don't want to deal with all bother.

Laura though is a much braver person than I am, and her post is a must read not only for those who write opinion, but those who actively participate in the creative friction online. Here is just a taste;

I am opinionated, and I stand up for others. When called for, I stand up for myself. I don’t see myself as the only person who can or should be doing these things, and so I actively encourage others to do the same.

I’ve noticed a few problems that seem to come up as a result of my being open and genuine online:
...
I am very frequently told that *because* I have a platform, I should stay silent or risk being seen as “unprofessional”. I am told that my opinionated nature will hurt my business - in many cases, this is said in a very shaming and punitive way, as in “Well I’m sure once people see what you’ve written you’ll surely lose business”.

When I talk about this phenomena to well meaning friends, the phrase “You put yourself out there” will inevitably come up.

And it annoys me every time. Here’s why:

I reject the idea that if you distinguish yourself in any way - be it through your words online or because you wrote a best selling novel or a #1 hit - you forfeit the right to live as a fully formed human with feelings and opinions. That because you have more people listening to what you have to say, you must be sure not to say anything that might trigger an attack, and if you do? Well, you put yourself out there.
...
Someone attacks you for their own warped reasons, but it’s your fault because you have fans and opinions. Or because you chose a career in fashion, music, or film.

You dared to be pretty, smart, funny, or opinionated in public, so you get what you deserve. It “comes with the territory”. You “put yourself out there”.

Well I say, fuck the territory. I HAVE put myself out there, and I see the territory is infested with rats. I’m not going to shut up and let the vermin run rampant, I’m going to say “Look at all these rats, they need to go”.

... it is your imperative to speak up and stand up, no matter who you are, no matter what they say the “territory” is like.

Change the territory. Clean out the vermin. The only way to do this is by STANDING UP.

Hat tip Chap.

No, I'm an anti-intellectual wanna-be

Senior Chief Murphy has something a bit cheeky but on target that builds off part of our conversation with VADM Daly last Sunday on Midrats;

One of the best compliments I’ve ever received was to be called a “pseudo-intellectual wanna-be.” It was meant as an insult, but it’s difficult to take it that way. I relish that moniker and suspect other authors would, too. When you consider the meaning, pseudo-intellectual is something I wanna be.

Merriam-Webster’s definitions for the adjective “intellectual” include “of or relating to the intellect or its use; developed or chiefly guided by the intellect rather than by emotion or experience (rational); given to study, reflection, and speculation.” I hope most of those definitions fit, but the emotional elements that drive my articles qualify me only for pseudo status.

This column is a combination of reflection and emotion. Emotion generates the ideas and the passion to write these 700 words; reflection balances that passion to create a rational look at each topic. Well, that is the goal. Readers can decide success or failure for themselves.

It is that balance of thought and emotion readers want and publishers seek. The Naval Institute and others provide myriad print and electronic outlets for potential writers who overcome any hesitation and share their thoughts. As readers, we must each encourage thinkers to write, seeking them out and imploring them to put their thoughts on paper and submit them for publication.

To you potential writers: Tap into your emotions and your intellect. Embrace your inner pseudo-intellectual wanna-be.

Read it all.

Hat tip BJ.