A Better Peace: The War Room Podcast

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  RIVALRIES, READINESS, AND REALIGNMENT: GOLDWATER-NICHOLS 40 YEARS LATER 06.10.2026 34мин

  Forty years ago, the Goldwater-Nichols Act reshaped how the U.S. military operates. Passed in 1986 following coordination breakdowns in operations like Vietnam and the Iranian hostage rescue, the law forced the branches to overcome fierce rivalries and operate as a joint team. Host Ron Granieri sits down with Bob Bradford and Levi Rains to examine whether those reforms worked, where friction remains, and where defense reform goes next. Together, they break down the tension between the services—responsible for training and equipping forces—and regional combatant commanders who employ those troops in real-world missions. The discussion explores how the law clarified the chain of command, mandated joint officer education, and balanced readiness against immediate crises. Looking ahead, Bradford and Rains consider what future reorganization should tackle, from synchronizing military strategy across other government departments to joint force design. https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/goldwater-nichols Be sure to check out Bob's article about "Victory On the Potomac" that will be released on 8 Oct 26 https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/articles/reforming-defense
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  BIASES AND BLINDSPOTS: THE ART OF MILITARY DECEPTION 29.09.2026 35мин

  Battles are won in the mind before shots are fired. Strategist Mike "Quatto" Posey joins host Tom Spahr joins to break down military deception, from WWII ghost armies to modern decoys, and how psychology drives outcomes on and off the battlefield. For full show notes including the publications Mike Posey references go to the link below https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/biases-and-blindspots
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  BEYOND DRONES: WHY TECHNOLOGY CANNOT REPLACE MASS 22.09.2026 45мин

  Drones dominate the headlines, but protracted warfare still comes down to people. Gil Barndollar joins host Steve Trynosky to discuss why Western militaries cannot afford to ignore the human demands of mobilization and manpower. https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/beyond-drones
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  SCRUTINY AND THE STRANGER: SECURITY IN THE WAKE OF 9/11 15.09.2026 44мин

  Marking the 25th anniversary of 9/11, host Jadwiga Biskupska sits down with deRaismes Combes to examine how the attacks reshaped American security, daily life, and the perception of threats, asking whether post-9/11 choices have truly made us safer. https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/scrutiny-and-the-stranger
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  RE-RELEASE: BEYOND VIETNAM: SUNK COSTS IN PRESIDENTIAL STRATEGY 09.09.2026 39мин

  How do "sunk costs" influence wartime decisions? JP Clark interviews Brian Groves on his book, "When Presidents Fight the Last War."
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  RE-RELEASE: UNMASKING THE BOOGEYMAN: THE BIN LADEN PAPERS 08.09.2026 47мин

  Twelve years ago last week, on May 2, 2011, the U.S. military conducted a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan that killed Usama bin Laden. Once the mission was accomplished, the SEAL team conducted sensitive site exploitation and gathered up and returned with all of the materials and equipment they discovered in the compound. Nelly Lahoud and her team sorted through some 97,000 files and 6,000 pages of declassified documents, all in Arabic, to discover the truth about bin Laden and the al-Qaeda network. She's in the studio to discuss her book, "The Bin Laden Papers: How the Abbottabad Raid Revealed the Truth about Al-Qaeda, Its Leader and His Family" with host John Nagl. The information gleaned from this incredible undertaking paints a picture of a man and a network that, after the 9/11 attack, were confined, restrained and not very successful.
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  SMUGGLING, SUPERMAX, AND THE SECOND WAVE: POST-9/11 01.09.2026 34мин

  How did an ordinary businessman get tied to Al-Qaeda's post-9/11 plans? Former war crimes prosecutor Michael Lebowitz joins host Ron Granieri to discuss his book, “Second Wave”, detailing this true story and the FBI, CIA, and military turf wars.
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  BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN THE SEMINAR AND THE BATTLEFIELD 25.08.2026 36мин

  Host Jadwiga Biskupska sits down with Ukrainian Army COL Oleksandr, an International Fellow in the AY26 class at the U.S. Army War College, for a real-time perspective on modern combat. He reveals how human innovation and older weapons are bypassing advanced electronic warfare on the battlefield.
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  MODERNIZING THE DIA WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 18.08.2026 36мин

  How does the DIA maintain its competitive edge? Host Tom Spahr asks Major General Robert Kinney, DIA's Chief AI Officer. They explore how AI accelerates human decision-making and manages battlefield data without replacing intelligence analysts. https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/dia-ai
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  RESTORING THE OFFENSE IN CONTEMPORARY COMBAT 04.08.2026 38мин

  Is maneuver warfare truly dead in modern combat? Tom Galvin sits down with Carlisle Scholars Kevin Krupski, Michael Moore, and Erick Buckner to tackle the growing belief that defense and total stalemates now rule the battlefield. Inspired by current events like the conflict in Ukraine, the team explores how armies can overcome tough defenses and get forces moving again. https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/restoring-the-offense
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  OPEN-SOURCE INTELLIGENCE AND ARTIFICIAL ILLUSIONS 28.07.2026 36мин

  As open-source intelligence dominates national security, how do analysts navigate deceptive "AI slop"? Kelly Ihme and Michael Moore join host Tom Spahr to discuss why a focused human mind remains the ultimate tool in the AI era. https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/open-source-intelligence
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  DEFAULT TO SHARE: DECLASSIFYING SPACE-BASED CAPABILITIES 21.07.2026 33мин

  Hiding military tools too well can weaken deterrence. Aaron Brown, Justin Bierens and Gerald Bowman join host Tom Galvin to discuss why the military must adopt a "share unless proven necessary to hide" approach for space operations. https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/declassifying-space
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  BRINGING WWII TO LIFE THROUGH STORYTELLING 30.06.2026 36мин

  Why does WWII still captivate our imagination? Host Darrell Driver and military historian Doug Douds discuss how the conflict shapes modern geopolitics, unpacking pivotal moments, unsung advisors, and intriguing historical counterfactuals. https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/wwii-storytelling
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  THE MISSING TIER: RESHAPING MILITARY MAINTENANCE 23.06.2026 38мин

  On today’s high-tech battlefield, "safe" rear areas no longer exist. Combat units are bogged down dragging broken gear because the military lacks a middle tier for complex repairs. Octavia Davis & Scott Pinkstaff join host Steve Trynosky to map out the fix. https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/reshaping-military-maintenance
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  STRESS TESTING TRANSFORMATION: WAR COLLEGE STUDENTS AT WORK 16.06.2026 33мин

  What happens when you unleash senior military students to fix bureaucracy? Guests Jared Britz and Josh Eggar join host Bob Bradford to discuss how Army War College students used tabletop exercises & AI tools to stress-test Army reforms and spot friction points. https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/unleashing-expertise
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  CAN AI PASS THE U.S. ARMY WAR COLLEGE COMPREHENSIVE EXAM? 09.06.2026 42мин

  Can AI pass military exams? Kevin Boyce & John Nagl join host Tom Spahr to discuss testing ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude & Grok on Army War College comps. All passed, but limits caused AI to degrade under pressure, proving human judgment remains indispensable. You can read the article Can AI Pass the U.S. Army War College? by Kevin Boyce, John Nagl and Kris Wheaton here https://publications.armywarcollege.edu/News/Display/Article/4472536/can-ai-pass-the-us-army-war-college/ You can find the manuscript Responsibly Pursuing Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) for the War Fighter by Blair Wilcox and Anthony Pfaff here https://press.armywarcollege.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3365&context=parameters https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/podcasts/ai-comps
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  NAVAL POWER & POLICY: RED STAR OVER THE PACIFIC 02.06.2026 37мин

  How has China transformed into a dominant naval power, and what strategic choices must the U.S. make to protect its interests in the Pacific? Toshi Yoshihara and James Holmes join Ron Granieri to discuss the third edition of Red Star Over the Pacific, which answers those very questions. The authors explain how Beijing synthesizes Western and Eastern strategic ideas to expand its maritime reach. Crucially, the conversation moves beyond simple threat assessments to explore how the United States should respond. Yoshihara and Holmes emphasize that the U.S. must maintain its unrivaled regional alliances, exploit competitive undersea strengths, and enforce strict strategic discipline to counter China's growing naval challenge. China's quest for control in the maritime domain is driven both by a weird combination of both confidence and insecurity. James Holmes, PhD, is the inaugural holder of the J.C. Wiley Chair of Maritime Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College and previously served on the faculty of the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs. A former U.S. Navy surface warfare officer, he also earned a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Toshi Yoshihara, PhD, is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Previously, he was the inaugural John A. van Beuren Chair of Asia-Pacific Studies and a professor of strategy at the U.S. Naval War College. He holds a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Photo Credit: Created by Gemini
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  AT THE SPEED OF RELEVANCE: REFORMING PROCUREMENT 26.05.2026 30мин

  How can the military adopt tech at the speed of relevance? Host Tom Galvin talks with Carlisle Scholars John Williams, Jeremy Jackson & Antonio Ilario on bridging the gap between bureaucratic acquisition timelines and rapid tech evolution.
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  BEYOND THE SELECTIVE SERVICE MYTHS 19.05.2026 41мин

  Is a return to a military draft even viable? William Taylor and Katherine Kuzminski join JP Clark to bridge the gap between myth and reality regarding the all-volunteer force and the political and logistical hurdles of 21st-century mobilization.
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  ESCAPING THE READINESS TRAP: RESHAPING THE RESERVES 12.05.2026 44мин

  To meet the demands of modern, high-intensity warfare, the U.S. Army Reserve must remake itself --"Army Reserve 4.0"-- is the finding of an Army War College integrated research project. Steve Trynosky discussed this study with authors Kiona Pritchard, Brandon Collins, and Colleen Vermeulen. They found the Army Reserve is in a "readiness trap" caused by spreading insufficient infrastructure and budget across too many formations. To address this, the team proposes a tiered readiness model: "Ready Now" for immediate response, "Expand Tomorrow" for operational depth, and "Endure Always" for a long-term strategic reserve. Beyond structural changes, the authors advocate for a "unified culture" through increased cross-pollination, such as embedding Reserve officers in active-duty units and vice versa. By offering flexible service options tailored to diverse civilian lifestyles, the Army Reserve can better retain top talent and remain an indispensable partner to the joint force in future peer conflicts. One of the things that we see here at the Army War College and out across the broader force—it's considered okay as an active duty officer to not be familiar with the reserve component. And that's a problem because the reserve components, plural, make up roughly 50% of the force. Brandon Collins is an Army lieutenant colonel and was commissioned as a Military Intelligence Officer in 2006 from Officer Candidate School and has held an array of assignments in both the Regular Army and Army Reserve, to include, most recently, CJ2X Director for Combined Joint Task Force-OIR in Baghdad, Iraq. LTC Collins holds a Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law – Houston; a Master’s Degree in Global and International Studies from the University of Kansas, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Stephen F. Austin State University. He is a member of the AY26 Resident Course at the U.S. Army War College. Kiona Pritchard is a colonel and an Army Nurse Corps Officer commissioned in 2005 through the Army ROTC Green to Gold Program following several years of active duty enlisted service. She began her career in the Regular Army and later transferred to the Army Reserve becoming a Nurse Practitioner. COL Pritchard has held a variety of command, clinical, and staff assignments, most recently as Commander of the 10th Battalion, 108th Regiment, an Army Reserve instructor unit for medical non-commissioned officer professional military education and enlisted medical MOS qualification courses. Kiona holds a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Cincinnati and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Portland. She is a member of the AY26 Resident Course at the U.S. Army War College. Colleen Vermeulen is a colonel who earned her commission as an Army Engineer Officer from ROTC in 2004. She has held a diverse range of command and staff assignments in both the Regular Army and Army Reserve, to include, Reserve Command Engineer for Special Operations Command South and Commander, 3rd Battalion, 330th Infantry Regiment, a unique Army Reserve unit missioned to deliver Infantry One Station Unit Training. COL Vermeulen holds both a Master of Divinity and Master of Nonprofit Administration from the University of Notre Dame as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Cornell University. She is a member of the AY26 Resident Course at the U.S. Army War College. Photo Credit: Created by Gemini