Modern War Institute

Forty years ago this month, President Ronald Reagan signed the Goldwater-Nichols Act into law, dramatically reforming the way the US military operates. Today, the joint force remains shaped by many of the features introduced in October 1986. But how did it happen? What problems did the legislators behind it want to solve? And how did Congress manage to enact a wide range of reforms that the Pentagon vehemently opposed? This episode marks the fortieth anniversary of Goldwater-Nichols by examining those questions and more. To do so, John Amble is joined by Arnold Punaro, who served as staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee as Goldwater-Nichols took shape. He simultaneously served in the Marine Corps Reserve, ultimately retiring as a major general after commanding a division, giving him a unique perspective that he brings to the episode's discussion. The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

For years now, the war in Ukraine has been fought on a largely static battlefield—characterized by attrition, with little opportunity for maneuver, and with only incremental changes to the front lines. But recently, seemingly out of nowhere, Ukrainian forces began recapturing territory held by occupying Russian forces. The gains steadily accrued until, in mid-September, Ukrainian officials for the first time confirmed the ongoing Operation Vivaldi. But although the operation's name was only publicly mentioned in September, the foundations of the operation’s achievements extend back months, and even years. On this episode, retired Australian Army Major General Mick Ryan shares his insights on how Ukrainian forces have accomplished what eluded them for much of the war and examines what the operation might tell us about the war’s future trajectory. The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

When the United States conducted Operation Midnight Hammer, a series of strikes against Iranian nuclear targets, it did so with two key pieces of exquisite hardware: the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator and the B-2 Spirit strategic bomber. But how does the GBU-57 actually work? And what’s it like to fly this type of long-range bomber mission in a B-2? To examine those questions, John Amble is joined on this episode by Air Force University’s Dr. Melvin Deaile, a retired Air Force colonel and strategic bomber pilot with operational combat experience in the B-2. The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

When Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, it galvanized both NATO and the European Union, doing more to unify much of Europe than any event in recent history. But how has political and strategic unity translated to improvements of collective European defense and deterrence? Amid uncertainty about continued US support for Ukraine, which European states are stepping into leadership roles? And most broadly, after three and a half years of war, how much has the European security landscape changed? To explore those questions and more, John Amble is joined on this episode of the MWI Podcast by Ed Arnold, a senior research fellow for European Security at the Royal United Services Institute. The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

National security professionals often conceptualize a continuum of conflict as a framework to understand the wide variety of ways in which conflict can manifest itself. It extends from relative peace on one end, terrorism and low-intensity conflict, up through large-scale combat, all the way to strategic rivalry in which nuclear weapons even come into the picture. But what if that cognitive framework no long holds? In a recent article published by Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mara Karlin explored that question. A professor of practice at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies and a former assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities, she shares insights gleaned from ongoing wars, from Ukraine to the Middle East, and argues that warfare is increasingly defined by a mix of characteristics from across the continuum of conflict. The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

After twenty years of America’s post-9/11 wars and the US military’s struggle to build capable and effective security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is an important discussion taking place about what role security force assistance should play for the United States in the very different strategic environment that is taking shape. Will it be a mission that we'll be required to do in order to compete with Russia and China? Or will it become tangential to our preparations for large-scale combat operations? And given the challenges we faced over the past two decades, what needs to happen to achieve better outcomes in the future? Will Reno, a professor of political science at Northwestern University, and Franky Matisek, a military professor of national security affairs at the US Naval War College, have researched the topic deeply, including conducting hundreds of interviews in the field. They join this episode to discuss their findings. The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.