School of War

Mark Montgomery, senior director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, returns to School of War to analyze the latest military developments across the world. Why has the Iran war entered such a dangerous and uncertain phase? What role will the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea play in its next stage? And what do Iran and Ukraine reveal about the changing shape of global conflict? 02:22 - Why the Iran War Suddenly Paused 04:44 - An Uneasy Ceasefire and Dueling Blockades 05:35 - The Challenge of Escorting Ships Through Hormuz 07:19 - Why America's Convoy Strategy Isn't Working 09:15 - The Navy's Readiness Dilemma 09:59 - Blockade vs. Convoy 12:08 - Why the U.S. Must Take More Risk at Sea 14:10 - America's Munitions Problem 15:05 - The Weapons Shortages Shaping the War 16:29 - America's Drone Defense Gap 21:11 - The Electronic Warfare Deficit 23:13 - The Red Sea and the Houthi Threat 26:15 - How Iran and Ukraine Are Connected 30:37 - Russia's Options for Escalation 35:04 - Is a Long Blockade Better Than Escalation? This episode of School of War is brought to you by Maven Smart System, the builder platform for the American warfighter, fielded across the force and live on the frontline today. Learn more at palantir.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rye Barcott, co-founder and CEO of With Honor, veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, and author of Courage Can Save Us, joins School of War to discuss the meaning of courage, the enduring value of service, and the challenge of bridging America’s growing political divides. What separates courage from bravery? Can military service help heal a polarized America? And what does principled leadership look like in an age of distrust? 01:28 - Murph challenge 03:08 - Rye's father and Vietnam 05:08 - Defining courage 07:57 - First to Fight 13:49 - Joining the Marines 14:22 - September 11th 17:42 - Bosnia, Africa, and Fallujah 19:16 - Marine commanders 23:52 - Life in Fallujah 26:05 - The With Honor mission 28:29 - America's polarization problem 30:05 - Veterans in politics 33:12 - The civil-military divide 37:23 - Courage in politics 41:57 - Congressman Jared Golden 44:19 - Senator Todd Young Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eliot Cohen, Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; professor emeritus at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, author of The Strategist: How to Think About War and Politics; and co-host of the Shield of the Republic podcast, joins School of War to discuss the recent agreement between the United States and Iran. Did the United States and Israel accomplish their objectives against Iran? What does the conflict reveal about the U.S. military's readiness for future wars? And did Trump negotiate from a position of strength, or squander one? 01:22 - Eliot Cohen on the war with Iran 03:34 - Judging Trump by outcomes 05:08 - A war 47 years in the making 06:45 - What we don't know about the air campaign 08:08 - Negotiating from strength? 09:10 - Trump's negotiating style 12:05 - Questions about America's conduct of the war 14:31 - The Strait of Hormuz becomes the objective 15:41 - Why the war ended when it did 17:25 - Trump and the nature of war 19:01 - Has Iran succeeded? 23:21 - The decline of the Iranian empire 28:09 - Why Trump got a bad deal 31:36 - Auditing the U.S. military 39:39 - Has warfare been transformed? 42:10 - What should America do next? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices