The Operational Arch

COL Estee Pinchasin joins the show to share about her time as Commander of the Baltimore District of the Corps of Engineers and the role she played during the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in March 2024. COL Pinchasin discusses her experience during this crisis and draws out several key lessons from the incident. These lessons include the importance of collaboration, pre-established agreements, and maintaining a collaborative environment to handle complex interagency operations effectively.

Dr. Jacob Stoil, an expert on the Israel/Hamas conflict, joins the Operational Arch to reflect on the opening of the conflict one year ago. This is the second installment of a multi-episode run discussing the start of the war and the lessons that the United States should be learning from it. Check out The Israel & Hamas Conflict w/Dr. Stoil Part 1 (E33) released on November 15, 2024 to catch up on the conversation.

Season 1 episode 12 of the Operational Arch is part two of our conversation with guest Dr. Ben Zweibelson where he talks all things Center of Gravity. Ben argues that Centers of Gravity insufficiently prepare us to understand the emergent systems spawned when two opposing forces collide, and offers some alternative constructs we might use to make sense of increasingly complex systems. Dr. Zweibelson is the Director for the U.S. Space Command’s (USSPACECOM) Strategic Initiatives Group (SIG). Previously, Ben was the lead design educator/facilitator for U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) through the Joint Special Operations University. A retired U.S. Army Infantry officer and veteran of multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ben has an undergraduate degree (BA in Fine Arts) in Graphic Design from the University of Connecticut, three different master’s degrees (Louisiana State University, Air Command and Staff College, US Army School of Advanced Military Studies) and a doctorate in Philosophy from Lancaster University (UK). Ben is also the author of the recently released book "Understanding the Military Design Movement: War, Change, and Innovation." Through the month of July '23, use code SMA35 to get 20% off physical and digital copies of his book "Understanding the Military Design Movement." https://www.routledge.com/Understanding-the-Military-Design-Movement-War-Change-and-Innovation/Zweibelson/p/book/9781032481784 Links to Dr. Zweibelson's Publications: - Understanding the Military Design Movement: War, Change, and Innovation https://a.co/d/eotFjmb - "Rhizomes: In Paradox to ‘Centers of Gravity’ and Centralized Hierarchies in War" https://aodnetwork.ca/rhizomes-in-paradox-to-centers-of-gravity-and-centralized-hierarchies-in-war/ - Part 1 and Part 2 of the "Looking to the Future" section in JAMS Vol 13, no. 2 https://www.usmcu.edu/Outreach/Marine-Corps-University-Press/MCU-Journal/JAMS-vol-14-no-1/ MAJs Josh Bedingfield, Kesley Kurtz, and Dan Warner are the hosts for this episode. You can contact them at operationalarch@gmail.com with any questions you may have. School of Advanced Military Studies: https://armyuniversity.edu/CGSC/SAMS/SAMS Twitter: https://twitter.com/us_sams Intro and Outro Music: "On and On" by Christian Bedingfield

Season 1 Episode 8 of the Operational Arch is the final episode in our limited series exploring the pillars of operational art. Our guests this week are COL Andrew Morgado, the Director of the School of Advanced Military Studies, and Dr. Bruce Stanley, the Director of the Advanced Military Studies Program. They explore the relationship between practice and experience, how history, doctrine, and theory inform the practitioner, and how operational art remains ever the same even as our understanding of it changes in light of our experiences. Moreover, they offer an inside look on what the future of SAMS holds and some insight into what they are looking for in future students of the program. Below is a list of sources that provide some further reading for topics discussed in this episode. Norman Maclean's "Young Men and Fire:" https://a.co/d/ehMQT03 MAJs Ksley Kurtz and Josh Bedingfield are the hosts for this episode. You can contact them at operationalarch@gmail.com with any questions you may have. School of Advanced Military Studies: https://armyuniversity.edu/CGSC/SAMS/SAMS Twitter: https://twitter.com/us_sams Intro and Outro Music: "On and On" by Christian Bedingfield

Season 1 Episode 6 of the Operational Arch inspects the human dimension of the U.S. Army's multi-domain operating concept. Our guest, LTC Nate Finney, frames the discussion against the complex INDOPACOM operational environment and offers techniques on how planners and leaders should think about the human dimension to create relative advantage. LTC Finney is the creator and co-founder of The Strategy Bridge, a founder of the Military Writers Guild, and a founding member of the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum. He is the co-editor and author of Redefining the Modern Military: The Intersection of Profession and Ethics and the editor and an author of On Strategy: A Primer. He regularly contributes to the Project on International Peace & Security, Military Strategy Magazine, the Military Writers Guild, and the Council on Foreign Relations. LTC Finney is a graduate of the SAMS ASP3 program and recently earned his PhD in history from Duke University. LTC Finney also holds masters degrees in History from Duke University and Public Administration from Harvard University and the University of Kansas. MAJs Kelsey Kurtz, Josh Bedingfield, and Dan Warner are the hosts for this episode. You can contact them at operationalarch@gmail.com with any questions you may have. On Strategy: A Primer https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/on-strategy-a-primer.pdf Redefining the Modern Military: The Intersection of Profession and Ethics https://www.amazon.com/Redefining-Modern-Military-Intersection-Profession/dp/1682473635 School of Advanced Military Studies: https://armyuniversity.edu/CGSC/SAMS/SAMS Twitter: https://twitter.com/us_sams Intro and Outro Music: "On and On" by Christian Bedingfield

Season 1 Episode 4 of the Operational Arch is the second in a limited series examining the pillars of operational art. In this episode, we dive into the role theory plays in conducting operational art and training operational artists. Our guest, Dr. Scott Gorman, provides insights on how planners can leverage theory to understand how the world works and frame options to achieve desired endstates. Dr. Gorman is the Director of the Advanced Strategic Leadership Studies Program (ASLSP) at the School of Advanced Military Studies. He is a retired USAF Colonel, a career pilot, whose last assignment before retiring from active duty was Commandant and Dean, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. He holds a B.S. in Engineering from the USAF Academy, an M.A. in Russian History from Indiana University, an M.M.A.S. from the School of Advanced Military Studies, and a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. MAJs Josh Bedingfield, Dan Warner, and Kelsey Kurtz are the hosts for this episode. You can contact them at operationalarch@gmail.com with any questions you may have. School of Advanced Military Studies: https://armyuniversity.edu/CGSC/SAMS/SAMS Twitter: https://twitter.com/us_sams Intro and Outro Music: "On and On" by Christian Bedingfield

Season 1 Episode 2 of the Operational Arch examines the evaluation and assessment of operational art to determine how students of war may glean lessons, good or bad, on how forces employ operational art. Our guest, Australian Army Major General (Ret.) Mick Ryan, provides insights on the relationship between design and operational art, the strategy of corrosion in relationship to attrition or annihilation, how we can prepare ourselves to understand when intangible aspects of war such as culmination or operational reach are occurring, in addition to the influence design plays on execution. Australian Army Major General (Ret.) Mick Ryan is a world-respected strategist with service in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, author of War Transformed: The Future of Twenty First Century Great Power Competition and Conflict, and is a 2003 graduate of the US Marine Corps School of Advanced Warfighting. MAJs Josh Bedingfield, Dan Warner, and Kelsey Kurtz are the hosts for this episode. You can contact them at operationalarch@gmail.com with any questions you may have. School of Advanced Military Studies: https://armyuniversity.edu/CGSC/SAMS/SAMS Twitter: https://twitter.com/us_sams Intro and Outro Music: "On and On" by Christian Bedingfield

Greetings and welcome to the Operational Arch, the official podcast of the School of Advanced Military Studies, dedicated to bridging the gap between tactics and strategy through the study of operational art and the operational level of war. This episode will establish the foundation for this podcast by exploring who we are and what we are about. Meet your hosts as they introduce themselves, offer a brief explanation of SAMS, describe the mission and purpose of the Operational Arch, and look into what they have in store for you, the listener, this upcoming year. School of Advanced Military Studies: https://armyuniversity.edu/CGSC/SAMS/SAMS Twitter: https://twitter.com/us_sams Intro and Outro Music: "On and On v3" by Christian Bedingfield