Navies are all the rage, and Canada has decided to go shopping. Don’t we have one, you may ask? It’s not that simple, and that’s why we should give this some thought. Let’s establish some fundamentals. First, there are two types of navies: Blue Water and Brown (or Green) Water. The former is what a country needs to project power and usually comprises large warships … Continue reading Anchors Away!

If you have read my novel The Cohort: Trust and Betrayal, then you know how strongly I feel about this issue. As the marketing pitch on the novel’s back cover points out: “Skip is a man committed to the ancient principles imparted to him by his father: trust, friendship and honour. He surrounds himself with friends, both old and new, who share those same beliefs. … Continue reading The Cost of Trust

Marty and my next instalment of our podcast series. Continue reading Newest Podcast

On 4 November, Democrats in the US had an incredible night of victories up and down the ticket, from sheriffs to judges to governors. I’m going to take a short hiatus from military theory and talk politics today, so if you don’t care about such things, see you soon and thanks for dropping by. Before the last Canadian election, I went to a “meet the … Continue reading Flash Post: Bitter & Charmless

In Selection of the Aim Part I, I described how important it is to understand exactly what your mission is. Now it’s time to discuss getting the mission right, because subtle changes can bring huge unintended consequences. Allow me to begin with a mundane example, which I used to use decades ago when teaching this subject at the Officer Candidate School in Chilliwack, BC. With … Continue reading Selection of the Aim: Part II

For many, Selection and Maintenance of the Aim is the first principle of war. Disregard that we are already on shaky ground since that is not a single principle (selection and maintenance) and consider what it means. Too often, this “principle” is paid lip service instead of deep consideration. Carefully selecting what we are seeking to achieve is critical and at the strategic level it … Continue reading Selection of the Aim: Part I

The latest in our podcast series has just been posted on youtube my by friend and host Marty. I hope you will take the time to listen. I remind you that we have no sponsors, no commercials and it is only audio so you can listen while doing “more important” things. Chuck. Continue reading Newest Podcast

I began writing posts in February of 2022 and in the spirit of full disclosure, allow me to say that I was wrong about Russia invading. I could see no reason for them to invade and said so. I thought that Putin was a rational man. I was wrong on both counts. That said, once they invaded, I began predicting Russia’s inability to win their … Continue reading Winning and Losing Part III

We have all seen it, and sighed. A spoiled child is in the park or in a playground. “Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!” The child will keep this up until the exasperated parent pays attention while it does something terrifyingly complicated and daring like, oh I don’t know, get onto a swing. Moments later, the process is repeated and then again … Continue reading Supplemental: American “Leadership”

WARNING: This is arguably one of the most hotly debated — and least well described — concepts in Clausewitz’s writing. The trinity is central to his analysis of war and defined the constantly changing relationship among: 1. primordial violence, hatred, and enmity, 2. chance and probability, and 3. war’s subordination to rational state policy. This tripartite and dynamic interplay of violent emotion, chance, and rational … Continue reading Winning and Losing Part II: Clausewitz’s Wondrous Trinity