President Macron and Defense: The Perspective of General (Retired) Didier Castres

10/20/2021
By Robbin Laird and Pierre Tran On September 22, 2021, we had a chance to meet Army General (retired) Didier Castres and discuss the evolution of military operations and strategy under president Macron. Castres is a highly experienced staff officer who has been engaged in activities associated with crisis management…

Shaping a Way Ahead for the Australian Submarine Capability: The Perspective of Vice Admiral (Retired) Barrett

10/19/2021
By Robbin Laird During my visit to Europe earlier this Fall, the surprise announcement of the Morrison Administration’s decision to shift from their French alliance to deliver a long-range diesel submarine to acquiring nuclear submarine capability through an alliance with the United States and Britain was made. I talked with…

Shaping Resilience: A Key Element for the Defense of Liberal Democracies

10/18/2021
By Robbin Laird Recently, I had a chance to discuss with Air Vice-Marshal (Retired) John Blackburn the work he been engaged in since last I was in Australia in March 2020. The team has recently released a final report on the challenges facing Australia to become a more resilient society…

The Three Ts: Training, Tactics, Techniques and Procedures Driving Combat Innovation

10/13/2021
By Robbin Laird Training is becoming an advanced weapon system. So much so that the classic formulation of Tactics, Techniques and Procedures upon which training has been built is expanding to now be informed by advanced training that reshapes tactics, techniques, and procedures for the future fight. Multi-domain training encompassing…

The Australian Submarine Decision, 2021: A Special Report

10/12/2021
In this special report, we bring together some initial assessments of the Morrison Administration's decision to move on from conventional to nuclear submarines. These articles were published in September 2021. The recent announcement of the decision by the Australian government to cancel their diesel submarine contract and to acquire nuclear…

Poland in Europe and Facing the Russian Challenge: The Perspective of Igor Szczęsnowicz

10/08/2021
By Robbin Laird The opportunity to attend the Defence 24 conference on Polish defense provided a significant opportunity to learn about Polish assessments of the current strategic situation and ways Poland should shape a way ahead. In addition to attending the conference, I had a chance to talk to Polish…

Shaping a Way Ahead for Polish Defense and Security: The Perspective of Dr. Jacek M. Raubo

10/07/2021
By Robbin Laird During my recent visit to Warsaw to attend the Defence 24 conference on Polish defense, I had a chance to talk with Dr. Jacek M. Raubo, an Assistant Professor at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and noted journalist as well. We discussed a number of issues regarding…