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24 Jul 09

The TX Hammes PowerPoint Challenge (Essay Contest)

A balanced, well-thought reply to Hammes' anti-PowerPoint diatribe. "Starbuck" rightly points out that the real problem is one of poor communication skills, that PowerPoint in and of itself is not the problem.

smallwarsjournal.com/...draft-draft-draftpowerpoint-1 - Preview

technology military theory visualization communication

  • Earlier this month, retired Marine Colonel TX Hammes wrote an article in Armed Forces Journal regarding the drawbacks of pervasive PowerPoint use in the military. He challenged readers to compete in an essay contest at AFJ, with a selection of books as the prize.



    Col. Hammes' article has gotten quite a reception throughout the blogosphere, with a few sites (Red Team Journal by Adam Elkus, Building Peace by "Reach 364", The Best Defense by Thomas Ricks) posting their own replies.



    In the hopes of spurring some conversation on the topic--I'm too into the whole instant gratification thing to wait for the winner to be announced in November--I'm posting my own reply to Col. Hammes.
15 Jul 09

Essay: Dumb-dumb bullets - July 2009 - Armed Forces Journal

When this is what passes for good analysis of technology by a leader in contemporary military thought...well, let's just say the "dumb-dumb" takes on a whole different meaning.

www.afji.com/4061641 - Preview

technology military_reform military theory 4GW

  • Every year, the services spend millions of dollars teaching our people how to think. We invest in everything from war colleges to noncommissioned officer schools. Our senior schools in particular expose our leaders to broad issues and historical insights in an attempt to expose the complex and interactive nature of many of the decisions they will make.

    Unfortunately, as soon as they graduate, our people return to a world driven by a tool that is the antithesis of thinking: PowerPoint. Make no mistake, PowerPoint is not a neutral tool — it is actively hostile to thoughtful decision-making. It has fundamentally changed our culture by altering the expectations of who makes decisions, what decisions they make and how they make them. While this may seem to be a sweeping generalization, I think a brief examination of the impact of PowerPoint will support this statement.

10 Feb 09

Humvee a 'Deathtrap' Says 1990s Report

  • The report distributed throughout the Army and Marine Corps in 1994 found that a Humvee "even with a mine-protection retrofit kit developed for Somalia remained a deathtrap in the event of an anti-tank mine detonation," USA Today reported.
    • So, you mean to tell me that the HUMVEE was not meant to be a tank?? A vehicle designed for light transport isn't as strong as a main battle tank?? You mean to tell me that the HUMVEE doesn't do what it was never designed to do?? And the Army knew about it?? Oh. My. Gawd! That is a scandal! - on 2009-02-10
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22 Nov 08

Military update: Vice chairman: ‘Exquisite’ weapons are too expensive

  • The military must end its quest for “exquisite” weapon systems that are too
    costly, take years to design and build, and don’t reach troops fast enough, or
    in quantities large enough, to address ever-changing threats.


    The critic here isn’t a Washington think tank or a beltway consultant but
    Marine Corps Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the
    U.S. military’s second highest ranking officer.

    • This is standard "reformer" rhetoric: Hi-tech weapons are inherently more expensive, less flexiblt, etc.; quantity is more important than quality. It is not suprising to hear this from a Marine. Marines were more influenced by "reformer" rhetoric in the 1980s and 1990s than the other branches. - on 2008-11-22
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  • “Building platforms that can have multiple purposes, that can modify very
    quickly with software, that consume minimal amounts of energy for extended
    periods of time … are critical,” the vice chairman said.
    • This, however, is not like "reformer" rhetoric of the 1980s. "Reformers" at that time argued against multi-role technologies, instead advocating highly specialized, single-purpose systems like the F-16 and A-10. - on 2008-11-22
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