The Merge The Merge

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Mike and Jake host Captain John Konrad to talk all things
Merchant Marine.

We talked about the Merchant Marine Academy, being a
merchant mariner, and how they fit into national security.

What is the Military Sealift Command thing, and why does it keep confusing the counting of Navy ships? What is the Jones Act, and why is it so political?

The US has a ghost fleet of ships staged on both US coasts in case WWIII kicks off—but where are the people? Who were the most famous merchant mariners?

What went wrong with the USS Bonhomme Richard fire response? Why is Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge still not cleaned up?

Which US military branch is the biggest merchant mariner
customer? Hint….its NOT the Navy.

Tune in for answers to all of the above—and more!

John is the founder and CEO of gCaptain and author of
Fire on The Horizon. He is licensed to captain the world's largest ships, has sailed from ports worldwide, and managed billion-dollar offshore construction projects in some of the world's harshest marine environments.

This episode is PACKED with intel, but we still had some fun along the way. You should expect nothing less!

For those interested in #military #navy #mariner #sealift
#warfare #shipping #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense

 

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Show Notes

(01:21) Intro

(03:01) larger than aircraft carriers

(04:15) Military Sealift Command

(05:30) peacetime vs wartime

(06:18) WWII merchant mariners

(09:54) counting ships

(10:58) US-flagged ships

(11:25) Captain Phillips

(11:48) the shift away from US flags

(12:17) 85 of 50,000 ships

(13:10) The Jones Act

(14:57) railway to nowhere

(18:02) where are the people?

(20:28) Secretary Pete

(21:00) manning crisis

(23:59) 3,000 people short

(25:56) WWIII

(27:46) divested support ships

(28:58) USS Cole attack

(29:51) USS Bonhomme Richard fire

(31:19) Baltimore bridge cleanup

(32:33) USNS ship shortages

(33:28) no support, no projection

(34:26) the Air Force!?!

(35:06) the miracle of shipping containers

(35:50) Vietnam logistics log jam

(37:20) famous merchant mariners

(39:30) sea story time!

(42:27) outro

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Mike hosts Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn to discuss her new report:



Evolution Not Revolution, Drone Warfare in Russia’s 2022
Invasion of Ukraine



Stacie is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense
Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Her expertise includes defense strategy, posture, force planning, the defense budget, airpower, and wargaming. Her current projects focus on the effect of drones on warfare, munitions stockpiles, and nuclear deterrence in a multipolar world.

We talked about drone tech, adaption since the 2022 invasion, innovation on both sides of the conflict, and despite all of that—what critical drone technology is still notably absent on the battlefield.

This isn’t just about air drones…we chat drone boats too!

For those interested in #military #technology #drones
#warfare #russia #ukraine #war #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense

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• AI report

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Show Notes

(00:41) Intro

(03:28) drone report

(06:59) 4 bins of drones

(08:25) drone changes during the war

(10:28) Turkish TB-2 drones

(12:02) drones for air superiority?

(13:51) drone dogfighting

(14:46) the “air littoral”

(16:25) coordination altitudes

(18:57) evolution in the war

(21:16) 50,000 drones per month?

(23:37) drones vs. artillery

(26:32) wargaming

(27:26) battlefield innovations

(29:26) why not a revolution?

(31:18) where’s the AI?

(35:27) drone boats

(39:10) new largest air drones

(41:48) buying drones for war

(44:36) drones as cruise missiles

(45:41) outro

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Former Australian diplomat John Fowler joins Mike Benitez to discuss what’s happening around the world through the lens of international relations.

John is a repeat guest—check out episode 16 to get caught up. In this episode, we discuss China, the South China Sea, the Taiwan elections, Russia in Ukraine, and even cautiously venture a bit into how US domestic
politics is muddying the waters with Ukraine aid.

Should we even be involved? Why or why not? We look at both sides from a few perspectives you won’t hear
anywhere else. We also make a detour into AUKUS, Japan’s rebuilding of its military, and discuss what the real superpower of the US is.

John Fowler runs International Intrigue, a daily newsletter
written by a team of former diplomats (link below!). It’s packed with great, easy-to-consume content and helps you keep a pulse on what’s happening in the world—and why it matters.



For those interested in #military #technology #strategy
#diplomacy #china #asia #security #government #nationalsecurity #defense #nationaldefense #russia #ukraine 

 

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Show Notes

(01:04) Intro

(05:06) China’s economic shifts

(08:14) China’s real estate crisis

(11:48) Taiwan elections

(18:22) South China Sea

(19:40) the “9-dash line”

(21:30) the Second Thomas Shoal

(31:08) coalitions and consensus

(34:37) Russia in Ukraine

(36:55) Ukraine aid in Congress

(41:02) the real superpower of the US

(45:06) the risk of hedging

(46:21) AUKUS, Japan, and China

(53:54) good for Russia, good for China

(55:11) China using history as a weapon

(58:02) outro

Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings. We release these in between our more in-depth discussions to keep our audience up to speed.

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Mike and Jake host Dr. Christine (Chris) Michienzi, supply
chain expert and former senior Pentagon executive, on the US government’s recently released National Defense Industrial Strategy—plan to revive its fragile defense industrial base.

With 30 years of experience in this sector, she was recently
the Chief Technology Officer for the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy and the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment. Chris knows all the ins and outs of the woes of the industrial base—she saw the issues first-hand when she led the Pentagon’s efforts to surge munition production lines to support Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Hear just how big the problem is—and how it’s WAY harder to
fix than it may sound.

For those interested in #defense #military #business #technology #nationalsecurity #industry #supplychains #logistics



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• 2023 National Defense Industrial Strategy



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Show Notes

(01:27) Intro

(02:36) investing supply chains

(6:26) CTO of the supply chain office

(8:11) what is the Defense Industrial Base?

(9:52) the 2023 NDIS  

(17:16) efficiency vs resiliency

(23:40) don’t compare this to WWII

(26:52) multi-year buy authorities

(30:28) reverse engineering obsolete parts

(31:40) ball bearings

(33:28) incentivize companies?

(35:05) the investor side of the equation

(37:10) solid rocket motors

(40:15) what does success look like?

(42:10) the F-35 magnet story

(44:03) how supply chain visibility doesn’t work

(45:58) Chinse brushless motors

(48:31) COVID-19 raised supply chain awareness

(49:31) crystal ball of badness

(51:33) isolation the solution?

(54:11) magic wand for Chris

(56:21) metrics for success

(59:30) outro

Our lowdown of the week's military tech happenings.

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Support us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

mandatoryfunday IG post we refer to at the end

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