Think.Fight.Learn.Repeat.

Fight Club International
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Think. Fight. Learn. Repeat. is a podcast dedicated to exploring wargaming, military theory, and strategy. In each episode, we speak with leading thinkers and practitioners in these fields to uncover their motivations, examine their ideas, and challenge conventional assumptions. Learn more at www.fightclubinternational.org

  1. −15 h

    Episode 13 : Sharpening the Sword - The Conception of Fight Club International with Arnel David

    What does it take to build a grassroots movement inside rigid institutions like Western Armed Forces? In this episode of Think.Fight.Learn.Repeat., we sit down with Colonel Arnel David, US Army Special Operations veteran, NATO strategist, and co-founder of Fight Club International (FCI), to trace his journey from Infantry Officer to Co-Founder. Arnel opens up about the frustration that sparked Fight Club and a hunch that commercial-off-the-shelf games and simulations could do more. From there, we discuss what makes Fight Club fundamentally different from traditional wargaming organizations, how a rankless, volunteer-run community became a testing ground for AI, LLMs, and unconventional strategy, and why he believes the confidence to be disruptive is in short supply in the military and beyond. We also talk about growing pains, like what happens when a grassroots idea scales faster than expected and how founders learn to lean on each other's strengths to keep the momentum going.

  2. 29 juni

    Episode 12 : Repurposing the British Army with Nick Moran

    Western Armies are trying to do too many things with too few resources. That's not a controversial statement, in fact it's the opening line of a paper that's been turning heads in defence circles since it landed in April 2026. In this episode, we sit down with Nick Moran, a 20-year British Army veteran who served in the Special Mission Unit community, with NATO, and alongside the Royal Gurkha Rifles, to dig into his RealClearDefense piece, "Repurposing the British Army." Nick argues that what's needed isn't a minor adjustment. It's a fundamental reframing of how the British Army thinks about itself. We get into the case for anchoring British force design to the Nordic region, why geography has to come before capability, and what Norway has to do with UK national security. We talk about the three master effects of land power: Hold, Turn, andStrike, and whether the British Army has quietly lost the art ofdefence after two decades of counterinsurgency. We also tackle the hardest question of all: how do you generate mass in war when you're running a professional army in peace? Nick also pulls no punches on conscription, the vague "three years to be ready" warning, and what the lessons of Ukraine actually mean for how Britain should be building its force today.

  3. 14 juni

    Episode 11 : Training for Arctic Warfare with Dylan Abbott

    The Arctic doesn't forgive mistakes, it punishes them. In this episode, I sit down with Dylan Abbott, an instructor at the Canadian Army's Advanced Warfare Centre, where he teaches Arctic warfare and survival. Dylan breaks down what it truly takes to operate in one of the most unforgiving environments on earth, from the core skills every soldier must master to the mindset required to keep going when the cold, the isolation, and the terrain are working against you. We cover the most common mistakes soldiers make when they first encounter the Arctic, why small errors can become life-threatening problems fast, how much equipment actually matters versus skills and discipline, and what modern forces still get wrong about operating in the high north. If you've ever wanted to understand what Arctic warfare really demands of the people involved, this one's for you.

  4. 4 juni

    Episode 10 : Task Force Maven with Col Arnel David

    What does AI actually look like inside the world's most powerful military alliance? As the Director of Task Force Maven at NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Colonel Arnel David has spent years at the intersection of artificial intelligence and national defence. This week we discuss his team's efforts in aligning AI adoption across dozens of allied nations. In this episode, we go beyond the headlines. We break down what Task Force Maven really is, why multinational AI deployment is harder than it sounds, and what the ethical debates inside defence institutions actually look like, versus how they're portrayed publicly. If you've ever wondered how AI is reshaping modern warfare, deterrence, and alliance politics, this is the conversation to start with.

  5. 21 maj

    Episode 9 : Chinese Strategic Thinking with Phillip Colon

    How do historical assumptions shape strategic decisions and what happens when we get them wrong? In this episode, Phillip Colon, a wargame analyst at Group W, part of Systems Planning and Analysis, joins the podcast to explain why understanding China requires more than analyzing current events. We explore how China’s pre-modern political traditions, the Century of Humiliation, and the Chinese Communist Party’s interpretation of history continue to shape Beijing’s strategic behavior today. Phillip discusses the enduring influence of Confucianism and Legalism, the operational lessons of the Opium Wars and China’s internal conflicts, and why historical memory remains central to issues like sovereignty, legitimacy, and competition below the threshold of armed conflict. For military professionals, strategists, and anyone seeking to better understand China as a long-term competitor, this episode is essential to understanding the context behind modern Chinese decision-making.

  6. 11 maj

    Episode 8 : Part 2 - Multi-Domain Operations - From Concept to Practice with Col Elizabeth Pham

    In Part 2 of our conversation with Colonel Elizabeth Pham, we go deeper into how NATO’s Multi-Domain Operations course is transforming the way warfighters think, decide, and act in contested environments. Colonel Pham explains how the course moves beyond doctrine and PowerPoint to immerse students in AI-enabled planning, kill web design, cyber and space integration, and resilient command and control. We discuss how students use tools like Maven Smart System to build and test real-time operational concepts under pressure such as fighting through cyber attacks, electronic warfare, satellite denial, and information manipulation. This episode also explores the human side of innovation, why changing mindsets is harder than adopting technology, how leaders build intuition in complex adaptive systems, and why future conflicts will be decided by action and decision advantage rather than platform superiority. If Part 1 introduced the vision, Part 2 shows how that vision is being turned into practical warfighting capability across the Alliance.

  7. 4 maj

    Episode 7 : Part 1 - Multi-Domain Operations - From Concept to Practice with Col Elizabeth Pham

    What does it actually take to fight and win in a world where every domain is contested, data moves at machine speed, and decisions matter more than platforms? In this first part of a two part episode, we sit down with Colonel Elizabeth Pham, Director of Joint Plans and Operations at the NATO School in Oberammergau, Germany, to unpack how Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) is moving from concept to execution. Drawing on her experience from early U.S. Marine Corps experimentation with information warfare and “kill web” design to building NATO’s cutting-edge MDO course, Col Pham breaks down the real challenges of connecting sensors to shooters across cyber, space, maritime, land, and air, fast enough to matter in a fight. We explore the gap between doctrine and reality, why traditional planning processes fall short in contested environments, and how AI, data, and resilient networks are reshaping the modern battlespace. She also shares how her team partnered with the Naval Postgraduate School to build a course that doesn’t just teach theory, but forces warfighters to think, adapt, and fight under pressure. This conversation goes beyond buzzwords like “convergence” and “synchronization” to answer the hard question: how do you actually achieve decision advantage in real time? If you’re interested in the future of warfare, NATO transformation, or how leaders are preparing forces to operate in denied, disrupted, and degraded environments, then this episode is for you.

  8. 21 apr.

    Episode 6 : Decision Forcing Cases with Kevin Johnston and Kathleen O'Brien

    What happens when there’s no clear right answer? In this episode, we sit down with Kevin Johnston and Kathleen O’Brien from Fight Club International to explore the power of Decision Forcing Cases, a method designed to put people directly into moments of uncertainty, ambiguity, and pressure. Instead of teaching what to think, Decision Forcing Cases challenge participants to decide, often with incomplete information and no perfect solution. The result is a learning experience that goes beyond theory and forces a deeper understanding of judgment, leadership, and decision-making. We dig into what makes these cases different from traditional wargaming, why discomfort is essential to the process, and how discussion after the decision can reveal more than the decision itself. Throughout our discussion, Kevin and Kathleen share insights on designing compelling cases, common mistakes participants make, and how this approach applies far beyond the military. If you’re interested in how people think under pressure, and how to get better at it, this conversation is for you.

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Om

Think. Fight. Learn. Repeat. is a podcast dedicated to exploring wargaming, military theory, and strategy. In each episode, we speak with leading thinkers and practitioners in these fields to uncover their motivations, examine their ideas, and challenge conventional assumptions. Learn more at www.fightclubinternational.org

Information

  • Skapad av
    Fight Club International
  • Aktiva år
    2026
  • Avsnitt
    13
  • Åldersgräns
    Barnvänligt
  • Copyright
    © Fight Club International
  • Programmets webbplats
    Think.Fight.Learn.Repeat.