War on the Rocks

In today's world, turbulence isn't temporary — it's the new normal. In this episode, Gen. (ret.) David Berger, former commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, shares why adaptability, resilience, and grit are not just desirable but essential traits for leaders in an uncertain and unpredictable age. Successful leaders must embrace disruption rather than waiting for stability to return, he tells Ryan. And after offering insights from his career as a Marine officer, including his experience planning and leading Force Design 2030, Gen. Berger shares what life has been like after hanging up the uniform.

Gen. Michael Claesson, Chief of Defense of the Swedish Armed Forces, joined Ryan during a visit to Washington to share how NATO has changed Sweden's armed forces as well as the details of their modernization, consolidation, and expansion efforts — on land, at sea, and in the air. They also discuss the challenges of mobilization in future wars defined by higher technology systems, training, working with industry, and how Sweden has learned from Russia's war against Ukraine. Claesson ends with his views on how he tries to shape Sweden's next generation of most senior military officers.

In this joint episode with the Net Assessment crew, recorded last week on "Liberation Day," Ryan joins Chris, Zack, and Melanie to talk about what's happening in the world as well as the future of Net Assessment, which is moving on to its forever home with the Stimson Center. If you would like to support Net Assessment, please consider donating to this special fund. https://www.stimson.org/support/ [https://www.stimson.org/support/] We also feature a trailer from a series of panels convened by former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, which you can listen to in full on his podcast, Defending Democracy. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defending-democracy-with-malcolm-turnbull/id1674095396 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defending-democracy-with-malcolm-turnbull/id1674095396]

In this episode, we get into what's driving the Indo-Pacific's security dynamics, from China's threats to Taiwan to AUKUS and the Quad to stability (or lack thereof) on the Korean Peninsula to bases in the Philippines. We also touch on how prepared the United States may be to deliver military power in the Indo-Pacific based on forthcoming resourcing decisions by the Trump administration and Congress. Get ready for a smart, insightful conversation you won't want to miss with Lisa Curtis (CNAS), Zack Cooper (AEI), and Dmitri Alperovitch (Silverado). Cooper has a great new book out called Tides of Fortune: The Rise and Decline of Great Militaries (https://a.co/d/cP4OPgU [https://a.co/d/cP4OPgU]). And so does Alperovitch, who wrote World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the Twenty-First Century (https://a.co/d/eUDRdlF [https://a.co/d/eUDRdlF]) with Garrett M. Graff.

Last week, a meeting with President Zelensky of Ukraine at the White House exploded into acrimony in front of the cameras [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEOv4x_FIsc]. Since then, an era-defining drama has been unfolding across the West as Europe prepares for a world where it might not be backed by U.S. military power. U.S. military aid and at least some intelligence support for Ukraine have also been suspended. What happened? And what happens next?   To answer these questions, Ryan was joined by Constanze Stelzenmüller (Brookings), Melinda Haring (Razom), Justin Logan (Cato), and Michael Kofman (Carnegie).    The letter referenced by Stelzenmüller can be read here: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_684