Podcasts about Missile Defense Agency

Tom Campbell believes that humanity is at a tipping point in its evolution towards love and cooperation. In this podast, Thomas Campbell explains the concept of individual units of consciousness playing as humans in the virtual reality. He describes how the player (consciousness) and the computer (the larger consciousness system) communicate and interact. He emphasizes that consciousness is not physical, but the human experience is an information system created by the larger consciousness systemTom Campbell worked as a physicist in technology development and complex-system risk analysis for both government and industry. In addition, he championed for more than 50 years the scientific, drug-free research into altered states of consciousness. This unique combination enabled him to develop My Big TOE, a scientific model of reality based on the insight that consciousness – not matter – is fundamental to all existence. After obtaining degrees in mathematics and physics, Tom specialized in nuclear physics during his Ph.D. work at the University of Virginia. His 37-year professional career includes 12 years in technical intelligence, 15 years at Missile Defense Agency, and 10 years as a consultant in the general area of large-systems risk and vulnerability analysis for various high-tech companies, including two years with NASA. Thanks to his research into consciousness, Tom understood that consciousness is the fundamental reality, the only thing that ultimately exists. Consciousness is the superset of which the physical world is only a subset. My Big TOE rationally explains why paranormal phenomena are a natural artifact of a reality in which consciousness is fundamental. This has provided great relief to many people who have had out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences or precognitive dreams, or experienced other paranormal phenomena that are typically discounted in modern society.___________________PODCAST CHAPTERS00:00 - Tom Campbell Intro01:33 - The Fundamentals of Reality07:47 - The Role of Consciousness in Creating Reality17:35 - The Science Behind Consciousness and Virtual Reality31:13 - Understanding the Larger Consciousness System (LCS)40:41 - The Mechanics of Out-of-Body Experiences54:28 - Free Will and the Importance of Choices1:08:59 - The Evolution of Consciousness Through Lifetimes1:22:29 - Mind's Impact on Physical Reality1:25:58 - Early Manipulations of Reality1:29:23 - Interacting with NPCs in Other Realities1:35:52 - Evolution of Consciousness in Other Realities1:40:54 - The Role of Fear and De-Evolution1:43:05 - Positive Growth vs. Negative Influence1:47:39 - Inspiration and Intuition1:51:40 - The Impact of the Internet on Consciousness1:59:51 - Raising Consciousness to Save the World2:11:27 - The Science of Consciousness2:30:37 - Tom's Current Quest: Mainstreaming Consciousness2:36:25 - The Power of Love vs. Fear2:44:14 - Creating Change by Changing YourselfGuest: Tom Campbell | Physicist Website | https://www.my-big-toe.com/Tom's "Big Theory of Everything (TOE)" | https://www.my-big-toe.com/theory/overview-of-my-big-toe/Workshops & Lectures | https://www.my-big-toe.com/explore/workshops-lectures/My Big TOE Trilogy Book | https://www.my-big-toe.com/explore/my-big-toe-trilogyYouTube | Tom Campbell Host: Emilio OrtizInstagram | https://www.instagram.com/iamemilioortiz/Subscribe to YouTube Channel | https://www.youtube.com/EmilioOrtizWatch Emilio's latest series on 4biddenknowledge TV l https://bit.ly/AwakenThe6thSense___________________Special Offerings to Support the Show:✦ Make a One-Time or Recurring Donation on PayPal

Today's Story: Missile Defense Breakthrough

Missile Defense Agency SBIR has $114M for SB InnovatorsThe US Missile Defense Agency has a $114M fund for small business innovation funding.Today Neil McDonnell chats with Candace Wright, Director of the SBIR / STTR Program Office for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and a champion for small business innovation.✅ In this Training, GovCon Chamber president Neil McDonnell discusses:What kind of ‘innovation' MDA is looking forHow to access MDA's non-dilutive funds for traditional government contractors and those not yet supporting federal agenciesWhy SBIR dollars should be part of your overall growth strategyDifference between successful and unsuccessful applicants✅ Join us on LinkedIn to build your network and engaging other in the largest Government Contracting community online. https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/government-contracting-success-6895009566325907456/–––––––––––––––––––––––––

Missile Defense Agency SBIR has $114M for SB InnovatorsThe US Missile Defense Agency has a $114M fund for small business innovation funding.Today Neil McDonnell chats with Candace Wright, Director of the SBIR / STTR Program Office for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and a champion for small business innovation. ✅ In this Training, GovCon Chamber president Neil McDonnell and Candace Wright, Director of the SBIR/STTR Program Office for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) discuss:What kind of ‘innovation' MDA is looking forHow to access MDA's non-dilutive funds for traditional government contractors and those not yet supporting federal agenciesWhy SBIR dollars should be part of your overall growth strategyDifference between successful and unsuccessful applicants✅ Join us on LinkedIn to build your network and engaging other in the largest Government Contracting community online.https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/government-contracting-success-6895009566325907456/–––––––––––––––––––––––––

For review:1. US Carrier Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) Arrives in the Middle East according US Central Command. The Lincoln is set to relieve USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), which has been operating in the Middle East since June.2. IDF Recovers Bodies of Six Hostage in Khan Younis.3. Israel - Hamas Negotiations losing momentum.4. Ukraine Kursk operation strengthens hand for potential Peace Talks. Russia not in the mood.5. Germany lays out Ukraine war materiel for the remainder of 2024, and 2025.Includes air defense systems, dozens of armored vehicles, rocket launchers, and tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition.6. Australia and Kongsberg to Build Joint & Naval Strike Missiles in New South Wales.7. New Radar system (AN/TPY-6) heads to Guam in support of the strategic island's Air and Missile Defense Architecture.8. Missile Defense Agency says the Long-Range Discriminator Radar (LRDR) to undergo further testing in 2025. Built by Lockheed Martin, LRDR was fielded at Clear Space Force Station in central Alaska in late 2021, though the radar has not yet been operationally accepted by the US Space Force. 

On March 23, 1983, in a televised address to the nation, President Reagan announced his intention to embark upon groundbreaking research into a national defense system that could make nuclear weapons obsolete. At the heart of the Strategic Defense Initiative was the development of a space-based missile defense program that could protect America from a large-scale nuclear attack. Flash forward to today, and now our country has the Missile Defense Agency to develop and deploy a system to defend the United States and its allies - exactly what President Reagan envisioned 40 years ago. On August 1, 2024, the Reagan Foundation was honored to host an in-person event with Lt. Gen. Heath Collins, the Director of the Missile Defense Agency, whose job it is to advise the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering on Missile Defense programmatic policy, requirements, priorities, systems, resources, and programs. During the program, Lt. Gen. Collins sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO David Trulio to discuss the Missile Defense Agency - its responsibilities, its challenges and opportunities, and the importance of what the Agency does every day for our nation's security.

On this week's Defense & Aerospace Report Business Roundtable, sponsored by Bell, Dr. Rocket Ron Epstein of Bank of America Securities, Sash Tusa of the independent equity research firm Agency Partners, and Richard Aboulafia of the AeroDynamic advisory consultancy, join host Vago Muradian to discuss another down week on Wall Street on a tech tumbles and worries about a wider Mideast war; eight months late, Congress passes a $95 billion supplemental for Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, and improve US and allied capabilities in the Indo-Pacific; more US tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum as Washington again warns Beijing about helping Moscow's Ukraine war; whether added US and European investment is enough to help Ukraine win; role of arsenals in increasing defense production; Boeing workers testify before a Senate committee on production quality problems; American Airlines pilots sound alarm over their carrier's safety and maintenance; Lockheed Martin beats Northrop Grumman's-RTX team to win Missile Defense Agency's $17 billion Next Generation Interceptor program; and Britain considers new program to replace amphibious warships.

For review:1. US CENTCOM X:13-14 Apr: CENTCOM & EUCOM Forces engaged and destroyed more than 80 one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAV) and at least six ballistic missiles intended to strike Israel from Iran and Yemen. 2. Israel Discusses Response to Iranian Attack & IDF Provides Target Options.3. US CENTCOM & EUCOM Air, Ground, & Naval Assets assist Israel in repelling Iranian attack.4. US Navy Guided-Missile Destroyers USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) & USS Carney (DDG-64) intercept Iranian ballistic missiles with SM 3s (Standard Missile) - first time these munitions have been used in combat.5. Israeli F-35I Adir Fighters targeted at Nevatim Air Base in Southern Israel during Iranian strike.  No reported damage to warplanes.6. Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrsky, says the front-line situation is “deteriorating” along the frontier of the Eastern part of the country. Russian forces are moving toward the town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region. 7. Russia reportedly creates new Corps-sized "Operational Strategic Group" named Sever (North in Russian) for operations in Ukraine.This unit will join five other Strategic Groups- Center, South, West, & Dnipro. 8. Germany to send Patriot Air Defense Artillery System to Ukraine.9. US Missile Defense Agency Selects Next Generation ICBM Interceptor (Lockheed Martin).10. US Army deploys the 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) to Philippines (from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA). Unit is equipped with the Mid-Range Capability Launcher that employs the SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles. Mid-Range Capability fills ranges between the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) (500 kilometers) and the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) (2,776 kilometers). 

SUGGESTED STUDIO LEAD-IN/VO: Construction is nearing completion at the Navy's newest installation in northern Poland. The Naval Support Facility in Redzikowo (pronounced Red-jick-KoVo) will be home to the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System(AABMDS), which will fall under NATO when completed. The base is expected to be fully operational sometime in late 2020. The Aegis Ashore site in Poland will expand a defensive capability that protects NATO European territories, populations and forces against ballistic missiles launched from outside the Euro-Atlantic region. (Video by U.S. Navy Lt. Amy Forsythe, Public Affairs Officer, Naval Support Facility Redzikowo) B-Roll shots: construction workers walking to and from sites, equipment vehicles being used, paving cement, static shots of structures Soundbites/Quotes: U.S. Navy Capt. Jon Grant, Commander, Naval Support Facility Redzikowo, Poland July 9, 2019 “What we're looking at is the radar deck house in the background and further down range in our facilities are where the launchers are. The vertical launchers are eight cell, there eight cell, launchers that provide the SM-3 intercepts for the Ballistic Missile Defense.” “The construction here is ongoing and probably will be completed sometime in 2020.” “There are teams from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facility Engineering and also Missile Defense Agency that are working hard to get the base completed. It's going through a very meticulous process. It's very complicated, they are doing their due diligence to do it right and make sure it's read to go in 2020.” “The Sailors are really enjoying Poland. Right now, they're living in town in apartments until we can move onto the base. Once we have power and water on the base, we'll be able to accommodate them there in a multipurpose facility that has a lot of different activities. It will have an MWR and will have a movie theater, a game room. As well as a fitness center, galley and a medical department attached to the multipurpose facility, which they will live in.”
 “Now, they're enjoying living in Slupsk and in a community called Ustka, which is near the coast. It's summertime in Poland and it's very, very popular place to go and everybody I think is enjoying the hospitality here in Poland.” “They're able to travel not only in Poland, but throughout Europe. So it's a learning opportunity for them to share and experience different cultures that they can see first-hand. I encourage that when they're not on duty, studying for their next ratings exam or advancement test, then they should be enjoying the Polish countryside. So, we encourage that when they come to Poland.” “So, our motto here is “One team, One fight.” So, we all work very well together. What I think I'll miss the most is the comradery between the difference agencies. We all work together pretty harmoniously and we're working on a very important project, not only to the United States, but for Europe as well. So, we want to make sure we get it right and everybody is on the same sheet of music. We're very proud of that I think that as the different inter-agencies work together, we've become stronger, stronger as a nation.”

Retired Lieutenant General L. Neil Thurgood is the special advisor to the UAH president for military affairs and technology. Prior to his appointment at UAH, he served as the director for hypersonics, directed energy, space, and rapid acquisition in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (acquisition, logistics, and technology) at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. In this role, LTG Thurgood was responsible for the fielding of select capabilities to deter and counter rapidly modernizing adversaries. He oversaw the development of an Army long range hypersonic weapon and led the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office in researching, developing, prototyping, testing, evaluating, procuring, and fielding critical technologies and capabilities consistent with the Army's modernization priorities. Before this appointment, LTG Thurgood served as the director for test at the Missile Defense Agency at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. His most recent deployment spanned from 2017 to 2018 when he served as deputy commander for the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan during Operation Resolute Support/Operation Freedom's Sentinel. Before his deployment, he assumed the role of the deputy for acquisition and systems management at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (acquisition, logistics, and technology) in Washington, D.C. LTG Thurgood's military career began in 1983 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was commissioned as an aviation branch officer in 1986. He served in various company-grade and battalion aviation positions in the U.S. and overseas, including multiple combat deployments. His service extended to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (airborne) as a platoon leader, operations officer, and company commander. After transitioning into the Army Acquisition Corps in 1995, he served in various program offices for conventional and special programs. As a project manager, LTG Thurgood served in the Utility Helicopters Office. Later, as a program executive officer, LTG Thurgood led the PEO for Missiles and Space at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. His contributions included operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. LTG Thurgood holds a bachelor's in business from the University of Utah, a master's in systems acquisition management from the Naval Postgraduate School, a master's in strategic studies from the Air University Air War College, and a doctorate in strategic planning and organizational leadership from the University of Sarasota. Additionally, he possesses several professional certifications. For more information on Neil Thurgood and the UAH Program visit: https://www.uah.edu/opce/program-topics/leading-complex-and-highly-technical-teams Host/Interviewer: M. Troy Bye, Owner, Our Town Podcast Website: www.ourtownpodcast.net Spotify Channel: https://spoti.fi/3QtpT8z Audio available on all platforms - just search for "Our Town Podcast" Follow us on social media: LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/41rlgTt Facebook: https://bit.ly/ourtownpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ourtownpodcast/ Episode Start: 00:00 Start 00:10 Intro 03:00 Military Background 07:00 Role at UAH 10:30 Military Family 14:00 Aviation 18:45 Overview of UAH Program 24:30 Leadership Styles 28:50 Government Careers 33:30 Situational Leadership 41:45 UAH Course 50:00 UAH Team Delivering Course 59:00 Sports Analogy 01:09:02 Adapting to Customers 01:12:45 Forecast Planning 01:16:00 Utility Helicopters 01:25:47 Top Gun Maverick 01:27:30 Closing --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/m-troy-bye/support

SUGGESTED STUDIO LEAD-IN/VO: Construction is nearing completion at the Navy's newest installation in northern Poland. The Naval Support Facility in Redzikowo (pronounced Red-jick-KoVo) will be home to the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System(AABMDS), which will fall under NATO when completed. The base is expected to be fully operational sometime in late 2020. The Aegis Ashore site in Poland will expand a defensive capability that protects NATO European territories, populations and forces against ballistic missiles launched from outside the Euro-Atlantic region. (Video by U.S. Navy Lt. Amy Forsythe, Public Affairs Officer, Naval Support Facility Redzikowo) B-Roll shots: construction workers walking to and from sites, equipment vehicles being used, paving cement, static shots of structures Soundbites/Quotes: U.S. Navy Capt. Jon Grant, Commander, Naval Support Facility Redzikowo, Poland July 9, 2019 “What we're looking at is the radar deck house in the background and further down range in our facilities are where the launchers are. The vertical launchers are eight cell, there eight cell, launchers that provide the SM-3 intercepts for the Ballistic Missile Defense.” “The construction here is ongoing and probably will be completed sometime in 2020.” “There are teams from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Naval Facility Engineering and also Missile Defense Agency that are working hard to get the base completed. It's going through a very meticulous process. It's very complicated, they are doing their due diligence to do it right and make sure it's read to go in 2020.” “The Sailors are really enjoying Poland. Right now, they're living in town in apartments until we can move onto the base. Once we have power and water on the base, we'll be able to accommodate them there in a multipurpose facility that has a lot of different activities. It will have an MWR and will have a movie theater, a game room. As well as a fitness center, galley and a medical department attached to the multipurpose facility, which they will live in.”
 “Now, they're enjoying living in Slupsk and in a community called Ustka, which is near the coast. It's summertime in Poland and it's very, very popular place to go and everybody I think is enjoying the hospitality here in Poland.” “They're able to travel not only in Poland, but throughout Europe. So it's a learning opportunity for them to share and experience different cultures that they can see first-hand. I encourage that when they're not on duty, studying for their next ratings exam or advancement test, then they should be enjoying the Polish countryside. So, we encourage that when they come to Poland.” “So, our motto here is “One team, One fight.” So, we all work very well together. What I think I'll miss the most is the comradery between the difference agencies. We all work together pretty harmoniously and we're working on a very important project, not only to the United States, but for Europe as well. So, we want to make sure we get it right and everybody is on the same sheet of music. We're very proud of that I think that as the different inter-agencies work together, we've become stronger, stronger as a nation.”

Thomas Campbell is a Nuclear Physicist, Lecturer, and Author of the "My Big T.O.E." (Theory of Everything) trilogy. He worked as a physicist in technology development and complex-system risk analysis for both government and industry. In addition, he championed for more than 50 years the scientific, drug-free research into altered states of consciousness. This unique combination enabled him to develop My Big TOE, a scientific model of reality based on the insight that consciousness – not matter – is fundamental to all existence. After obtaining degrees in mathematics and physics, he attained his PhD at the University of Virginia. His work includes 12 years in technical intelligence, 15 years at Missile Defense Agency, and 10 years as a consultant in the general area of large-systems risk and vulnerability analysis for various high-tech companies, including two years with NASA. EPISODE LINKS: - Tom's Website: http://www.tomcampbell.info/ - My Big Toe: https://www.my-big-toe.com/ - Tom's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@twcjr44 TIMESTAMPS: (0:00) – Introduction (0:30) – Matter is Information, Consciousness is Awareness (8:35) – Materialism & Dogmatism (26:17) – Consciousness is Fundamental, Reality is Simulated (33:00) – Tom's Theory of Everything (TOE) explained via Paradoxes (50:19) – This Virtual Reality only exists in the Minds of the Players (1:05:15) – Realism vs Idealism (1:06:52) – Why is the Universe? (1:11:25) – Evolution of Complexity & Meaning (1:18:10) – Cooperation is the driving force (1:31:55) – Why do people use Tom's work as proof for God when Tom is an Atheist? (1:42:00) – What do other scientists think of Tom's work? (1:46:20) – Tom on Bernardo Kastrup & Donald Hoffman (2:01:43) – Is this virtual reality also expanding? (2:13:35) – Healthy mind, healthy body (2:28:51) – What happens after death? (2:38:00) – How does Tom access metaphysical information? (2:51:04) – Metavirtual reality, artificial intelligence & conscious computers (3:03:50) – Solution to The Fermi Paradox (3:18:41) – Tom's tools (3:24:23) – Conclusion CONNECT: - Website: https://tevinnaidu.com/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drtevinnaidu - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drtevinnaidu/ - Twitter: https://twitter.com/drtevinnaidu/ - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drtevinnaidu/ For Business Inquiries: info@tevinnaidu.com ============================= ABOUT MIND-BODY SOLUTION: Mind-Body Solution explores the nature of consciousness, reality, free will, morality, mental health, and more. This podcast presents enlightening discourse with the world's leading experts in philosophy, physics, neuroscience, psychology, linguistics, AI, and beyond. It will change the way you think about the mind-body dichotomy by showing just how difficult — intellectually and practically — the mind-body problem is. Join Dr. Tevin Naidu on a quest to conquer the mind-body problem and take one step closer to the mind-body solution. Dr Tevin Naidu is a medical doctor, philosopher & ethicist. He attained his Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery degree from Stellenbosch University, & his Master of Philosophy degree Cum Laude from the University of Pretoria. His academic work focuses on theories of consciousness, computational psychiatry, phenomenological psychopathology, values-based practice, moral luck, addiction, & the philosophy & ethics of science, mind & mental health. ===================== Disclaimer: We do not accept any liability for any loss or damage incurred from you acting or not acting as a result of watching any of our publications. You acknowledge that you use the information provided at your own risk. Do your research. Copyright Notice: This video and audio channel contain dialog, music, and images that are the property of Mind-Body Solution. You are authorised to share the link and channel, and embed this link in your website or others as long as a link back to this channel is provided. © Mind-Body Solution

The Islamic Republic of Iran possesses the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East, and Tehran is working hard to increase its size and quality by pursuing improvements in precision, range, mobility, warhead design, and survivability. That's one of the conclusions drawn by FDD Senior Fellow and Iran expert Behnam Ben Taleblu in his major new FDD Monograph, "Arsenal: Assessing the Islamic Republic of Iran's Ballistic Missile Program." Leveraging an impressive array of English and Persian-language sources, Behnam has produced one of the most comprehensive publicly available assessments to date of Iranian ballistic missile program. In it, he warns that we should expect more missile attacks and transfers from Iran in the future. In his foreword for the monograph, Vice Admiral (Ret.) James D. Syring, Former Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, writes that Behnam's “findings and recommendations will stimulate a productive policy discussion regarding the steps Washington must take to counter the rising Iranian ballistic missile threat.” So, what are the origins of Tehran's ballistic missile program? How has it evolved? What are its current capabilities? How does the Islamic Republic view and use its missile arsenal? And what should the U.S. and its allies and partners do about it? To discuss these questions and more, Behnam and Lieutenant General (retired) H.R. McMaster — soldier, former White House National Security Advisor, and Chairman of the Board of Advisors at FDD's Center on Military and Political Power — join CMPP Senior Director and guest host Bradley Bowman.    

The Islamic Republic of Iran possesses the largest ballistic missile arsenal in the Middle East, and Tehran is working hard to increase its size and quality by pursuing improvements in precision, range, mobility, warhead design, and survivability. That's one of the conclusions drawn by FDD Senior Fellow and Iran expert Behnam Ben Taleblu in his major new FDD Monograph, "Arsenal: Assessing the Islamic Republic of Iran's Ballistic Missile Program." Leveraging an impressive array of English and Persian-language sources, Behnam has produced one of the most comprehensive publicly available assessments to date of Iranian ballistic missile program. In it, he warns that we should expect more missile attacks and transfers from Iran in the future. In his foreword for the monograph, Vice Admiral (Ret.) James D. Syring, Former Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, writes that Behnam's “findings and recommendations will stimulate a productive policy discussion regarding the steps Washington must take to counter the rising Iranian ballistic missile threat.” So, what are the origins of Tehran's ballistic missile program? How has it evolved? What are its current capabilities? How does the Islamic Republic view and use its missile arsenal? And what should the U.S. and its allies and partners do about it? To discuss these questions and more, Behnam and Lieutenant General (retired) H.R. McMaster — soldier, former White House National Security Advisor, and Chairman of the Board of Advisors at FDD's Center on Military and Political Power — join CMPP Senior Director and guest host Bradley Bowman.    

This week on the 38th Episode of the MilCyberSync Podcast: Army's 11th Cyber Battalion, Coast Guard Cyber, 5G Network Slicing, MDA Next-Gen Threats, plus more!

Discover how Kevin Heath (Founder of Space Crystals and CEO of Waypoint 2 Space) is creating the option to immortalize you, why he said to "beware of the squirrel", and when his "10-second rule" has successfully helped him deal with crisis (17 minute episode). CEO BLINDSPOTS® PODCAST GUEST: Kevin Heath, Founder of Space Crystals LLC and CEO of Waypoint 2 Space. Mr. Heath has dedicated the past twenty years to technology and aerospace, leading management and business development teams for startups, mid-size, and Fortune-500 companies. His extensive resume includes experience in Commercial Human Spaceflight solutions – launch vehicles, spacecraft, and satellites. He had the unique experience of being a part of the SpaceShipOne program, which made the very first commercial Astronaut. He worked on the Dream Chaser Space Plane program as a replacement for the Shuttle for NASA. Mr. Heath also conceptualized and helped bring to fruition the very first space satellite mission for the Operationally Responsive Space office, making history for building and launching a satellite in four short months. He has been a part of global satellite constellation studies for the Missile Defense Agency and DARPA, worked with Air Force Research Lab, Naval Research Lab, Space and Mission Command, and other military organizations to further space technologies. Mr. Heath attended the University of Phoenix, where he received a Bachelor's degree in Business Management and a Masters in Business Administration in Technology Management. He is the CEO of Waypoint 2 Space – the only existing U.S.-based company to have FAA Safety Approval for four commercial space training programs including Sub-Orbital, Orbital, and Payload Specialist. For more information about Kevin and Space Crystals LLC, visit https://myspacecrystals.com/ To ask questions about this episode (or one of the 175+ other CEO Blindspots® Podcast episodes), send an email to birgit@ceoblindspots.com CEO Blindspots® Podcast Host: Birgit Kamps. Birgit was speaking five languages by the age of 10, and lived in five countries with her Dutch parents prior to becoming an American citizen. Birgit's professional experience includes starting and selling an “Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Private Company” and a “Best Company to Work for in Texas”, and serving as a Board Member with various companies. In addition, Birgit is the President of Hire Universe LLC, and the host of the CEO Blindspots® Podcast which was recognized by Spotify for having the “biggest listener growth” in the USA by 733%;https://www.ceoblindspots.com/

David Beering is the owner of Intelligent Designs LLC, a small business based in West Lafayette, IN at the Purdue University Research Park. The firm focuses on Engineering, Design, Integration & Testing, and Implementation of complex communications systems utilizing satellites and high-speed wireless connections. During his career, Beering has held leading roles in more than 85 projects working with organizations including the US Naval Research Laboratory, US Army, Missile Defense Agency, Airbus Defense & Space, Lockheed Martin, The Boeing Company, Ball Aerospace, Sandia National Laboratories, Northrop Grumman, and BP.

In this episode, we sat down with Dr Will Roper. He is the prior Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. As the Air Force's Service Acquisition Executive, Dr. Roper was responsible for Air Force research, development and acquisition activities totaling an annual budget in excess of $60 billion for more than 550 acquisition programs. In this position, Dr. Roper served as the principal adviser to the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Air Force for research and development, test, production and modernization efforts within the Air Force. Prior to that position, Dr. Roper was the founding Director of the Pentagon's Strategic Capabilities Office. Established in 2012, the SCO imagines new—often unexpected and game-changing—uses of existing government and commercial systems: extending their shelf-life and restoring surprise to the military's playbook. Since 2012, SCO has grown from an annual budget of $50 million to the current $1.5 billion request in the President's 2018 budget with projects spanning new concepts such as hypervelocity artillery, multi-purpose missiles, autonomous fast-boats, smartphone-navigating weapons, big-data-enabled sensing, 3D-printed systems, standoff arsenal planes, fighter avatars and fighter-dispersed swarming micro-drones which formed the world's then-largest swarm of 103 systems. During his tenure as SCO Director, Dr. Roper served on the Department's 2018 National Defense Strategy Steering Group, Cloud Executive Steering Group and Defense Modernization Team. Previously, Dr. Roper served as the Acting Chief Architect at the Missile Defense Agency where he developed 11 new systems, including the current European Defense architecture, advanced drones, and classified programs. Before this, he worked at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and served as a missile defense advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics.

On Friday's show: Nobel Laureate Thomas Sargent tells us what we can learn about the past of inflation. We'll also look ahead to Game 1 of the World Series with Jesus Ortiz from Our Esquina. Also this hour: The director of the Missile Defense Agency, Navy Vice Admiral Jon Hill, talks about his day job protecting the nation from a missile attack and about how service in the Navy has changed over the years. He was in town for Navy Week, a series of events showcasing some of that military branch's contributions to our nation's defense, culminating with the Wings Over Houston air show this weekend. Then, we break down The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the week. And we catch up with David Brancaccio, host of the Marketplace Morning Report. He hosted the show from Houston this week.

Joining us this week are Richard Grabowski, Acting Program Manager for CISA's CDM Program, and Jonathan McBride, Chief of Adversary Pursuit for CISA's Threat Hunting Subdivision. We dive into the hot topics of threat hunting, adversary pursuit, the evolution of CISA over the years including the growth and maturity of the organization, the power of public/private partnerships, and the drive for innovation. They also share perspective on the recent Cyber Executive Order as well as how the CDM program is increasing visibility into the federal cyberattack surface and security posture. We also dig into the continued talent gap challenge and modernizing the approach to talent recruitment (hint: four-year degrees aren't a requirement!). It truly is an exciting time to be in cyber! And, for those interested in a career move it is a VERY exciting time to be at CISA! Richard Grabowski is the Acting Program Manager for the Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) at CISA As Acting Program Manager for the CDM program, Richard has specific responsibilities for managing portfolios to deliver CDM capabilities to agencies, engineering deployment and architecture-related activities, program support and acquisition, and outreach activities. Through partnerships with agencies and industry, the CDM Program fortifies the cybersecurity of civilian government data and networks by providing capabilities that deliver relevant, timely and actionable information. CDM enables cybersecurity professionals to manage risks by providing innovative tools, processes, governance and training required to defend against cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities. Prior to Richard's current role, he led the CDM Program's Architecture and Technology Integration Section. He started with CDM in 2014 as a Systems Engineer supporting the CDM Dashboard and Dynamic and Evolving Federal Enterprise Network Defense (DEFEND; formerly Task Order [TO2]) Group C agencies. Previous to this, Richard spent over nine years providing client/server and virtualization integration services to the Federal government. Richard holds a B.S. in Systems and Information Engineering from the University of Virginia and a M.S. in Systems Engineering from The George Washington University. Jonathan McBride Chief of Adversary Pursuit, CISA's Threat Hunting subdivision  McBride oversees CISA's federal persistent hunt mission and services, driving innovation in service delivery, sensing solutions, detection, and advanced analytics. He previously served as an engagement lead within the Host Forensics Section of CISA's Threat Hunting Subdivision, leading rapid response personnel on incident response activities supporting the federal government, states, local tribes, territories, and critical infrastructure. Mr. McBride has reached this point in his career by a non-traditional path. A third-generation US Army veteran where he served the special operations community as a military intelligence specialist. Completing multiple deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa focused on counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations. Upon leaving the US Army he transitioned into the cybersecurity workforce as a computer network defense (CND) intrusion analyst and quickly excelled. Highlights include CND Operations lead for the Missile Defense Agency's Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Intercontinental Ballistic Missile system and senior Fusion Analyst for Defense Information Systems Agency – Europe supporting the Department of Defense's European and Africa Combatant Commands, Information Assurance Branch Chief for the Executive Office of the President – Office of Administration, and Incident Response Manager for the Federal Communications Commission. He is an avid outdoorsman and dabbles in ultramarathon running. For links and resources discussed in this episode, please visit our show notes at https://www.forcepoint.com/govpodcast/e202

Marcus Antonellis is from Groton, MA. He attended the College of the Holy Cross, getting his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and commissioning via the NROTC unit. A Naval Surface Warfare Officer, he has served as the Auxiliaries Officer on USS FREEDOM (LCS 1) and as the Damage Control Assistant on USS JOHN PAUL JONES (DDG 53). His assignments had him deploying to the 5th Fleet AOR and participating in multiple Missile Defense Agency test missions.

Episode 30 [Segment 1 of 2] - Luke Goorsky and Marcus Antonellis - Surfaces and Solutions The Trident Room Podcast hosts Luke Goorsky and Marcus Antonellis sit down and have a conversation. This episode was recorded on October 07, 2021. Luke Goorsky is from Santa Clarita, CA. He attended the University of California, San Diego where he earned a bachelor's degree in History. He received his commission in May 2014 as a naval intelligence officer through Officer Candidate School. Luke served onboard the USS Harry S. Truman, at U.S. Fifth Fleet, and at the Defense Intelligence Agency's Hawaii Field Office. Luke is enrolled in the department of National Security Affairs in the East Asia track. Episodes Hosted: Episode 27 June 15 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-goorsky-b7225513b/ Marcus Antonellis is from Groton, MA. He attended the College of the Holy Cross, getting his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and commissioning via the NROTC unit. A Naval Surface Warfare Officer, he has served as the Auxiliaries Officer on USS FREEDOM (LCS 1) and as the Damage Control Assistant on USS JOHN PAUL JONES (DDG 53). His assignments had him deploying to the 5th Fleet AOR and participating in multiple Missile Defense Agency test missions. Episodes Hosted: Episode 25 June 10, | Episode 22 February 2, | Episode 21 January 13, | Episode 16 April 30 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-antonellis-a3649655/ The Trident Room Podcast is brought to you by the Naval Postgraduate School Alumni Association and the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation. npsfoundation.org For comments, suggestions, and critiques, please email us at TridentRoomPodcastHost@nps.edu, and find us online at nps.edu/tridentroompodcast. Thank you!

Episode 30 [Segment 2 of 2] - Luke Goorsky and Marcus Antonellis - The Future of The Surface The Trident Room Podcast hosts Luke Goorsky and Marcus Antonellis sit down and have a conversation. This episode was recorded on October 07, 2021. Luke Goorsky is from Santa Clarita, CA. He attended the University of California, San Diego where he earned a bachelor's degree in History. He received his commission in May 2014 as a naval intelligence officer through Officer Candidate School. Luke served onboard the USS Harry S. Truman, at U.S. Fifth Fleet, and at the Defense Intelligence Agency's Hawaii Field Office. Luke is enrolled in the department of National Security Affairs in the East Asia track. Episodes Hosted: Episode 27 June 15 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-goorsky-b7225513b/ Marcus Antonellis is from Groton, MA. He attended the College of the Holy Cross, getting his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and commissioning via the NROTC unit. A Naval Surface Warfare Officer, he has served as the Auxiliaries Officer on USS FREEDOM (LCS 1) and as the Damage Control Assistant on USS JOHN PAUL JONES (DDG 53). His assignments had him deploying to the 5th Fleet AOR and participating in multiple Missile Defense Agency test missions. Episodes Hosted: Episode 25 June 10, | Episode 22 February 2, | Episode 21 January 13, | Episode 16 April 30 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-antonellis-a3649655/ The Trident Room Podcast is brought to you by the Naval Postgraduate School Alumni Association and the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation. npsfoundation.org For comments, suggestions, and critiques, please email us at TridentRoomPodcastHost@nps.edu, and find us online at nps.edu/tridentroompodcast. Thank you!

Today's guest is Dr. Mark Lewis, executive director of NDIA's Emerging Technologies Institute (NDIA ETI), a non-partisan think tank focused on technologies that are critical to the future of national defense. ETI provides research and analyses to inform the development and integration of emerging technologies into the defense industrial base.   We will discuss the Emerging Technologies Institute's Vital Signs report, which is an evaluation of the readiness and health of the defense industrial base. Prior to his role at the Emerging Technologies Institute, Mark was the Director of Defense Research & Engineering in the Department of Defense, overseeing technology modernization for all military services and DoD Agencies, as well as the acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering.  In this role he was the Pentagon's senior-most scientist, providing management oversight and leadership for DARPA, the Missile Defense Agency, the Defense Innovation Unit, the Space Development Agency, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, and the DoD's basic and applied research portfolio. At the Department of Defense, Mark worked closely with Mike Griffin, who appeared on episodes 23 and 134 of STEM-Talk. In today's interview with Mark, we will again discuss hypersonics and other emerging technologies and modernization priorities that are critical to our national defense. Mark is also the former longest-serving and is perhaps best known for his work in hypersonics. In addition to these important defense-related roles, Mark is also a professor emeritus at the University of Maryland. He spent 25 years as a faculty member at Maryland, conducting basic and applied research in hypersonic aerodynamics, advanced propulsion, and space-vehicle design. Show notes: [00:03:27] Dawn opens the interview asking where Mark grew up and what he was like as a kid. [00:04:29] When Dawn asks Mark when he first became interested in science, Mark tells a funny story form his time as president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics? [00:06:21] Ken asks Mark how he ended up at MIT after high school. [00:07:46] Mark talks about taking a job as an assistant professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Maryland after earning his Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. [00:09:34] Dawn mentions that from 2002 to 2004, Mark was the director of the Space Vehicle Technology Institute. She asks Mark to give an overview of the Institute and the kind of work that goes on there. [00:12:45] Ken mentions that in 2004, Mark became Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force, going on to become the longest-serving Chief Scientist in Air Force history. Ken asks Mark to explain the role of the chief scientist, and what he focused on during his time in the position. [00:17:37] Dawn explains that in 2012, Mark became the director of the Science and Technology Policy Institute, which worked with the executive office of the President and other Executive Branch agencies. Mark talks about the kind of work the Science and Technology Policy Institute does. [00:20:23] Dawn mentions that during Mark's 25 years as a faculty member at the University of Maryland, he conducted basic and applied research in a variety of fields, such as hypersonic aerodynamics, space vehicle design, and advanced propulsion.  She point out that Mark, however, is best known for his work in hypersonics. She asks Mark what led him to focus on hypersonics. [00:22:46] Ken asks Mark to explain why he decided to work under Mike Griffin (episodes 23 and 134) in the Pentagon as the Director of Defense Research and Engineering, and what that experience was like. [00:28:19] Dawn mentions that during Mike Griffin's time as Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, he made hypersonics the department's number one priority. Dawn asks Mark to explain the importance of hypersonics in terms of our national defense.

Even as the armed forces develop hypersonic missiles, the Missile Defense Agency pursues a project to develop measures to counteract enemies' hypersonics. But the program is having significant oversight problems and technical risks. For details, we turn to the acting director for contracting and national security acquisitions issues at the Government Accountability Office, John Sawyer.

Whether we are talking cars, buildings, or aircraft, the future of test may just be entirely digital. However, in order to understand, build, and execute those tests, the right strategies and preparation must be in place. To walk us through the future of test in virtual reality, host Derek Burrows first heads over to the Yard of Bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the most iconic place in the world for motorsports. There, he meets Paul Mitchell, Chairman and President of the Indy Autonomous Challenge, and learns how Paul's team has pioneered virtual testing for their races. He then meets with Dr. Will Roper, Professor, and Former U.S. Air and Space Forces Weapons Chief. Will has worked with the Missile Defense Agency and the Air Force to develop exciting new systems, some of which might not even exist yet in the physical world. He explains what a digital thread is and how our digital twin can help us create faster, at lower cost, and have less impact on the environment.  Learn More About: Before anyone from Paul Mitchell's Indy Autonomous team touched a tool, the challenge was an entirely virtual competition. What did they learn while working in simulated environments, and how did that impact testing? Paul discusses how their simulation tools got better once they began on-track testing. Those who were leading the racecar team weren't necessarily automobile experts, but the best in computer science and AI. In fact, one of the team leads didn't even have a driver's license! The virtual component is not more valuable than the real world, but the two can support one another in gathering data and giving important feedback. Will Roper explains how the focus of test engineers and testers in the future will be overcoming the new things that have been left in Pandora's box for us to open. How will virtual reality affect the way we test and design in aviation? Will explains what a digital twin is, and how we can use it for more efficiency, out-of-the-box innovation, and less cost. Virtual reality will help us fold AI more into our design. Resources Mentioned: NIIndy Autonomous Challenge Paul Mitchell Dr. Will Roper

25 [2/3] - John J. Hammerer - The Meyer Scholar Program The Trident Room Podcast host Marcus Antonellis sits down with John J Hammerer – they discuss the real-world challenges of air and missile defense and the initiation of The Meyer Scholar Program. This episode was recorded on April 23, 2021. John Hammerer is the Chair, Integrated Air and Missile Defense at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Previously he served as a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses, the Navy's Federally Funded Research and Development Center where his principal areas of research included combat systems development and operational warfighting assessment. Prior to joining the Center for Naval Analyses, he was a defense consultant to the AEGIS and New Construction Ships Branch in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and the AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense Program Office. In this capacity he was a member of several study groups including the Congressionally mandated BMDS Training and Education Needs Assessment and the DDG-1000 Combat System Activation Readiness Assessment. John's eight shipboard assignments, included duty as the commissioning Commanding Officer of USS Paul Hamilton and command of USS Lake Erie, conducting the first ballistic missile intercepts in space from a ship at sea. Ashore, he served as the Commander of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's Joint National Test Facility, the Director of the Missile Defense Agency's Initial Defensive Operations Task Force and Program Manager of the Ground Based Midcourse Defense Fire Control and Communications System. He also led the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's Joint Force and Test and Evaluation of Battle Management Command, Control, and Communications, and Intelligence Directorate. John was the Surface and Strike Warfare Officer in Combat System Engineering Branch of the AEGIS Program Office's Technical Division. Prior to reporting to the Naval Postgraduate School, he was an adjunct professor of Joint Maritime Operations at the U.S. Naval War College. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Science degree in Physics from the U.S Naval Postgraduate School and a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He was certified as a Joint Specialty Officer and Acquisition Professional Level III in Program Management. The Trident Room Podcast is brought to you by the Naval Postgraduate School Alumni Association and the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation. npsfoundation.org For comments, suggestions, and critiques, please email us at TridentRoomPodcastHost@nps.edu, and find us online at nps.edu/tridentroompodcast. Thank you!

25 [3/3] - John J. Hammerer - The World of Combat Systems The Trident Room Podcast host Marcus Antonellis sits down with John J Hammerer – they discuss the real-world challenges of air and missile defense and the initiation of The Meyer Scholar Program. This episode was recorded on April 23, 2021. John Hammerer is the Chair, Integrated Air and Missile Defense at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Previously he served as a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses, the Navy's Federally Funded Research and Development Center where his principal areas of research included combat systems development and operational warfighting assessment. Prior to joining the Center for Naval Analyses, he was a defense consultant to the AEGIS and New Construction Ships Branch in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and the AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense Program Office. In this capacity he was a member of several study groups including the Congressionally mandated BMDS Training and Education Needs Assessment and the DDG-1000 Combat System Activation Readiness Assessment. John's eight shipboard assignments, included duty as the commissioning Commanding Officer of USS Paul Hamilton and command of USS Lake Erie, conducting the first ballistic missile intercepts in space from a ship at sea. Ashore, he served as the Commander of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's Joint National Test Facility, the Director of the Missile Defense Agency's Initial Defensive Operations Task Force and Program Manager of the Ground Based Midcourse Defense Fire Control and Communications System. He also led the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's Joint Force and Test and Evaluation of Battle Management Command, Control, and Communications, and Intelligence Directorate. John was the Surface and Strike Warfare Officer in Combat System Engineering Branch of the AEGIS Program Office's Technical Division. Prior to reporting to the Naval Postgraduate School, he was an adjunct professor of Joint Maritime Operations at the U.S. Naval War College. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Science degree in Physics from the U.S Naval Postgraduate School and a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He was certified as a Joint Specialty Officer and Acquisition Professional Level III in Program Management. The Trident Room Podcast is brought to you by the Naval Postgraduate School Alumni Association and the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation. npsfoundation.org For comments, suggestions, and critiques, please email us at TridentRoomPodcastHost@nps.edu, and find us online at nps.edu/tridentroompodcast. Thank you!

25 [1/3] - John J. Hammerer - Principles of War The Trident Room Podcast host Marcus Antonellis sits down with John J Hammerer – they discuss the real-world challenges of air and missile defense and the initiation of The Meyer Scholar Program. This episode was recorded on April 23, 2021. John Hammerer is the Chair, Integrated Air and Missile Defense at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Previously he served as a Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses, the Navy's Federally Funded Research and Development Center where his principal areas of research included combat systems development and operational warfighting assessment. Prior to joining the Center for Naval Analyses, he was a defense consultant to the AEGIS and New Construction Ships Branch in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and the AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense Program Office. In this capacity he was a member of several study groups including the Congressionally mandated BMDS Training and Education Needs Assessment and the DDG-1000 Combat System Activation Readiness Assessment. John's eight shipboard assignments, included duty as the commissioning Commanding Officer of USS Paul Hamilton and command of USS Lake Erie, conducting the first ballistic missile intercepts in space from a ship at sea. Ashore, he served as the Commander of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's Joint National Test Facility, the Director of the Missile Defense Agency's Initial Defensive Operations Task Force and Program Manager of the Ground Based Midcourse Defense Fire Control and Communications System. He also led the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's Joint Force and Test and Evaluation of Battle Management Command, Control, and Communications, and Intelligence Directorate. John was the Surface and Strike Warfare Officer in Combat System Engineering Branch of the AEGIS Program Office's Technical Division. Prior to reporting to the Naval Postgraduate School, he was an adjunct professor of Joint Maritime Operations at the U.S. Naval War College. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Science degree in Physics from the U.S Naval Postgraduate School and a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He was certified as a Joint Specialty Officer and Acquisition Professional Level III in Program Management. The Trident Room Podcast is brought to you by the Naval Postgraduate School Alumni Association and the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation. npsfoundation.org For comments, suggestions, and critiques, please email us at TridentRoomPodcastHost@nps.edu, and find us online at nps.edu/tridentroompodcast. Thank you!

Episode 12: 2022 IEEE Past President Susan K. (Kathy) Land. Susan K. (Kathy) Land is a Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Defense's Missile Defense Agency. She has more than 30 years of industry experience in the application of software engineering methodologies, the management of information systems, and leadership of software development teams.  Kathy served as the 2018 Vice President, IEEE Technical Activities. She also served two additional terms on the IEEE Board of Directors as Division VIII Director/Delegate in 2011 and 2012 and as Division V Director/Delegate in 2014 and 2015. She was President of the IEEE Computer Society in 2009. Kathy was a member of the IEEE-USA Board of Directors in 2013 and 2016.  Kathy has been an active member of the IEEE Standards Association for more than 20 years and served as the Computer Society Vice President for Standards in 2004. She was the recipient of the 2007 IEEE Standards Medallion. An IEEE Fellow, Kathy is the author and co-author of a number of texts and publications supporting software engineering principles and the practical application of software process methodologies. She is an IEEE-HKN Member and IEEE Computer Society Richard E. Merwin Award recipient. 

Missile Defense Agency pivots focus to hypersonic systems Vice Admiral Jon Hill, director of the Missile Defense Agency, discusses how to defend against the growing threat of hypersonic missile systems

NASA, famously and consistently the best place to work in government, has an urgent need to transform itself and how it operates. That's the principal finding of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, in its latest annual report to Congress. For highlights, we turn to the panel chair, Dr. Patricia Sanders.

Welcome, Chris. 02:20Chris's career journey: Joined the army, his time in active duty, and his work with the Threat Reduction Agenecy.03:29Going to Stratcom, the Missile Defense Agency, USSTRATCOM, and the Qlick Federal team.06:12Defense industrial base manufacturers ensure supply chains because any issue can cause an immediate impact on real-world missions.  08:36Experiencing 9/11 at a Superfund site and his unit's work.10:26Impactful things after 9/11: the communication expedition for data and communication between federal agencies and across different systems. 15:19How do you measure interoperability: being able to communicate with the data in different mission sets. 19:51Having everyone operating from a single source of truth is crucial. 21:50How do we protect individual rights while protecting the sovereignty of the nation and society as a collective? 24:07Importance of leadership in bringing data across the multitude of agencies systems and operational domains 30:32Are we at a point where we can visualize information in these sort of ‘war rooms' like in the movies? 34:05Two driving forces are the functionals leading up by highlighting what we don't know and top parts of government leading down by saying, ‘This is where we have to get to.' 36:30Suicide and sexual harassment prevention examples. 39:13Building teams around data and the role of the translator who sits between the data scientist and the business or mission owner. 44:21From a leadership standpoint if you're going to lead up you want translators on your team. 46:18Define success: what are you looking to achieve? 47:39Chris' AHA moment: Key thing to touch on in the future is data literacy. 49:39Connect with Chris WilsonLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christopher-wilson-pmp-45993a3Connect with Mark, Andrew, and Courtney. Mark FedeliLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/markfedeliTwitter: @markfedeli Andrew ChurchillLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/fachurchill/Twitter: @FAChurchill Courtney Hastings:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/courtneyhastingsTwitter: @chatrhstrategic

David Pyne and I discuss the increasing threat of China and their nuclear expansion. The Washington Times news agency reported the Chinese are building a third intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) field, that would be the home of over 100 new missiles. This could put the US and our western allies in a major pickle. The Chinese could effectively conduct nuclear blackmail of a US President, with just a threat of nuclear annihilation. David Pyne currently serves as Deputy Director of National Operations for the EMP Task Force on National and Homeland Security, as a Vice President for the Association of the United States Army's Utah chapter and as a West Valley City Police Honorary Colonel. David is a former U.S. Army Headquarters staff officer, as a Consultant for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and as an International Analyst for both the Office of the Secretary of Defense and for the Department of the Navy. Mr. Pyne served as National Security Policy Director for U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), as the founder of Sen. Lee's Military Advisory Committee and as 2nd Vice President of the Salt Lake Total Force Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. He also served as Chairman/Vice Chairman of the Utah State Legislative Compensation Commission from 2009-2017. David holds a MA degree in National Security Studies from Georgetown University's prestigious School of Foreign Service. He has been interviewed on television, on several talk radio shows and has been quoted in a number of newspapers, magazine articles and books. Mr. Pyne has had his op-eds published in The National Interest, Real Clear History, Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune, the Provo Daily Herald, WorldNetDaily.com and Military.com. He, along with other EMP Task Force leaders, are available to speak to national or state policymakers and staffers, emergency management professionals or to civic and political groups on the EMP threat and other existential threats facing our great nation. Links Article mentioned in the interview and others by Mr. Pyne can be found here: https://nationalinterest.org/profile/david-t-pyne Article in the discussion: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/aug/12/china-engaged-breathtaking-nuclear-breakout-us-str/?fbclid=IwAR2EHNpYTuLYgF_-qgo7LQCxYGHIlWSe4j9vAirwZzpHBS0QX4uichbVNDQWebsite: https://emptaskforce.us/ Civil Defense Radio Information Website: https://www.civildefenseradio.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CivilDefenseRadio Telegram: Civil Defense Radio ChannelMeWe: Civil Defense RadioResources Links mentioned in showMad Moneyhttps://news.bitcoin.com/mad-moneys-jim-cramer-recommends-5-of-portfolios-in-crypto/Financial Advisory Surveyhttps://news.bitcoin.com/financial-advisor-survey-26-plan-to-recommend-cryptocurrencies/These are the five countrieshttps://dailyhodl.com/2021/08/14/these-are-the-five-countries-paving-the-way-for-crypto-adoption-according-to-binance/Iconic US Magazinehttps://dailyhodl.com/2021/08/13/this-iconic-92-year-old-us-magazine-plans-to-hold-ethereum/Four Institutional Investment Managershttps://dailyhodl.com/2021/08/16/four-institutional-investment-managers-get-btc-exposure-after-purchasing-250204-shares-of-grayscale-bitcoin-trust/Learn more about Crypto terms herehttps://www.coingecko.com/en/glossary?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020-08-9-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=coingecko&utm_content=+Binance+is+safe%3F&utm_campaign=CoinGecko+Newsletters#AGlobal Partnershttps://prestonschleinkofer.vcardinfo.com/GSTelecom is a blockchain secure email. text, and chat app powered by G999 digital tokensThis video is a short intro to this service: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRtRvjiVZVcGSTelecom Apps (Remember, these apps literally run on the blockchain, and you must have G999 crypto tokens to pay for use. You may purchase the coins from a number of exchanges, or through the Global Partners link above.)Android:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=block.chain.chatiPhone:https://apps.apple.com/tt/app/gstelecom-by-g999-blockchain/id1547577247NOTE: Civil Defense Radio is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies

Today I am speaking with John Holst, who is an independent analyst in the space industry. John conducted space operations for in the United States Air Force and space segment testing for the Missile Defense Agency. He has performed research and worked for the Space Foundation and Quilty Analytics, and continues to work on publications in the space industry. John also writes an interesting blog on the state of the space industry and the path towards commercialisation. --- 00:30: John's story 04:07: About John's blog 06:00: How commercial is the space industry, outside defence? 12:02: Dependency of the launch industry on defence 20:40: How long will the defence industry continue to be an anchor customer for Earth observation companies? 29:20: When could space technologies be used commercially first before being adopted by governments and military? 37:20: Commercialisation of space exploration 45:15: 1-line for the space industry ---

Is the Nuclear Posture Review something worth doing, or a massive waste of time and political capital? Jeffrey and Aaron vote "waste." The NPR takes up a ton of time, leaves policy on autopilot during its duration, and burns a ton of bandwidth that could be used for actual reflection and policy change.  But what is more valuable? No Review at all? An Integrated Deterrence Review? The team walks through the pitfalls of the NPR, propose some modest alternatives, and outline a possible alternative mission for the Missile Defense Agency.... Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

Eighteen months ago, Sagewind Capital began a series of deals that have led to the creation of the newest mid-tier company in the market – Axient. Led by CEO Patrick Murphy the company is poised for more deals as it pursues opportunities that require systems integration, digital engineering, software development and the development of complex systems.Murphy explains to Editor Nick Wakeman the strategy behind the acquisitions as well as the kind of contracts and customers the company will pursue going forward. The growth will come from more acquisitions as well as expanding the work it does with the Army, Air Force, NASA and Missile Defense Agency.As larger entity, Axient will now be chasing larger contracts as it also looks to close more acquisitions. Murphy predicts the next deal could come before the end of the years.

Tia Caldwell, former Director of Engineering @ Slack, shares different frameworks she’s used to motivate teams and unlock their superpowers! We cover methods to identify, maximize, & balance strengths on your team, how to shift your team’s mindset from drama to EMPOWERED so they can better confront adversity & challenges. Plus we share the explicit conversations you should be having in your first 1:1s to create greater psychological safety! “You don't need to have this manager game face. I think there's this perception that when you're a manager, you're supposed to be the person who knows the answers to everything… And while a part of the execution piece is really necessary with being an effective manager, I think the other part is relationship building. You need to invest the time in understanding how people work. Because people will be more open and honest with you, it'll help out with retention for your team and overall happiness. But if you don't… it's not going to go well because you'll be treating people as resources and not humans.” TIA CALDWELL, FORMER DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING @ SLACK Tia led the Monetization Team at Slack, a leading global collaboration hub that makes people’s working lives simpler, more pleasant and more productive. Over the past 15 years, she has led and managed engineering teams at Netflix and Microsoft, covering a breadth of projects such as Xbox, Office 365 and Streaming Content Delivery. She serves as a facilitator in /dev/color and is the co-founder of Color Code (https://www.colorcode.org/), a scholarship fund dedicated to future leaders of color in tech. Tia studied computer science at Xavier University of Louisiana and spent her undergraduate years doing research for the Missile Defense Agency. SHOWNOTES How do you motivate your team? Find their Superpower! (3:05) Tia’s Superpowers (8:02) Knowing your superpowers maximizes strengths & protects against your weaknesses (10:09) How superpower awareness & common language changes how you operate, make decisions, & structure teams (12:31) Why you should balance your team’s superpowers to increase collaboration and be more effective (17:06) “The Drama Triangle” (20:51) How to recognize what role you’re playing in “The Drama Triangle” (28:30) Shift your team’s mindset with “The Empowerment Triangle” (32:45) How to shift someone from “Victim” to “Creator” or from “Villain” to “Challenger” (34:27) Personal operating manuals & having explicit conversations to get the best from your team (39:06) “What’s your grumpiness level?” & other ways to create psychological safety in your 1:1’s (41:37) How to prompt self-reflection and identify how your team wants recognition & feedback (46:03) Why relationships & removing the “manager game face” are your most effective tool (49:20) Takeaways (50:52) Looking for other ways to get involved with ELC? Check out all of our upcoming events, peer groups, and other programs at sfelc.com! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/engineeringleadership/message

The 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the Coronabus both enacted laws aiming to stop China from advancing their Belt and Road economic system that may soon be able to compete with the "rules based international order", which the United States has been leading the implementation of since the end of WWII. In this episode, learn about the NDAA's most significant changes, including a new U.S. military build up in China's neighborhood: The Pacific Deterrence Initiative. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Click here to contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish via Patreon (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank’s online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Episodes CD218: Minerals are the New Oil CD187: Combating China Bills National Defense Authorization Act for 2021 Bill Text Sec. 158: Expansion of Economic Order Quantity Contracting Authority for F-35 Aircraft Program Doubles the amount of money allowed to be spent on longer term contracts from $574 million to over $1 billion TITLE VII - ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS Subtitle D - Industrial Base Matters Sec. 841: Additional Requirements Pertaining to Printed Circuit Boards Beginning January 1, 2023, the Defense Department will be prohibited from buying printed circuit boards that are either fully or partially manufactured in North Korea, China, Russia, or Iran. The Defense Secretary has the ability to waive these restrictions TITLE X - GENERAL PROVISIONS Subtitle E - Miscellaneous Authorities and Limitations Sec. 1052: Expenditure of Funds for Department of Defense Clandestine Activities that Support Operational Preparation of the Environment Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to spend up to $15 million from the Operations and Maintenance account "in any fiscal year for clandestine activities for any purpose the Secretary determines to be proper for preparation of the environment for operations of a confidential nature." Intelligence activities are excluded. This authority can be delegated for expenses up to $250,000. The Defense Secretary has to tell Congress about these expenditures in a report due once per year at the end of the year. Sec. 1053: Sale or Donation of Excess Department of Defense Personal Property for Law Enforcement Activities Prohibits the military from transferring free bayonets, grenades (but they can still transfer stun and flash bang grenades), weaponized tanks, and weaponized drones to domestic law enforcement. Sec. 1062: Limitation on Provision of Funds to Institutions of Higher Education Hosting Confucius Institutes Beginning in 2023, Defense Department funding - except for funding given directly to students - can be given to an college or university that hosts a Confucius Institute. "Confucius Institute" is defined as "a cultural institute directly or indirectly funded" by the Chinese government. The Defense Secretary has the ability to waive this prohibition. This was based on a bill co-authored by Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio and Rep. Donna Shalala of Fl Sec. 1064: Requirements for Use of Federal Law Enforcement Personnel, Active Duty Members of the Armed Forces, and National Guard Personnel in Support of Federal Authorities to Respond to Civil Disturbances Whenever a member of the armed forces, including the National Guard, respond to a civil disturbance, each individual has to display their name and the name of the Federal entity they are representing. This won't apply to individuals who don't wear uniforms when performing their regular duties or who are performing undercover operations. TITLE XII - MATTERS RELATING TO FOREIGN NATIONS Subtitle B - Matters Relating to Afghanistan and Pakistan Sec. 1215: Limitation on Use of Funds to Reduce Deployment to Afghanistan Prohibits troop levels in Afghanistan from being reduced below 2,000 until the Defense Secretary submits a report Subtitle C - Matters Relating to Syria, Iraq, and Iran Sec. 1221: Extension and Modification of Authority to Provide Assistance to Counter the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria Reauthorizes the Department of Defense military assistance for training, equipment, supplies, and support for the Government of Iraq and "other local security forces" for combatting ISIL and security the territory of Iraq until December 31, 2021 but cuts the funding to $322.5 million, down from $645 million. The original funding amount t was over $1.6 billion in 2016. Sec. 1222: Extension and Modification of Authority to Provide Assistance to Vetted Syrian Groups and Individuals Reauthorizes the Department of Defense assistance for training, equipment, supplies, support, stipends, and facilities for "vetted elements of the Syrian opposition and other appropriately vetted Syrian groups and individuals" until December 31, 2021 Subtitle E - Matters Relating to Europe and NATO Sec. 1241: Determination and Imposition of Sanctions with Respect to Turkey's Acquisition of the S-400 Air Defense System In response to Turkey's decision to buy an air defense system from Russia on July 12, 2019, the President "shall" impose five or more sanctions on each person who participated in buying that system. The sanctions were required to be implemented by the end of January 2021. The sanctions are allowed to be removed after one year if the S-400 air defense system has been removed from Turkey Sec. 1246: Report on United States Military Force Posture in Southeastern Europe By the end of 2021, the Secretary of Defense has to submit a classified report with an unclassified summary describing the military postures of Russia and China in southeastern Europe and assess the cost, feasibility, and infrastructure requirements of increasing US Armed Forces in Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, and other locations. Subtitle F - Matters Relating to the Indo-Pacific Region Sec. 1251: Pacific Deterrence initiative Requires the Secretary of Defense to create a Pacific Deterrence Initiative to improve the force posture in the Indo-Pacific region, primarily west of the International Date Line The purpose is to... Strengthen the presence of the US Armed Forces in the region Pre-position equipment, weapons, and fuel. Perform exercises, training, and experiments Build the militaries of allies and partners and enhance cooperation with them Authorizes over $2.2 billion Sec. 1252: Extension and Modification of Prohibition on Commercial Export of Certain Covered Munitions Items to the Hong Kong Police Force Extends the prohibition on export licenses being issued to send weapons to the Hong Kong police force that was enacted on November 27, 2019 until December 31, 2021 and expands the prohibition on exports to include "crime control items". Sec. 1260: Statement of Policy and Sense of Congress on the Taiwan Relations Act 'The Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances provided by the United States to Taiwan in July 1982 are the foundation for United States-Taiwan relations" "Any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means, including boycotts and embargoes, is a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United States." We will "resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system of the people of Taiwan" It is US policy to continue selling weapons to Taiwan, including weapons for air defense, undersea warfare, intelligence, surveillance, anti-armor, anti-ship, and coastal defense systems. US policy is to perform joint military exercises with Taiwan. Sec. 1260E: Sense of Congress on the Aggression of the Government of China Along the Border with India and its Growing Territorial Claims Congress says that... "continued military aggression by the Government of China along the border with India is a significant concern" "attempts by the Government of China to advance baseless territorial claims, including those in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and with respect to Bhutan, are destabilizing and inconsistent with international law." Subtitle G: Sudan Democratic Transition, Accountability, and Fiscal Transparency Act of 2020 Sec. 1263: Statement of Policy It is United States policy to... "support a civilian-led political transition in Sudan that results in a democratic government..." "support the implementation of Sudan's constitutional charter for the transitional period" (which began on August 17, 2019 and is effective for 39 months, which would be November 17, 2022) Part of our strategy is "promoting economic reform, private sector engagement, and inclusive economic development..." and "supporting improved development outcomes, domestic resource mobilization, and catalyzing market-based solutions to improve access to health, education, water and sanitations, and livelihoods..." Sec. 1264: Support for Democratic Governance, Rule of Law, Human Rights, and Fundamental Freedoms Authorizes the President to "provide assistance" authorized by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which allows him to use money from the State Department's Economic Support Fund, and development assistance in agriculture, health, education, housing, counter-drug operations, disaster relief, energy, technology, natural resources, and technical assistance for the government and/or central bank. Authorizes $20 million per year in 2021 and 2022 Sec. 1265: Support for Development Programs Authorizes the President to "provide assistance" using the same authorities from Section 1264 and the Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018 (BUILD Act) ,which created the United States International Development Finance Corporation, to "promote economic growth, increase private sector productivity and advance market-based solutions to address development challenges" Authorizes $80 million per year for 2021 and 2022 Sec. 1266: Support for Conflict Mitigation Authorizes the President to "provide assistance" using the same authorities from Section 1264 and money for international military education and training and money for peacekeeping operations to "support civil society and other organizations", for "professional training of security force personnel", and to support provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 and Abyei protocol. Authorizes $20 million per year for 2021 and 2022 Sec. 1267: Support for Accountability for War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, and Genocide in Sudan Authorizes the President to "provide assistance" using the same authorities from Section 1264 to assist investigators to document violations of human rights committed by the former President Omar al-Bashir and the Transitional Military Council since June 30, 1989. Authorizes $10 million per year for 2021 and 2022. Sec. 1270E: Repeal of Sudan Peace Act and the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act Effective January 1, 2020 (backdated), repeals the Sudan Peace Act and the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act Subtitle H - United States Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2020 Sec. 1273: Security Assistance for Israel The United States will give Israel at least $3.3 billion per year from the Foreign Military Financing Program from 2021 through 2028 (at least $26.4 billion). The amount used to be capped; this law changed it so that is a minimum payment. Sec. 1275: Rules Governing the Transfer of Precision-Guided Munitions to Israel Above the Annual Restriction Authorizes the President to transfer precision-guided missiles from our reserves to Israel The authority to transfer our missiles to Israel will expire at the beginning of 2024 TITLE LVXXXIV - MISCELLANEOUS Subtitle C - Arctic Sec. 8421: Coast Guard Arctic Prioritization Congress is concerned that "Russia and China have conducted military exercises together in the Arctic, have agreed to connect the Northern Sea Route, claimed by Russia, with China's Maritime Silk Road, and are working together in developing natural gas resources in the Arctic." TITLE XCIV - SCIENCE, SPACE, AND TECHNOLOGY MATTERS Subtitle B - Other Matters Sec. 9414: Study on Chinese Policies and Influence in the Development of International Standards for Emerging Technologies The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology will conduct a study that can include... How China's role in international standards setting organizations has grown over the last 10 years China's standardization strategy outlined in "Chinese Standard 2035" An examination of whether international standards for technology are being designed to promote Chinese interests outlined in the "Made in China 2025" plan Recommendations on how the United States can "mitigate" China's influence in setting standards and increase the United States public and private sector participation in the standards setting institutions TITLE XCVII - FINANCIAL SERVICES MATTERS Subtitle C - Other Matters Sec. 9723: Accountability for World Bank Loans to China Makes it the policy of the United States to disqualify China from receiving World Bank loans designed for low and middle income countries. This was a bill written by Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio TITLE XCIX - CREATING HELPFUL INCENTIVES TO PRODUCE SEMICONDUCTORS FOR AMERICA Sec. 9902: Semiconductor Incentives The Secretary of Commerce has to create a program that provides tax money to "a private entity, a consortium of private entities,, or a consortium of public and private entities..." to incentivize them to invest in creating, assembling, testing, packaging, or researching semiconductors in the United States. The money can not be given to "a foreign entity of concern" Tax money for any individual project is capped at $3 billion, but that limit can be waived with the recommendation of the Defense Secretary, the Director of National Intelligence, and the President. Sec. 9905: Funding for Development and Adoption of Measurably Secure Semiconductors and Measurably Secure Semiconductors Supply Chains Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to create a "Multilateral Semiconductors Security Fund" The fund would be used to create "measurably secure semiconductor supply chains" The Secretary of State can use money in the fund to give to foreign governments on the condition that those countries enact restrictions on exports to China. The Secretary of State is encouraged, but not required, to establish transparency requirements for subsidies or other financial benefits given to semiconductors inside or outside the participating countries and "promote harmonized treatment and verification processes for items being exported to a country considered a national security risk by a country participating". Coronabus Outline Bill Text DIVISION B - COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021 TITLE V - GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 526: Prohibits NASA, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), or the National Space Council (NSC) from working with, contracting from, or coordinating "in any way with China or any Chinese-owned company" unless the activities are "specifically authorized" by a law enacted after the Coronabus. This can be waived if NASA, the OSTP, or NSC consults with the FBI and finds that the cooperation would "pose no risk of resulting in the transfer of technology, data, or other information with national security or economic security implications to China or a Chinese-owned company." DIVISION K - DEPARTMENT OF STATE, FOREIGN OPERATIONS, AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT TITLE VII: GENERAL PROVISIONS Insecure Communications Networks Sec. 7030: State Department funds must be used to advance the adoption of 5G in countries receiving our tax money and prevent the creation of communications networks, including 5G, promoted by China "and other state-backed enterprises that are subject to undue or extrajudicial control by their country of origin." East Asia and the Pacific $1.482 billion must be spent implementing the Indo-Pacific Strategy and the Asia Reassurance Initiative of 2018. Requires at least $300 million in additional money to be spent on a new Countering Chinese Influence Fund Sec. 7043: Funding for China's neighbors... Almost $135 million was appropriated for the government of Burma before the military coup. At least $85 million is appropriated for the government of Cambodia, conditioned on Cambodia "verifiably maintaining the neutrality of Ream Naval Base, other military installations in Cambodia, and dual use facilities such as the Dara Sakor development project. There is no certification required for "democracy, health, education, and environment programs, programs to strengthen the sovereignty of Cambodia, and programs to educate and inform the people of Cambodia of the influence activities of the People's Republic of China in Cambodia." At least $80 million will be given to Laos At least $3 million from the "Democracy Fund" will be given to Hong Kong for "democracy and internet freedom programs for Hong Kong, including legal and other support for democracy activists" as long as none of this money goes to the Chinese government. Prohibits counter-drug money for the Philippines, "except for drug demand reduction, maritime law enforcement, or transnational interdiction." At least $170 million will be given to Vietnam Europe and Eurasia Requires at least $290 million to be spent on the Countering Russian Influence Fund Latin America and the Caribbean Sec. 7045: Requires over $500 million to be available for "assistance" for Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama, which can be spent on the Central America Regional Security Initiative. Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras can only get 50% of their allotted funding unless the Secretary of State certifies that the governments are taking actions against corruption, enacting reforms, informing their citizens that it’s dangerous to come to the United States, enhancing border security, and “resolving disputes involving the confiscation of real property of United States entities.” Those three countries are also ineligible for foreign military financing. The Caribbean Requires at least $74.8 million to be spent on the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative Venezuela Requires at least $33 million to be spent on "democracy programs" in Venezuela Bilateral Economic Assistance Adds an additional $700 million to the Economic Support Fund, available until September 30, 2022 for Sudan. DIVISION Z - ENERGY ACT OF 2020 Sec. 7003: Monitoring Mineral Investments Under Belt and Road Initiative of People's Republic of China The Director of National Intelligence, starting in the beginning of 2022 and every year after, will have to conduct a detailed report on China's investments in minerals and if their investments have increased their control over the global supply of those minerals. DIVISION FF - OTHER MATTER TITLE III - FOREIGN RELATIONS AND DEPARTMENT OF STATE PROVISIONS Subtitle B - Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 Sec. 314: Taiwan's Inclusion in International Organizations Congress finds that... "China's attempts to dictate the terms of Taiwan's participation in international organizations has, in many cases, resulted in Taiwan's exclusion from such organizations even when statehood is not a requirement..." Makes it US policy to advocate for Taiwans inclusion in international organizations that do not require statehood, including the United Nations, World Health Assembly, and others. Subtitle F - The United States Northern Triangle Enhanced Engagement Act Sec. 352: By the beginning of July, the Secretary of State has to submit a five year strategy to Congress for changing the governing, economic, and security structures of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Economically, the priorities must include: "Supporting market-based solutions to eliminate constraints to inclusive economic growth" "Identifying... a role for relevant United States agencies and United States private sector in supporting efforts to increase private sector investment..." Security priorities must include: "Implementing the Central America Regional Security Initiative" The strategy can be created in partnership with "civil society and the private sector in the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras." The strategy will have to be posed on the State Department's website, but it is allowed to be partially classified. Sec. 353: By the beginning of July, President Biden has to submit a list of people who will be sanctioned for their actions in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Sanctions will prohibit the targets from traveling to the United States. The authority to impose these sanctions will expire at the beginning of 2024. https://www.congress.gov/116/cprt/HPRT42770/CPRT-116HPRT42770.pdf#page= National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 Bill Text Sec. 1251: Authorized the “Indo-Asia-Pacific Stability Initiative” to “increase the presence and capabilities” of the United States Armed Forces in the region by building new infrastructure, “enhance the storage and pre-positioning in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region of equipment of the United States Forces”, and with military training and exercises with allies. John S. McCain National Defense Authorization for Fiscal Year 2019 Bill Text Sec. 1252: Amends the NDAA for 2016, which authorized the South China Sea Initiative providing military equipment and training to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, to change the name of the program to the “Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative” and expands the authorization to include the Indian Ocean in addition to the South China Sea and the countries of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Adds India to the list of countries allowed to be paid for expenses, along with Brunei, Singapore, and Taiwan. Extends the expiration date from September 30, 2020 to December 31, 2025. Sec. 1253: Changes the name of the military build-up authorized in NDAA 2018 from the “Indo-Asia-Pacific Stability Initiative” to the “Indo-Pacific Stability Initiative”. Changes the activities authorized to include an increase in “rotational and forward presence” of the US Armed Forces and adds the prepositioning of “munitions” in addition to equipment. Expands the options for funding by removing the requirement that funding come “only” from a section 1001 transfer authority. Section 1001 transfer authority allows the shifting of up to $4.5 billion. Requires a 5 year plan be submitted to Congress by the Secretary of Defense by March 1, 2019. Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 Outline [Bill Text](https://www.congress.gov/115/plaws/publ409/PLAW-115publ409.pdf Sec. 2: Findings The "United States-backed international system" is being challenged by: China constructing islands in the South China Sea and challenging US economic interests North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities ISIS "Without strong leadership from the United States, the international system, fundamentally rooted in the rule of law, may wither, to the detriment of the United States, regional, and global interests." TITLE I: UNITED STATES POLICY AND DIPLOMATIC STRATEGY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION Sec. 101: Policy The United States policy for the region... "Promotes American prosperity and economic interests by advancing economic growth and development of a rules-based Indo-Pacific economic community" Sec. 102: Diplomatic Strategy We will support... The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation East Asia Summit We want... Freedom of navigation under international law Expansions of security and defense cooperation with allies and partners Denuclearization of North Korea "To develop and grow the economy through private sector partnerships between the United States and Indo-Pacific partners" To pursue trade agreements and "build a network of partners in the Indo-Pacific committed to free markets" TITLE II - PROMOTING UNITED STATES SECURITY INTERESTS IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION Sec 201: Authorization of Appropriations $1.5 billion per year from 2019 through 2023 ($7.5 billion total) The money can be used for... Foreign military financing Foreign military education and training Counterterrorism partnership programs "To encourage responsible natural resource management in partner countries, which is closely associated with economic growth" Military and Coast Guard training exercises Expanding cooperation with Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka "Multilateral engagements" with Japan, Australia, and India Intelligence The goal is to counter "China's influence to undermine the international system" Sec. 205: United States-ASEAN Strategic Partnership The goal of our commitment to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is to "build a strong, stable politically cohesive, economically integrated, and socially responsible community of nations that has common rules, norms, procedures, and standards which are consistent with international law and the principles of a rules-based Indo-Pacific community." Sec. 209: Commitment to Taiwan To enforce all existing commitments to Taiwan made by the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 and the 3 joint communiques and the Six Assurances agreed to by President Reagan in July 1982 The United States "should" regularly transfer weapons to Taiwan "that are tailored to meet the existing and likely future threats from the People's Republic of China." TITLE III: PROMOTING UNITED STATES ECONOMIC INTERESTS IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION Sec. 301: Findings By 2030, 66% of the global middle class will be living in Asia and 59% of middle class consumption will take place in Asia The United States has free trade agreements in effect with Australia, Singapore, and Korea The member states of ASEAN represent the fifth largest economy in the world Sec. 302: Indo-Pacific Trade Negotiations, Multilateral Agreements, and Regional Economic Summits Congress supports "full implementation of the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement by Indo-Pacific countries" Sec. 304: Trade Capacity Building and Trade Facilitation Authorizes "such sums as may be necessary" for the President to produce a trade facilitation strategy that levels the playing field for American companies competing in the Indo-Pacific region. TITLE IV - PROMOTING UNITED STATES VALUES IN THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION Sec. 409: Authorization of Appropriations Authorizes $210 million per year from 2019 through 2025 (over $1 billion total) to "promote democracy, strengthen civil society... etc" in the Indo-Pacific region. This money can be used to promote democracy and the "rule of law" inside of China. Articles/Documents Article: The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor—Hard Reality Greets BRI’s Signature Initiative, By David Sacks, Council on Foreign Relations, March 30, 2021 Article: An Alliance of Autocracies? China Wants to Lead a New World Order., By Steven Lee Myers, The New York Times, March 29, 2021 Article: China and Russia Agree to Explore the Moon Together, By Steven Lee Myers, The New York Times, March 10, 2021 Article: Russia, Belarus ink five-year strategic military partnership plan for first time, By Tass, March 2, 2021 Article: The U.S. Air Force Just Admitted The F-35 Stealth Fighter Has Failed, By David Axe, Forbes, February 23, 2021 Article: Chip Crisis Flummoxes Congress in a World Where U.S. Output Lags, By Laura Davison and Jarrell Dillard, MSN, Bloomberg, February 21, 2021 Article: Cambodia-China Golden Dragon Military Exercise postponed, By Chea Vanyuth, Khmer Times, February 2, 2021 Document: China’s “One Belt, One Road” Initiative: Economic Issues, By Karen M. Sutter, Andres B. Schwarzenberg, and Michael D. Sutherland, The Congressional Research Service, January 21, 2021 Article: Defense Bill Includes Two Landmark Transparency Provisions, By Tim Stretton, POGO, January 21, 2021 Article: NicaNotes: Unelectable coup mongers, By Fabrizio Casari, Alliance for Global Justice, January 14, 2021 Document: Taiwan: Political and Security Issues, By Susan V. Lawrence, The Congressional Research Service, January 4, 2021 News Release: Cambodia: Hun Sen and His Abusive Generals, Human Rights Watch, October 22, 2020 Article: Cambodian PM Says Ream Naval Base Not Just for China, By The Defense Spot, October 7, 2020 Article: The Real F-35 Problem We Need to Solve, By Scott Cooper, Defense One, September 29, 2020 Article: Russia, China launch massive 'Caucasus 2020' military exercises, By Jan van der Made, Rfi, September 21, 2020 Article: China says it will join Russian military exercises this month along with Iran, Belarus and others, By CBS News, September 10, 2020 Document: China’s National Security Law for Hong Kong: Issues for Congress, By Susan V. Lawrence and Michael F. Martin, The Congressional Research Service, August 3, 2020 Article: India-China border standoff turns deadly for first time in decades, By Arshad R. Zargar, CBS News, June 16, 2020 Article: Chinese troops challenge India at multiple locations in eastern Ladakh, standoff continues, By Snehesh Alex Philip, The Print, May 24, 2020 Article: When It Comes to Supersonic Flight, the F-35’s Wings Are Clipped, By Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, April 29, 2020 Article: Cambodia, China kick off Golden Dragon exercise despite coronavirus, Vietnam News, March 15, 2020 Article: Joint Cambodia-China ‘Golden Dragon’ Military Drills to Proceed, Despite Threat of Coronavirus, Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service, Translated by Sovannarith Keo, Written in English by Joshua Lipes, Radio Free Asia, March, 2020 Press Release: Gonzalez introduces new bill to curb World Bank funding to China, Anthony Gonzalez, November 13, 2019 Article: Deal for Naval Outpost in Cambodia Furthers China’s Quest for Military Network, By Jeremy Page, Gordon Lubold and Rob Taylor, The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2019 Document: Cambodia: Background and U.S. Relations, By Thomas Lum, The Congressional Research Service, January 28, 2019 Document: Taiwan: Issues for Congress, By Susan V. Lawrence and Wayne M. Morrison, The Congressional Research Service, October 30, 2017 Additional Resources Hun Sen, Britannica Aegis Ashore Lockheed Martin Sound Clip Sources Hearing: Secretary Blinken: The Biden Administration’s Priorities for U.S. Foreign Policy, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, March 10, 2021 Watch on YouTube Watch on C-SPAN Transcript: 40:53 Antony Blinken: So on Nord Stream II, a couple of things at the outset, just to be very, very clear, President Biden thinks it's a bad idea. He said so repeatedly, I share his his view. It violates the European Union's own energy security principles. It jeopardizes the economic and strategic situation for Ukraine, for Poland as well. And so he opposes it. We oppose it will continue to do so. I've been on the job, I think, five weeks. The pipeline is 95% complete. It started construction started in 2018. So I wish we didn't find ourselves in a situation with a pipeline that's virtually complete. 1:06:17 Antony Blinken: We have to deal with the drivers of migration, to your point. And I think there is real opportunity there to do that. When President Biden was Vice President, as you may remember, he led an effort, very successful effort, a bipartisan effort with Congress to secure significantly more resources to help Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador deal with some of these drivers, whether it came to security, whether it came to corruption, whether it came to economic opportunity, and we did this in a way that was simply not simply throwing money at the problem, but demanding concrete reforms from these countries, that actually materially improved the situation for people there and took away some of the incentives for them to come to the United States. We now have a proposal with additional resources over four years to do that, and to do that in a, I think, potentially effective way. 1:10:35 Antony Blinken: First we have in President Biden, as you know, someone who believes strongly in NATO, in the Alliance, the most successful alliance in history and something as he see that he sees as the glue that joins us to to Europe and so this is something as you know, he spent a lot of time on himself in the past and he's doing so now as well. 1:12:37 Antony Blinken: When we see democracy being challenged by China or by Russia, one of the things that they're trying to do constantly, is not just to divide us from other democracies, but of course, to divide us from ourselves, and in particular, to try to make the case that the system that we all believe in and are dedicating our lives to professionally doesn't work and that their systems are better. 1:13:09 Antony Blinken: Demonstrate together, that democracy actually delivers for our people and for other democracies. That is the single best answer and response to this effort by autocratic countries around the world to try to make the case that democracy doesn't deliver an autocracy does. So I hope we can work on that together because that's the path to success. 1:13:43 Rep. Joe Wilson (SC): The International Criminal Court has taken actions leading to the unjustified prosecution of American Israeli nationals despite neither country being a member of the court. Most recently, the ICC issued a ruling that had jurisdiction to try Israelis for alleged war crimes in Palestine. I appreciate your statement opposing the recent moves by the ICC. What are the steps the State Department are taking to counter these recent actions? And how will you work to prevent ICC prosecutions of Americans or Israelis?Antony Blinken: Thank you for the question. I appreciate it. We of course share the goal, the broad goal of accountability for international atrocity crimes. That's not the issue. In the case that you raise, as well as the attempt to assert jurisdiction over American troops in Afghanistan, we have strongly opposed those assertions of jurisdiction. It's been our view, it remains our view that jurisdiction is reserved when a state consents to it or if there's a referral by the United Nations Security Council. Neither is true in the case of of Israel and the Palestinian matter that you just mentioned, or is it true in the case of Afghanistan, we have the capacity ourselves to provide accountability when those issues arise. And so we will continue to make clear our opposition, I think the question for us, and it's an appropriate one is how can we most effectively do that and that's something that we're looking at right now. 1:15:37 Rep. Joe Wilson (SC): My youngest son served in Afghanistan. So identify as a family member of the threats of ICC what they could mean to the American people. 1:16:30 Antony Blinken: We applaud the steps that have been taken toward normalization with Israel by a number of countries including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Morocco. These are very important and we want to build on them. 1:16:50 Rep. Joe Wilson (SC): But unfortunately then we go to Nordstrom, too. And that is a Do you agree that Nord Stream II pipeline is a Russian malign influence project, if completed, that would threaten European and US security? Antony Blinken: Yes, I think as we've we were discussing a little bit earlier, we we oppose the president opposes Nordstrom, who has been clear about this for some time. So have I, and unfortunately, the pipeline is, you know, is 95% complete. But we are making clear that we, we stand against its completion. We issued an initial report and sanctioned the the leading pipeline, ship, and we continue to review other possibilities for sanctions going forward.Rep. Joe Wilson (SC): And I appreciate you actually referenced the threat to Poland. What about threat is already on with the aggression in Ukraine.Antony Blinken: There are two and this is something that I worked on a lot when I was last in, in the Obama administration. We strongly stand against Russia's attempted annexation of Crimea, we stand strongly against its aggression in the Donbass in eastern Ukraine, and we are strongly in support of Ukraine, we intend to strengthen that support, whether its security, economic, or its efforts to strengthen its own democracy, which are vitally important because one of the challenges as you know, for Ukraine is it has to face aggression from the outside from from Russia, but it also has to deal on the inside with its own challenges, including the problem of corruption. We're determined to work on all of that.Rep. Joe Wilson (SC): Another alternative would be as Azerbaijan to Bulgaria, the Black Sea with pipelines that I urge you to make every effort on that. I yield back. 2:54:30 Antony Blinken: First when it comes to the the Houthis, just to be very clear, we we see them as a bad actor that has tried to overrun Yemen, interrupted a peace, effort and led by the United Nations, committed acts of aggression against Saudi Arabia, as well as atrocities of one kind or another, in Yemen itself, and of course, have helped create an environment where we have the worst humanitarian crisis in the world right now. And that's precisely why we took the action we did in terms of lifting the designation on the entity itself. We continue to have designations against individual who the leaders, including some that we've imposed recently, but we wanted to make sure that nothing that the United States was doing, made the provision of humanitarian assistance to Yemen even more difficult than it already is. And it was our judgment, that was those designations, that designation of the group was having that effect, but we stand strongly for the proposition that we have to deal with the Houthis and also try to advance current efforts to end the war. Hearing: The State of Democracy Around the World, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, March 10, 2021 Watch on YouTube Speakers: Madeleine K. Albright, former Secretary of State Paula J. Dobriansky, former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Peter Biar Ajak, National Endowment for Democracy, all of Washington, D.C.; Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, Burma Campaign UK, Geneva, Switzerland Nathan Law, former Hong Kong Legislative Council Member, London, United Kingdom. Transcript: 35:54 Ambassador Paula J Dobriansky: Venezuela is a flashpoint for Chinese and Russian investment and malign influence. both nations have invested billions into Venezuela taking advantage of its economic and political weakness, its vast petroleum resources and their close relationships with a corrupt Maduro regime. Russian arms manufacturers sold $4 billion worth of weapons to Venezuela over the last 10 years, and China has invested some 67 billion in Venezuela since 2007. These instruments have propped up an illegitimate government and have undermined prospects for democracy. 37:07 Ambassador Paula J Dobriansky: Russia and China have expanded investments in Africa as well. In 2003, annual Chinese direct investment in Africa was just 75 million, but by 2009, it reached 2.7 billion. Through its One Belt One Road Initiative. China is offering fragile democracies in Africa, new rail lines, highways and other infrastructure projects. African nations are finding that these projects have left them with massive debt and a lack of control. Russia is also increasing its investments in Africa to especially its military presence. It's striving to create a Red Sea naval logistics facility in Sudan. 40:49 Madeleine Albright: And I do think that there's no question that China is our biggest problem, and that they are out there, hustling in every single way. And I have made very clear that with the Belt and Road policies that they are undertaking, the Chinese must be getting very fat because the belt keeps getting larger and larger. And some of it does have to do with the fact that we have been absent and they are filling a vacuum and so we need to make clear that we need to be back and really do need to make clear in so many ways that we are a leader in restoring and building democracy in other countries. 1:13:46 Sen. Chris Coons (DE): Senator Cornyn and I have a bipartisan bill about strengthening civics education within the United States. In recent surveys, there's as many young Americans who support and believe in socialism as believe in capitalism. There's profound doubts about democracy, particularly after the events of January 6th, and the disinformation, about the value and legitimacy of free and open societies that we've lived through. It's my hope that on a bipartisan basis, we can move a renewed investment in civics education to strengthen our own democracies, you've both spoken to. 1:48:30 Peter Biar Ajak: The United States need to send a clear message to here, there is repression of our people will no longer be tolerated, nor any further delay of elections. We should sanction perpetrators of gross human rights violations like which, while urging the African Union to urgently set up the hybrid court on South Sudan to end impunity. If Kiran doesn't hold the election on time, he's already illegitimate regime will have expired since he was never elected by our people. This will necessitate a new political paradigm to ensure a successful transition to democracy. Despite severe depression, our people made it clear in the recently concluded national dialogue that Kiran Machar must exit the political scene. I hope the United States, this committee will stand with our people. Hearing: National Security Challenges and U.S. Military Activities in the Indo-Pacific, House Committee on Armed Services, March 10, 2021 Watch on YouTube Speakers: David F. Helvey, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Affairs, Department of Defense Admiral Philip S. Davidson, U.S. Navy, Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command General Robert B. Abrams, U.S. Army, Commander, United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/U.S. Forces Korea Transcript: 31:54 Admiral Philip S. Davidson: The threat as it's developed in the western Pacific has moved in a way in which we need to have better integrated air and missile defense capability on Guam in order to defend it. What you have in place right now is fad radar, which only has 120 degree wide look at threats in the region and in fact, it's oriented on North Korea. And it's meant to defend against rogue shot of intermediate range from North Korea. We supplement that with an Aegis destroyer. As we look at the expanse of Chinese weapon systems, and their employment of air and maritime forces in the region. We need a 360 degree defense now of Guam, and must be able to meet the ballistic missile threat that can come from PRC land as well as PRC ships. But it also should meet the 360 degree threat around Guam that comes from circumnavigations of Guam by PRC naval assets, including submarines that could shoot land attack cruise missiles, for example. As well as bomber approaches, and its ability to shoot land attack cruise missiles as well. We have to be able to defend against all those threats. Aegis Ashore is a proven technology that you have today at sea and you have it ashore in Romania and Poland to help in the defense of Europe. That system would enable all the capabilities that you have today and begin to meet the threats in the future. As China develops hypersonic weapons during the course of this decade., clearly there's going to be a need to have space sensing associated with that. You're still gonna have to have an interceptor to meet the threat. In my view, that's going to rectify that by bridging Aegis Ashore with our space capability that is to come. 49:14 David F. Helvey: And the reality is that we're not asking nations to choose between the United States or China. In fact, we welcome and encourage all nations across the Indo Pacific to maintain peaceful, productive relations with all of their neighbors, China included. Framing the strategic competition that we find ourselves in with China, as a choice between us or China, or as a choice between nations is really a false choice. The choice that our allies and our partners and everyone in the region faces is between supporting the existing international order, the existing system that's free and open. It's the system that we helped to create that we've supported, and that we believe has benefited everybody in the region, including in particular, including China. And the alternative now that China is presenting, which is a closed system in a more authoritarian governance model. So it's a competition between systems, that's a choice between systems. Do you want to choose a free and open system? Or do you want to choose a closed and authoritarian one? And so we're only asking countries to do their part to uphold the international laws, rules and norms, which support their interests, which they've benefited from, and helped to provide for security and prosperity for all of us. And so that's that's the ask that we've got our allies and our partners. 57:27 Rep. Joe Courtney (CT): Admiral Davidson on page 35 of your testimony you set forth China's sort of brazen, repeated violations of the Law of the Sea treaty. And mentioned the fact that at South China Sea geographic features were renamed with, I guess, Chinese names. Can you flesh that out a little bit what that means in terms of, you know, maritime territorial claims, and the impact in terms of freedom of navigation? Admiral Philip S. Davidson: Well, the Chinese are trying to basically impose Chinese national law on the international regime that provides for the freedom of navigation and freedom of the seas. We've spoken quite a bit about the Chinese use of lawfare. This is, one of the methodologies in which they do it. It's not just the naming, or renaming of features that have had long standing names in the region. It's the redefinition of what they might be. Because, rocks, is slits, islands all have very specific navigational rights associated with them, as well as their continued militarization of the features that they built out early in the last decade. Their continued militarization is to frankly, deter not only the United States, but truly cow, all of our allies and partners in the region, and certainly the South China Sea claimants from their absolute rights to operate and those rights that they enjoy for economic resource extraction of freedom of the seas, freedom of the airways, etc.Rep. Joe Courtney (CT): Well, thank you for that answer. Because, again, as you point out, this isn't just about sort of names. It's also about sort of territorial claims and what that means to the rules based system that has been so successful over the last 75 years. 1:29:46 Rep. Scott DesJarlais (IA): Admiral Davidson What do you consider the most likely potential target of Chinese aggression or military action in the next five to 10 years? Admiral Philip S. Davidson: Given what they've said both publicly and over time, and certainly during the tenure of Chairman Xi Jinping. I would say Taiwan is the first. Hearing: United States Indo-Pacific Command, Senate Committee on Armed Services, March 9, 2021 Transcript: 4:23 Sen. Jack Reed (RI): At his confirmation hearing Secretary Austin accurately described china as the pacing threat for the department of defense under president Xi Jinping china has moved away from greater integration with the liberal world order and instead created a style of authoritarian capitalism that it now seeks to explore throughout the region and the world additionally China seeks to co op international institutions or create parallel organization to support its strategic interest. 8:23 Sen. Roger Wicker (MS): China invested in military capabilities many americans naively assumed that China's entry into the WTO and the global integration of its economy would somehow make the Chinese communist party more friendly and open to the west. The result now is america's military advantage and the credibility of our deterrent is eroding that is why the 2021 NDAA was the toughest bill on china ever with several national security committees involved and that is specifically why this committee put the Pacific Deterrence Initiative or PDI into last year's NDAA to stop aggression from the Chinese Communist Party. 18:50 Admiral Philip S. Davidson: I think the Pacific deterrence initiative funded in FY21 for about $2.2 billion was a good first start. I recognize that the committee has put a cap of $5.5 billion on the fund going forward. 22:45 Admiral Philip S. Davidson: i'm quite encouraged by the potential power of an organization like the quad my brain in my view India Japan Australia in the United States that's a diamond of democracies that could bring so much more not only to the region but to the globe not not in terms of security alone, but in terms of how we might approach you know the global economy, critical technologies like telecommunications and 5G, collaboration on the international order, just much to be done diplomatically and economically and I have great hope that our ministerial level meetings with the clot as it's known and returned we'll build into something much bigger for the sake of the globe. 24:24 Sen. Roger Wicker (MS): With regard to the projected 2025. It shows that at that point, China will have three aircraft carriers to our one in the region. Is that correct? Admiral Philip S. Davidson: Yes, sir. Sen. Roger Wicker (MS): And then with regard to amphibious assault ships, it's projected in 2025, that we'll have six to our two. Admiral Philip S. Davidson:* Yes, sir. **Sen. Roger Wicker (MS): And then with regard to modern multi warfare, combatant ships 50 for two hours, six, is that correct? Admiral Philip S. Davidson:* Yes, sir. **Sen. Roger Wicker (MS): And what is the significance of that last figure Admiral? Admiral Philip S. Davidson: Really, the three charts work together, Senator, one to show the change in capability and capacity that the Chinese have undertaken during the course of the 21st century. And the relatively static nature of our own forward positioned forces. As I described, our effort to do a deterrence to sustain a deterrence posture and the reason it's so important on our ability to respond in time and without question, you know, is this an old novel in the 70s is to say, the importance of us presence forward is incredibly important, perfect speed is being there. And it's to show that if we don't make changes in our posture forward, that that it will demonstrate that the Chinese have much greater capacity than we have. 26:42 Admiral Philip S. Davidson: But the important factor here is time. It takes almost three weeks to respond from the west coast of the United States and 17 days to respond from Alaska to get all the way to the first island chain and to conduct operations within the second islands. 28:26 Admiral Philip S. Davidson: Certainly advocating for Aegis Ashore and Guam the mission partner environment as well as the Pentek. That the Pacific Range Improvements that I seek for our structure in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and so forth. 35:43 Sen. Deb Fisher (NE): Last year, the strategic forces subcommittee authorized and additional $77 million to begin fielding a persistent air and missile defense system on Guam. Unfortunately, this funding was removed in conference and replaced with language requiring the department to study the issue. Can you walk us through the need for this system? 38:24 Admiral Philip S. Davidson: In partnership with the Missile Defense Agency we believe that the aegis assures system as is being put to sea right now and has been constructed previously in Romania and Poland delivers the kind of capabilities that would meet the threat that's excellent here by mid decade and we'll help us pace the threat into the future. 1:03:35 Admiral Philip S. Davidson: I worry that they're accelerating their ambitions to supplant the United States and our leadership role in the rules based international order which they've long said that they want to do that by 2050, I'm worried about them moving that target closer. Taiwan is clearly one of their ambitions before then and i think the threat is manifest during this decade in fact in the next six years. 1:05:58 Sen. Maizie Hirono (HI): I noticed that you significantly increased the requested amount from last year's PDI report to this year's report to strengthen our allies and partners over the next five years in the region from over $300 million to about $2.8 billion, can you discuss your rationale for the significant increase and what that additional funding is intended to do or where will it go?Admiral Philip S. Davidson: Well you hope you highlighted the key aspects ma'am it's to enhance and make improvements in our joint exercise program and that's principally because not only the united states but our key allies and partners Japan, Korea, Australia is just three examples are buying important capabilities that match ours integrated air missile defense for example fifth generation fighters like the F35 they're being actually delivered in the theater we've got to advance our exercise capabilities or excuse me our exercise program in a way that allows us to exercise those capabilities deliberately. 1:34:07 Sen. Tim Scott (SC): My first question is about Taiwan. I think you agree that it we've got to prevent Communist China from Controlling taiwan is a strategic necessity for the united states and the loss would devastate our ability and and the ability of japan to counter china's aggression does you agree with that and rightAdmiral Philip S. Davidson: As a combatant commander out there in the Indo-Pacific I have an obligation to you know support the Taiwan Relations Act and and in a geostrategic sense i think it's critically important to the united states global status, yes. 1:44:04 Admiral Philip S. Davidson: The Aegis Ashore is a system that's in fact already been developed we we have built and are employing one actually already in Romania and there's one building and imminently operational in Poland as well and it's to help nato with the defense of Europe it is essentially a radar the command and control the information technology communications conductivity and the interceptors missiles that are capable of defeating ballistic missile cruise missile threats in and around today you know an aegis ashore system on Guam fixed site on Guam would enable 360 degree defense of Guam from any military attacks from china whether they come by sea by air or by ballistic missile in the future it is technology that is available today we've built it ashore we've built it at sea and it's our you know it's our number one priority for funding in Guam. 2:13:13 Sen. Mark Kelly (NJ): You know a couple of questions here about command and control, communications. And we rely heavily on satellites to do that. And in in January of 2007, China conducted an anti anti satellite test against one of their own non operational weather satellites, with a kinetic Kill vehicle. And it's been reported that in the year since China has an operational capability that can attack satellites in low Earth orbit and that they're developing the capability that goes all the way out to geosynchronous orbit. So how does this affect the strategic balance of power in the region from your perspective?Admiral Philip S. Davidson: Thanks for that, Senator. Yes, both China and Russia have demonstrated capability to disrupt satellites, testing capabilities on their own assets in the past, as you've articulated, it clearly, I think demonstrates that space which we've long considered a domain and which would be unthreatened for the United States. The potential is there actually, for it to be threatened. We have to build resiliency into our space apparatus that happens with other space assets. It happens with creating airborne and other terrestrial alternatives to fulfill that. And it changes the calculus in space as well. We have to recognize that again, this goes back to some earlier comments I made about to turn theory we were not going to be able to play defense alone, in this particular regard. If we can't demonstrate to others, that their capabilities and space might be at risk, then, you know, we run the risk of a deterrence failure. That's that the space layer is critically important to how we sense in the strategic nuclear deterrent, how we communicate across the Joint Force, and even how we sense and distribute information to the conventional forces as well. Its resiliency is incredibly important to us. Hearing: Global Security Challenges and Strategy, Senate Committee on Armed Services, March 2, 2021 Speakers: Thomas Wright, The Brookings Institution Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, USA (Ret.), former United States National Security Advisor, Stanford University Hoover Institution, both of Washington, D.C. Transcript: Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster: The most significant flashpoint now that that could lead to a large scale war is Taiwan. And I think that has to do with really Xi Jinping's belief that he has a fleeting window of opportunity that's closing. And he wants to his view, make China whole again, you see this with the extension of the party's repressive arm into Hong Kong. And this horrible genocidal campaign in Shinjang, Taiwan is the next big prize. And so I think what we have to be able to do is have four position capable forces. Because what Xi Jinping wants to do with what would be the largest land grabs, so to speak in history, if he succeeds in the South China Sea, is to weaponize the South China Sea and just make it too difficult for us to be able to employ forces inside of that inner island chain. So you know, if you have four position forces there, that automatically transforms denied space with China with the PLA, The People's Liberation Army when it comes to deny space. Twitter Update: Ned Price rattle off a regime change rant revamping Trump's policy on Venezuela, Anya Parampil February 3, 2021 Hearing: Secretary of State Confirmation Hearing, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, January 19, 2021 Watch on C-SPAN Transcript: 24:50 Sen. Jim Risch (OH): After our conversations earlier today and after hearing our opening statements, Senator Menendez's input net regard, as you can see here and a whole lot of daylight between us on most of these issues, certainly, almost none whatsoever when it comes to objectives, strategy and how to get there. 34:06 Antony Blinken: Both the President Elect and I believe that we have to restore Congress's traditional role as a partner in our foreign policy making, in recent years, across administration's of both parties, Congress's voice and foreign policy has been diluted and diminished. That doesn't make the executive branch stronger. It makes our country weaker. President Elect Biden believes and I share his conviction that no foreign policy can be sustained without the informed consent of the American people. You are the representatives of the American people. You provide that advice and consent. 39:20 Antony Blinken: First President Elect Biden is committed to the proposition that Iran will not acquire a nuclear weapon. And we share I know that goal across this committee. An Iran with a nuclear weapon, or on the threshold of having one with the capacity to build one on short order would be in Iran that is even more dangerous than it already is, when it comes to all of the other malicious activities that's engaged in, whether it is support for terrorism, whether it is fueling and feeding it's proxies, whether it is destabilizing the region. An Iran with a nuclear weapon, or with a threshold capacity to build one is in Iran that would act potentially with even greater impunity than it already is. So I think we have an urgent responsibility to do whatever we can to prevent Iran from acquiring or getting a weapon or getting close to the capacity to having the fissile material to break out on short notice. In my judgment, the JCPOA, for whatever its limitations, was succeeding on its own terms in blocking Iran's pathways to producing fissile material for a nuclear weapon on short order. It also featured and a feature that continues the most intrusive inspections and monitoring regime in the history of arms control. The challenge we face now is that we pulled out of the agreement, Iran is now taking steps to undo the various constraints that were imposed on it by the agreement. And so it has increased his stockpile of low enriched uranium, it is now enriching at a higher level. It is deploying centrifuges in ways that were prohibited under the agreement. The result is based on public reporting. The breakout time, the time it would take Iran to produce enough fissile material for one weapon has gone from beyond a year as it was under the JCPOA to about three or four months based at least on public reporting. And that potentially brings us right back to the crisis point that we were reaching before the deal was negotiated. And so the President Elect believes that if Iran comes back into compliance, we would too. But we would use that as a platform with our allies and partners who would once again be on the same side with us to seek a longer and stronger agreement. And also, as you and the chairman have rightly pointed out, to capture these other issues, particularly with regard to missiles and Iran's destabilizing activities. That would be the objective. 53:46 Sen. Ron Johnson (WI): Okay, one of the things that Congress did unanimously is we approved $300 million of lethal defensive weaponry for Ukraine. The Obama administration never implemented, the Trump administration did. Do you still disagree with providing that lethal defensive weaponry or do you think and, over time now, that's been proven to be the correct decision by Congress and the Trump administration? Antony Blinken: Senator, I support providing that lethal defensive assistance to Ukraine. In fact, I had the opportunity to write exactly that in the New York Times about three years ago. 1:14:09 Antony Blinken: There's been a strong and long bipartisan commitment to Taiwan. Taiwan Relations Act, also that communicates with China, and part of that commitment is making sure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself against aggression. And that is a commitment that will absolutely endure. In a Biden administration, we will make sure that Taiwan has the ability to do that. I would also like to see Taiwan playing a greater role around the world, including in international organizations. When those organizations don't require the status of a country to be a member, they should become members. When it does, there are other ways that they can participate. 1:35:15 Sen. Marco Rubio (FL): Is it your view that our stance towards Venezuela should change in essence, that we should no longer recognize Juan Guido and an intern in negotiations with Maduro? Antony Blinken: No, it does not. I very much agree with you, Senator, first of all, with regard to a number of the steps that were taken toward Venezuela in recent years, including recognizing Mr. Guido, recognizing the National Assembly as the only democratically elected institution in Venezuela, seeking to increase pressure on the regime, led by a brutal dictator in Maduro. 1:46:21 Antony Blinken: First senator, we need to be clear eyed about the Houthis. They overthrew a government in Yemen. They engaged in a path of aggression through the country. They directed aggression toward Saudi Arabia, they've committed atrocities and human rights abuses. And that is a fact. What's also a fact though is that the the Saudi led campaign in Yemen, pushback against the Houthi aggression, has contributed to what is by most accounts, the worst humanitarian situation that we face, anywhere in the world. And one aspect of that situation is that about 80% of the Yemeni population right now is in areas controlled by the Houthis. And whether we like it or not, we have to find ways to get assistance to them, if we're going to do anything about addressing this situation. And so my concern, deep concern about the the designation that was made is that, at least on its surface, it seems to achieve nothing particularly practical in advancing the efforts against the Houthis. And to bring them back to the negotiating table, while making it even more difficult than it already is to provide humanitarian assistance to people who desperately need it. So I think we would propose to review that immediately, to make sure that what we are doing is not impeding the provision of humanitarian assistance, even under these difficult circumstances, I recognize that some have talked about carve outs for American providers of humanitarian assistance. The problem there is that if the ca

 |  | Nate Moser CSEP Sr. Business Intelligence Tech Scout SpRCO Program Tel: Mobile: 719-250-5116 E-mail: nmoser@quantum-intl.comNate Moser is motivated leader and certified CSEP systems engineer with expertise in senior leadership roles that are balanced with systems engineering skills, technical management, and technical depth spanning 20+ years as a DoD contractor. Nate thrives on challenging and complex projects, new technologies, field work, managing technical initiatives and mentoring team members. Nate is currently working as a Sr. Business Intelligence Tech Scout on the SpRCO Design Agent Contract for Quantum Research International.  Prior to his current role, Nate was Business Development Director for Oasis Systems LLC and served as a Program Director with over 120 direct technical reports who worked on phased array radar systems for DoD.  Nate spent 15 years designing and building Ground Based Satellite Tracking Stations while working as a Senior Systems Lead Engineer for Honeywell on programs with Air Force Satellite Communications Systems (AFSCN).  Nate is an active founding member of the Colorado Small Business Contractor Collaborative a.k.a “The Smalls” and has expanded the Smalls events to Pueblo and Southern Colorado.  He has developed a weekly podcast (Smallscast Podcast) that has garnished not only national but international attention weekly.Nate is a frequent speaker at local schools for their Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) divisions.   He lives in Pueblo West, CO with his wife and three children.  Nate is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hunting, fishing, backpacking, photography, mountain biking and many more hobbies.  Nate is an active member of Boy Scouts of America and is a council member and leader of two separate cub scout dens.Nate holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering Technology, with a minor in Computer Information Systems from University of Southern Colorado (USC).  He holds a Master of Science Degree in Systems Engineering from Colorado Technical University (CTU) as well as a Master of Science Degree in Management with a concentration in Information Technology and Project Management.  Nate prides himself as a Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) through International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE).  ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Dennis Kater joined Quantum Research in March 2020, as a Director, Business Development in Colorado Springs.  Dennis has a distinguished career in both the military and Government contracting.  He has 14 years of experience in business development, management, information technology, cybersecurity, and missile defense system development, test, and evaluation.  He has supported the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, U.S. Strategic Command's Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, and the Missile Defense Agency.  He was a lead planner in the fielding of the initial Ballistic Missile Defense System, and the National Capital Region Integrated Air Defense System, and led or supported numerous tests, exercises and wargames in the development and integration of the Ballistic Missile Defense System.  He is also a retired U.S. Army Officer, having served 24 years in the Signal Corps, Military Intelligence, Air Defense Artillery, and as a Foreign Area Officer.  He is a veteran of both the Gulf War and War on Terrorism, and a recipient of two Bronze Star Medals.  Dennis has three master's degrees, a Project Management Master's Certificate, and is a graduate of the U.S. Army's School of Advanced Military Studies, and the Command and General Staff College.  He was also part of the 2017 MDA's Test and Assessment Team of the Year, and the 2008 Air, Space and Missile Defense Association's Contractor of the

Mance Harmon is the chief executive of Hedera Hashgraph. He began his career as a research scientist for the U.S. Air Force, went on to become a program manager for a very large scale software program for the Missile Defense Agency, then built two very successful startups. He tells POWER PLAY's Ayden Férdeline that Bitcoin doesn't scale and that a different kind of distributed ledger technology is needed. Read the transcript for this episode here: https://www.powerplays.xyz/podcast/s1-e5

We are joined by Vice Admiral Jon Hill, Director, Missile Defense Agency, for a discussion on: Evolving Leadership, his three leadership precepts (Time, Team, Character), developing your leadership philosophy, managing change, and a book recommendation.   Book Recommendations (both by George Friedman): The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century The Storm Before the Calm: America's Discord, the Coming Crisis of the 2020s, and the Triumph Beyond   EDO Book Club  If you have not yet joined the Slack workspace, join by finding the invite link in the "Book Club Announcement" on EDO Main. ED LDF Transcripts: All available in this Google Drive Folder.

Christian Smart joined me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss his new book, Solving for Project Risk Management. He is the chief scientist at Galorath Federal, and before that he was the cost chief at the Missile Defense Agency. We touch on a number of important issues, including: - Whether Augustine's Laws still have relevance - The track record of NASA's better, faster, cheaper program - How to do cost estimates on data projects like AI/ML - Whether the DoD is trying to jam too many programs into the budget - The effect of MDA's matrixed organizational design In his book, Christian talked about a prevailing belief in the 2000s that the Department of Defense could benefit from a "free lunch" when it funded to portfolios of projects. Similar to how diversification between uncorrelated assets gives investors the chance to get the same return with lower risk (or a higher return for the same risk), funding a group of projects at the 60th percentile cost estimate could achieve an 80 percent confidence level for the portfolio overall. Christian argues that projects have asymmetric probability distributions for cost and schedule. You are more likely to see black swans in the cost growth direction than you are in cost savings. When more projects are put under a portfolio, the likelihood that one of them will have relatively extreme cost growth increases. We discuss the implications of this result, and what procedures managers can take to mitigate or even remedy the effects. This podcast was produced by Eric Lofgren. Soundtrack by urmymuse: "reflections of u". You can follow us on Twitter @AcqTalk and find more information at AcquisitionTalk.com.

Joy Carter Minor shares her story of overcoming adversity thru a disciplined life. Joy Carter Minor was raised on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi during a transformative time in American history. Often victimized by Jim Crow laws and racism, Joy navigated systemic marginalization to become a Black woman engineer and oceanographer. She was the first US citizen qualified by the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) to certify nautical charts for the US Navy. She has supported the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon on the Air-Sea Battle concept and transitioned technologies to the warfighter in response to urgent needs in maritime irregular warfare. She has provided systems engineering support to the US Navy, Coast Guard, Missile Defense Agency, Non-Lethal Weapons Program, and the Department of Homeland Security. Joy received the Armed Forces Civilian Service Medal for her contributions surveying the Albanian Sea following the Bosnian War. She was the Naval Oceanographic Office Federal Women's Program Mentor of the Year, was competitively selected to attend the Royal Navy Hydrographic Long Course at HMS Drake in Plymouth, UK, and is certified by the International Hydrographic Organization as a Class A hydrographer. Joy has a B.S. in Chemistry from Mississippi University for Women, a Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, and a Master of Divinity from the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. She is currently a doctoral student in International Development at the University of Southern Mississippi, majoring in security studies and social-cultural studies. Becoming Disciplined Information: Website: http://becomingdisciplined.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/becomingdisciplined Twitter: https://twitter.com/@path2discipline YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTWHSvpla2FwobDKDCYg3Uw Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becomingdisciplinedonthegram Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Becoming-Disciplined-446211239265714

Listen to Doug Lamborn, U.S. Congressman, talk about partnering with commercial providers. With the government relying more on commercial to take some of the risks of Space off the shoulders of the taxpayer, it makes it a win-win situation. He describes commercial companies bringing a lot of capability, including intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance. Congressman Lamborn discusses a common digital ground infrastructure being important to unify commercial and military satellite communications capabilities. In addition, commercial industry is developing digital ground capabilities that can be further leveraged by the government, avoiding parallel investment in terminals, hardware and satellites. Finally, learn about the difference between the Space Development Agency (SDA) creating a large constellation of satellites to track missiles versus the Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) program providing global sensor coverage to detect, track and target ballistic and hypersonic missiles.

At a time in history when nuclear weapons are easily available, and certain global leaders have eschewed rationality while possessing hair-trigger tempers, the fear of a nuclear attack is as high as it's been since the height of the Cold War. Who protects us from what could be our certain demise? Having the most powerful military force on earth is some comfort for citizens of the U.S., but only to a degree. Any launch of an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) could result in countless lost lives, damage to property, and a way of life that might never recover. Standing in the way of our nation being harmed are roughly 300 men and women of the U.S. Army's 100th Missile Defense Brigade and 49th Missile Defense Battalion. In his new book, Daniel Wasserbly, editor of the renowned military journal Jane's International Defence Review, has written a first-of-its-kind examination of this small group who work in secret to watch the world and keep us safe: THE 300: The Inside Story of the Missile Defenders Guarding America Against Nuclear Attack (St. Martin's Publishing Group, on sale June 16, 2020, $28.99 US). North Korea, with actual nuclear capabilities, currently sits atop the watch dog list of rogue nuclear nations. Kim Jong Un is both a loose cannon and a calculating demagogue. Consider this: A missile launch inside North Korea would take slightly less than 30 minutes to arrive in Seattle. Within that 30 minute stretch there is a 7-minute window from the time the inbound missile crosses over into our interceptor missile system's third radar horizon. Testing has shown that the first two minutes and the last two minutes of that seven-minute window are statistically very bad for an intercept. Now, it really comes down to a 3-minute time frame in the middle. Just 3 minutes to save the country from nuclear disaster. Would Kim Jong Un actually ever consider a nuclear strike or is it all just a bargaining chip? For decades the U.S. had been virtually powerless to truly stop an incoming missile attack. We've relied on NORAD and U.S. Northern Command buried deep under a granite shield in the Cheyenne Mountains. The attacks of 9/11 and the growing threat of rogue nations like North Korea and Iran, let alone Russia and China, changed the thinking. Our best hope for stopping a nuclear catastrophe rides with a three-pronged Missile Defense system in our military. Wasserbly shows how, spearheaded by the Missile Defense Agency in Virginia, the years of testing by those two MDA's divisions have set up the U.S. for what may be our only best hope to deter disaster. In 2004, despite political wrangling, the U.S. moved forward with the Missile Defense Agency. Time and money were spent establishing this unit in Fort Greely, Alaska, and Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Testing on advanced interceptor weapons had as many roadblocks as successes. This unique 300-personnel unit took on the task of developing a system with the near-impossible objective: destroy an inflight ballistic weapon aimed at the U.S. Under the leadership of Richard Michalski, Dave Meakins and Michael Yowell, et al, in Colorado Springs; Greg Bowen and Mark Kiraly, et al in Alaska; and, Ron Kadish, Trey Obering and James Syring in the Virginia headquarters, the fate of 300 million Americans were in their hands. From desolate fields in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to the mountains of Colorado their engineering brain trust struggled to perfect this system of highly advanced, sensitive, and at times, unreliable technology. After a decade-and-a-half, they have created a shield that can successfully protect our nation. Their slogan, "300 for 300 Million." Daniel Wasserbly had unprecedented access and dozens of exclusive interviews, combined with years of research to craft their amazing and heroic story, one that will allow us to sleep better at night knowing these brave men and women are on watch.

At a time in history when nuclear weapons are easily available, and certain global leaders have eschewed rationality while possessing hair-trigger tempers, the fear of a nuclear attack is as high as it's been since the height of the Cold War. Who protects us from what could be our certain demise? Having the most powerful military force on earth is some comfort for citizens of the U.S., but only to a degree. Any launch of an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) could result in countless lost lives, damage to property, and a way of life that might never recover. Standing in the way of our nation being harmed are roughly 300 men and women of the U.S. Army's 100th Missile Defense Brigade and 49th Missile Defense Battalion. In his new book, Daniel Wasserbly, editor of the renowned military journal Jane's International Defence Review, has written a first-of-its-kind examination of this small group who work in secret to watch the world and keep us safe: THE 300: The Inside Story of the Missile Defenders Guarding America Against Nuclear Attack (St. Martin's Publishing Group, on sale June 16, 2020, $28.99 US). North Korea, with actual nuclear capabilities, currently sits atop the watch dog list of rogue nuclear nations. Kim Jong Un is both a loose cannon and a calculating demagogue. Consider this: A missile launch inside North Korea would take slightly less than 30 minutes to arrive in Seattle. Within that 30 minute stretch there is a 7-minute window from the time the inbound missile crosses over into our interceptor missile system's third radar horizon. Testing has shown that the first two minutes and the last two minutes of that seven-minute window are statistically very bad for an intercept. Now, it really comes down to a 3-minute time frame in the middle. Just 3 minutes to save the country from nuclear disaster. Would Kim Jong Un actually ever consider a nuclear strike or is it all just a bargaining chip? For decades the U.S. had been virtually powerless to truly stop an incoming missile attack. We've relied on NORAD and U.S. Northern Command buried deep under a granite shield in the Cheyenne Mountains. The attacks of 9/11 and the growing threat of rogue nations like North Korea and Iran, let alone Russia and China, changed the thinking. Our best hope for stopping a nuclear catastrophe rides with a three-pronged Missile Defense system in our military. Wasserbly shows how, spearheaded by the Missile Defense Agency in Virginia, the years of testing by those two MDA's divisions have set up the U.S. for what may be our only best hope to deter disaster. In 2004, despite political wrangling, the U.S. moved forward with the Missile Defense Agency. Time and money were spent establishing this unit in Fort Greely, Alaska, and Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Testing on advanced interceptor weapons had as many roadblocks as successes. This unique 300-personnel unit took on the task of developing a system with the near-impossible objective: destroy an inflight ballistic weapon aimed at the U.S. Under the leadership of Richard Michalski, Dave Meakins and Michael Yowell, et al, in Colorado Springs; Greg Bowen and Mark Kiraly, et al in Alaska; and, Ron Kadish, Trey Obering and James Syring in the Virginia headquarters, the fate of 300 million Americans were in their hands. From desolate fields in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to the mountains of Colorado their engineering brain trust struggled to perfect this system of highly advanced, sensitive, and at times, unreliable technology. After a decade-and-a-half, they have created a shield that can successfully protect our nation. Their slogan, "300 for 300 Million." Daniel Wasserbly had unprecedented access and dozens of exclusive interviews, combined with years of research to craft their amazing and heroic story, one that will allow us to sleep better at night knowing these brave men and women are on watch.

At a time in history when nuclear weapons are easily available, and certain global leaders have eschewed rationality while possessing hair-trigger tempers, the fear of a nuclear attack is as high as it's been since the height of the Cold War. Who protects us from what could be our certain demise? Having the most powerful military force on earth is some comfort for citizens of the U.S., but only to a degree. Any launch of an Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) could result in countless lost lives, damage to property, and a way of life that might never recover. Standing in the way of our nation being harmed are roughly 300 men and women of the U.S. Army's 100th Missile Defense Brigade and 49th Missile Defense Battalion. In his new book, Daniel Wasserbly, editor of the renowned military journal Jane's International Defence Review, has written a first-of-its-kind examination of this small group who work in secret to watch the world and keep us safe: THE 300: The Inside Story of the Missile Defenders Guarding America Against Nuclear Attack (St. Martin's Publishing Group, on sale June 16, 2020, $28.99 US). North Korea, with actual nuclear capabilities, currently sits atop the watch dog list of rogue nuclear nations. Kim Jong Un is both a loose cannon and a calculating demagogue. Consider this: A missile launch inside North Korea would take slightly less than 30 minutes to arrive in Seattle. Within that 30 minute stretch there is a 7-minute window from the time the inbound missile crosses over into our interceptor missile system's third radar horizon. Testing has shown that the first two minutes and the last two minutes of that seven-minute window are statistically very bad for an intercept. Now, it really comes down to a 3-minute time frame in the middle. Just 3 minutes to save the country from nuclear disaster. Would Kim Jong Un actually ever consider a nuclear strike or is it all just a bargaining chip? For decades the U.S. had been virtually powerless to truly stop an incoming missile attack. We've relied on NORAD and U.S. Northern Command buried deep under a granite shield in the Cheyenne Mountains. The attacks of 9/11 and the growing threat of rogue nations like North Korea and Iran, let alone Russia and China, changed the thinking. Our best hope for stopping a nuclear catastrophe rides with a three-pronged Missile Defense system in our military. Wasserbly shows how, spearheaded by the Missile Defense Agency in Virginia, the years of testing by those two MDA's divisions have set up the U.S. for what may be our only best hope to deter disaster. In 2004, despite political wrangling, the U.S. moved forward with the Missile Defense Agency. Time and money were spent establishing this unit in Fort Greely, Alaska, and Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Testing on advanced interceptor weapons had as many roadblocks as successes. This unique 300-personnel unit took on the task of developing a system with the near-impossible objective: destroy an inflight ballistic weapon aimed at the U.S. Under the leadership of Richard Michalski, Dave Meakins and Michael Yowell, et al, in Colorado Springs; Greg Bowen and Mark Kiraly, et al in Alaska; and, Ron Kadish, Trey Obering and James Syring in the Virginia headquarters, the fate of 300 million Americans were in their hands. From desolate fields in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska to the mountains of Colorado their engineering brain trust struggled to perfect this system of highly advanced, sensitive, and at times, unreliable technology. After a decade-and-a-half, they have created a shield that can successfully protect our nation. Their slogan, "300 for 300 Million." Daniel Wasserbly had unprecedented access and dozens of exclusive interviews, combined with years of research to craft their amazing and heroic story, one that will allow us to sleep better at night knowing these brave men and women are on watch.

Check out our discussion pertaining to MDA and how the agency fits into the larger picture when it comes to the safety of America.

Richard "Red" Brion is essentially an American ronin: a samurai without a master. Red has spent years in Navy intelligence, serving in Iraq, and years with Blackwater doing some crazy shit in Japan and Afghanistan. He's done quite a bit in Africa as well. And he's recently made the move over the last couple of years, taking his skills and experience from masterless warrior to hyperlocal, urban agriculture. As founder and CEO of Revolution Agriculture, Red is tackling the Global Food Security Problem through technology-enabled food production and land optimization. They have patented a system that makes it possible to grow virtually any crop, anywhere. Show Notes Revolution Agriculture Follow Red on LinkedIn Theme music by: Ruel Morales Audio Transcript Brian Schoenborn 0:01 Hello, Hello, everyone. Welcome friends. Our guest today is like an American ronin, which is essentially a samurai without a master. Red here has spent a lot of time in the Navy serving in Iraq over there. He has spent years with Blackwater, doing some crazy shit in Japan and Afghanistan and stuff like that. He's done quite a bit in Africa as well. And he's recently made the move, over the last couple of years, he's made the move from masterless warrior into hyperlocal, urban agriculture. Give it up for my friend, Richard Brian. Brian Schoenborn 0:52 My name is Brian Schoenborn. I am an explorer of people, places, and culture. In my travels, spanning over 20 countries across four continents, I've had the pleasure of engaging in authentic conversations with amazingly interesting people. These are their stories, on location and unfiltered. Presented by 8B Media, this is Half the City. Brian Schoenborn 1:21 This is fucking low-fi bro. It's just a couple of microphones in a goddamn recording studio, not even a studio. This is a makeshift this is this is a this is a private couch-filled office in a WeWork. There's nothing more to it. microphones Adobe Audition. I'm not going to tell you any more about that. But that's pretty much it. Richard Brion 1:48 I mean, it could be worse. We could we could be in a coffee shop trying to do this. It does happen. Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 1:53 Let me get that a litte closer. Richard Brion 1:54 Oh, getting up close and personal, now are we? Brian Schoenborn 1:57 Yeah, I mean, you want to keep it about a fist. You know just just like captures, you want to fist it. Brian Schoenborn 2:04 I'm greasing the gears right now. Richard Brion 2:10 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 2:13 So Richard, Red. I'm going to call you Red because we know. Richard Brion 2:18 Yeah make sense. Brian Schoenborn 2:19 We know the siutation. Richard Brion 2:19 I'm a ginger bastard anyway. Brian Schoenborn 2:21 This guy's fucking beard matches his grape. Richard Brion 2:26 Yeah pretty much there's, I was watching this thing the other day where…he's a YouTube star and he was making fun of the fact that he doesn't tan and he's like I just go from white to red and he's like, is tan the color after red because I never seem to get that far. Well, yeah, that's about the size of it when it comes to my head so Brian Schoenborn 2:46 I don't think I've ever seen you not red. Richard Brion 2:48 Yeah. The name fits. What can you What can I say? Brian Schoenborn 2:54 So dude, let's let's get into it a little bit. Um, you you were telling me the other day that you just came back from a couple of backpacking trips right? Richard Brion 3:03 Yeah, here in Washington State. Brian Schoenborn 3:05 Tell me about that. I want to hear about this. And then I want to go into that other stuff. Like, this is the most recent shit. So let's hear about this. Richard Brion 3:11 Yeah. So it was just a, there're backpacking trips in an area and then Alpine lakes wilderness here in Washington, you have to have a permit for, it's a lottery permit. And you get to spend, you know, between a couple of days and up near two weeks out there just kind of packing around seeing these really awesome Alpine lakes that, you know, are pretty much untouched and fairly pristine. The mountain goats are super aggressive up there. Brian Schoenborn 3:37 Really? Richard Brion 3:37 It's actually kind of funny. Yeah, they, they, for whatever reason, there's not a lot of naturally occurring salt and they're addicted to salt. So humans urinate, goats come and try to get the salt out of it. Brian Schoenborn 3:50 So they're drinking pee? Richard Brion 3:51 Yeah, basically. So they asked you to like… Brian Schoenborn 3:54 They're like fucking Bear Grylls! In animal form. Richard Brion 3:58 So basically, they they asked you to, you know, urinate on the rocks because it makes it so when the goats go after it, they don't decimate the plant life and everything else. Brian Schoenborn 4:06 So they encourage you to pee on the rocks? Richard Brion 4:08 Yes, so that it doesn't. So that way the goats don't end up tearing everything up. Brian Schoenborn 4:12 Nice. Richard Brion 4:12 But the funny thing is, is that goats have gotten so used to it that they're actually become a little bit aggressive about it trying to get as close to Brian Schoenborn 4:17 They're like, “Give me your pee!” Richard Brion 4:19 Pretty much Brian Schoenborn 4:21 Like a fucking crackhead, they're like “I will suck your dick for some pee!” Richard Brion 4:25 So basically, there was a there was a couple of there was a couple of girls in the group that kind of actually almost got like chased down for it. It was pretty funny. I in the morning, you just even trying to just go check out one of the lakes and a waterfall just to take pictures, and you look up and there's a goat they're like, “are you gonna pee?” Like, you're like, “wait a minute.” Brian Schoenborn 4:46 They're like giving you the look. Richard Brion 4:48 Yeah, and they follow you down there and they basically like oddly feels like they've got you pinned up against this rock face. Like, either you pee or I knock you off the cliff but I mean, outside of that it was pretty awesome. We got to see a deer right up close, it really didn't care too much that we were around. And then on the way down from the second trip as well, there was a pretty sizable buck that basically was just standing there staring at us, like “what's up people?” Richard Brion 5:18 So they kind of get up there this it's odd, they're still pristine, they still come around, but then they're getting used to humans enough and as we're not being too much of a threat that they kind of just leave you alone. Brian Schoenborn 5:28 Huh, nice. Richard Brion 5:29 And then of course, we had one of my friends that I grew up with since the time we were like 10. He came out with us, and he ended up leaving his tent open just a smidge and a little field mouse came in. And he's not really afraid of much but he screams like a girl when a mouse gets in his tent. And that's not to say a bad thing about screaming like a girl but it when he's got a voice that isn't well suited for that falsetto scream. So when I'm when I'm saying scream like a girl it's more it's this high pitch sound that he makes that isn't within his normal vocal vocal range so it's pretty interesting. Richard Brion 6:10 Woke us up, and, you know, but the the lakes are amazing we got to see some peaks of mountains and stuff or ranges and then we got to see some crazy people actually doing some approaches and some straight up rock climbs on what's called Prusick. So yeah, it was it was a good time lots of cool stuff to see you gotta you know kind of clear out, not have to pay attention and one thing: the water taste better. Even though you have to filter it it really tastes better. Brian Schoenborn 6:38 I bet, man. Richard Brion 6:39 And it's so cold which is so awesome. Brian Schoenborn 6:42 Really. It's that's that fresh mountain water. Richard Brion 6:44 Yeah, it's all most of its all glacier or snow base filled and there's still snow up there. Oddly enough at the tail end or the middle of July in Washington state in the North Cascades. So yeah, we got to do a little snow sliding. Brian Schoenborn 6:58 Nice. Richard Brion 6:58 Yeah. In order to get is a little bit faster and more fun. Brian Schoenborn 7:02 Nice. So so for people listening, we're currently in Seattle. And in case you haven't realized it at this point, this show is pretty fucking mobile. You know, I gotta make sure that you guys know that where we are right now. So we had so you have some reference, right? It's maybe some imagination is to like, Look, you know, Seattle is fucking surrounded by god damn mountains Richard Brion 7:25 and water. Brian Schoenborn 7:26 And water. Exactly. And there's so much water so much mountains the Alpines like you're talking about the Cascades Richard Brion 7:32 and for those of you East coasters you don't know mountains till you've been here. Brian Schoenborn 7:35 Dude. Richard Brion 7:36 The Appalachians are hills. Brian Schoenborn 7:38 I remember when I was in when I was in Boston, people were like, “Oh we're gonna go to Killington in Vermont,” and I like check it out. It's like fucking ice. Like they're they're black diamonds are like bunny hill. Richard Brion 7:49 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 7:51 Like Okay, alright buddy, check out why don't why do you come by Colorado sometime or check out Seattle or Tahoe or you know, Big Bear. Richard Brion 8:00 See some actual…see some actual mountains. Brian Schoenborn 8:03 I only went skiing once, and the one time it was at Breckenridge. And my buddy who is like his big time snowboarder, and his, his brother-in-law's a professional snowboarder and snowboard instructor and shit, and he's like, “Here, have some fucking skis”, and he takes me down the blues first. I don't even know what the fuck I'm doing, dude. Brian Schoenborn 8:22 It was a…it was it was intimidating. Let's put it that way. I mean, I did it. Richard Brion 8:27 I don't know about you. But that's sort of how I learned how to swim. It was just Brian Schoenborn 8:30 Really? They just fucking threw you in there? Richard Brion 8:32 Yeah, here's here's a lake just you're getting tossed out of the boat. You'll figure it out or you don't I mean, sometimes especially the warm things. Sometimes it doesn't work out so well. Brian Schoenborn 8:41 I just remember the first time I went down, like, I got off the ski lift and I didn't know how to stand up. So like, so like, I'm like crouching with my ass is almost touching the fucking snow. And I'm still moving forward, and I'm like, “Oh shit!” Richard Brion 8:54 I'm already moving. I'm not even standing. Brian Schoenborn 8:58 I was going down the hill here. And I'm like not far from the ski live like I'm like I could see it in the distance I can see people like going up, and I fell and my both skis fell off my feet. Right? And like, I tried to stand up to go after the skis and I fucking sunk like waist deep in the god damned snow. Richard Brion 9:17 Post hold on that. That's awesome. Brian Schoenborn 9:19 People are looking at me. from above, they're going, “Hey! You okay?” I'm just like, “Leave me alone in my fucking misery.” Richard Brion 9:25 I'll just slide down. I'll just I'll just get on my stomach and slide down. That's That's hilarious. But no, yes. So the to get into this path. To get up into this part of the mountains though. It's a step you have to earn it. It's about six miles from the trailhead to the top but the last mile, you end up or it's point nine of a mile you end up taking on something in the neighborhood of like 2000 feet of elevation. Brian Schoenborn 9:56 That's pretty intense, dude. Richard Brion 9:58 Yeah, it was it. was definitely pretty interesting. It took us I there's a few different there's three little pockets of our group. The first guy took longer to eat lunch at the bottom than it did to get up, for him to walk up it but. Brian Schoenborn 10:13 Really? Richard Brion 10:13 Then again he's a former Marine. Brian Schoenborn 10:15 So he's like a mountain goat basically. Richard Brion 10:16 Yeah he's a former Marine mountain goat and spend time in Iraq, and yeah he basically did it in if not two hours, or if it took him the full two hours it was somewhere hour 45, two hours. We were a little behind him took us about two hours and 45 and then the the the stragglers in our group still did pretty good. They did it just over three hours. Just for that point nine miles and we're talking point nine of a mile that's not even that far. And it took you know, nearly three hours. Brian Schoenborn 10:45 Three hours, like that's crazy, dude. Richard Brion 10:47 Yeah, it moves up. I forget what the pitch ends up being but you're definitely doing for every foot forward. you're definitely doing some feet up. So and it definitely burns out the quads. Brian Schoenborn 10:58 Oh for sure, dude. That reminds me of… Richard Brion 11:00 …especially carrying 50 pounds. Brian Schoenborn 11:02 Right. I mean that well, that reminds me when I was in Beijing, me and three of my friends. We went camping on the Great Wall. And so so my buddy Yo, shout out to Josef. He's in Hong Kong right now. But he's, he's, uh, yeah, he actually hiked the great wall like 40 something times. He recently scaled. He recently did Mount Everest base camp, and he did it without a fucking Sherpa. Like he mapped it out himself and like, he's, this dude's a fucking hiker, dude, let's put it that way. Brian Schoenborn 11:34 But he mapped out this stretch of the wall because you know, it's technically illegal to camp on the Great Wall. So we found the stretch because, you know, it's 3000 miles long or whatever it is. So there's parts that are like unrestored, you know, not a lot of people go to. Richard Brion 11:48 You get too far out and yeah. Brian Schoenborn 11:50 And he mapped out the stretch, which was crazy. It was like rubble, dude. So for anybody that's if you haven't If you don't know much about the Great Wall if you haven't been there, it's 3000 miles but it's along a mountain spine. It's like a lot like on the ridge. Right? So like, when we get to the stretch not only was there like no parking area, you know, it was just fucking out in the boonies, right. But, you know, we stayed the night so we had our backpacks full of food and water and all that other stuff. And I swear to God, the first 45 minutes was like scrambling like hand and feet up this mountain ridge. Just to get to the wall, dude. Richard Brion 12:32 Yeah, I mean, you'd have to, based on where they are, Geographically where it is. There is a mountain range and between Mongolia and China, so. Brian Schoenborn 12:41 I mean, that's why they built the Wall. To keep the goddamn Mongolians out. Richard Brion 12:44 Yeah. And they worked for a long time. But they figured it out. Brian Schoenborn 12:51 They did. Richard Brion 12:55 Ask the Khans. Brian Schoenborn 12:56 Exactly. Well, I think they built it to keep the Khans out. Richard Brion 13:00 Yeah I'm pretty sure. Brian Schoenborn 13:01 I mean, Gengis and all the you know, I think Kublai Khan might have might have figured it out but Richard Brion 13:06 I can't remember if it was coupla or it might have been cool i'd figured it out but Brian Schoenborn 13:10 but it was you know was an ordeal but it was you know that was kind of cool like as an aside like that was kind of cool to like, you know, be in this area like like the tourist areas of the Great Wall is like full of people. Richard Brion 13:23 Oh, yeah. Brian Schoenborn 13:23 Right? I mean, they were restored in the last like 30 years it's all like new looking brick and shit like that. But just like it's like… Richard Brion 13:29 easy to get to take good photos. Brian Schoenborn 13:32 So like, like in, in Chinese and Chinese slang, they ren shan ren hai, which means people mountain people sea, which is just like fucking people everywhere. Kind of like, Well, you know, when you're when you're at a sports game, or a concert and you're leaving, you know, kind of like that. But like, all day, every day. Richard Brion 13:49 Yeah. Tokyo's pretty much that way all day every day. Brian Schoenborn 13:53 But Tokyo people have this sense of common courtesy. Richard Brion 13:58 Oh, of course. Brian Schoenborn 13:58 So it's a little bit different. Richard Brion 14:00 I mean, there's just a ton of people everywhere. Brian Schoenborn 14:02 I love China. I love Beijing. Don't get me wrong, but there's, you know, there's some they've got some room to grow in terms of stuff like that. Richard Brion 14:11 Yeah, but there's not a culture on the planet that doesn't. Brian Schoenborn 14:13 Of course. Um, but so the point being was that that long winded thing, like the point being is that we found the stretch where we didn't see a single other person for a day and a half, dude. On the Great Wall. Right, like, that's crazy. So yeah, so I can relate, in a sense, and I know, like being in the middle of nowhere, and Richard Brion 14:35 Actually, it's quite nice. It really is. I was talking to another person about it a couple weeks ago that it can be one of those temporary transformative things where the world is getting to you you're looking for a reset on everything. Some people think that you need a near death experience to really kind of set your course or to end up really influencing your life now, something like that. Brian Schoenborn 14:58 Sometimes you just need to be like out in the middle of nowhere, like Like, for example, I like I really enjoy stand up paddleboarding. And I like it, you know, for the workout, of course, but like what I really like about it is I can be 100 yards out from the beach, but I'm miles away from anybody. Richard Brion 15:15 Yeah, Brian Schoenborn 15:16 You know? Richard Brion 15:17 It can be that simple. But yeah, so you don't have to you don't have to go so crazy and do you know, 30 miles and four days in order to really kind of get it, but it can be anything for some people. I mean, I've got a friend that does it in music. He goes out to his garage, and it basically changes his life for a while. Yeah. Until the people creep back. Brian Schoenborn 15:38 Yeah, exactly. That sounds really cool. That's so So tell me a little bit about like, let's go back. I want to go back back back back back. Like, you know, talk about your Navy stuff. Talk about your Blackwater shit, because, you know, even with those backpacking stuff, like there's, there's stuff that's like, I'm sure there's stuff that you took from there that's still relevant to this sort of thing, right. Richard Brion 15:57 Yeah. I mean, moreso the Blackwater days in the post military contractor days, did a lot more trampling around in the mountains, places like Afghanistan, which oddly enough: Afghanistan and New Mexico sorry New Mexico but I mean, you're just the Afghanistan in the United States. Geographically, it's pretty much the same the way the structure… Brian Schoenborn 16:21 Shout out to New Mexico. Richard Brion 16:22 Yeah, the way the the structure of the cities are set up. It's actually oddly similar. You've got the Albuquerque to Santa Fe, which is pretty much your Kabul to Bagram kind of thing. And then you go up into the Taos mountains in New Mexico and that's like heading up towards the Salong Pass of Afghanistan. Looks pretty much the same. Probably a good reason that Jarhead the movie was filmed actually in Albuquerque. Brian Schoenborn 16:44 Was it? Richard Brion 16:44 Yeah, so there, there's a whole lot to it and I guess I shouldn't shout so badly in this microphone before I start creating some feedback. Brian Schoenborn 16:51 Oh, you can shout all you want, dude. It's all good. Richard Brion 16:52 It sounded like I was getting a little bit of reverb. Brian Schoenborn 16:55 If you see it turning red. That's when you know that you're saying too much. Richard Brion 16:58 That I'm saying too much? Or too loud? Brian Schoenborn 17:03 Pack it up. Richard Brion 17:06 It's the Supreme, the Supreme Court light. You're green, you're good yellow starts to run out of time you hit red. Nope. Stop talking. Oh, yeah. So I mean, Afghanistan, I learned quite a bit about being able to carry weight through mountainous terrain and whatnot. And one of the things you learn that's interesting is when you're going downhill, is foot placement can be incredibly important in terms of how you do it and the heel stomp activity that most people don't do…only when they're in snow, it actually helps out quite a bit. Brian Schoenborn 17:38 What is this heel stomp activity? Richard Brion 17:38 So we have a tendency to walk heel, toe, heel toe, or when we're going downhill or runners do they go more to a mid strike toward their foot is. But if you actually kind of lean back, stand straight up when you got weight and you kind of straighten your leg and then drop your heel first, solidly into the loose terrain. Whether that's sand or snow and then you kind of cant, you kind of cant your feet outward almost like you're doing a kind of like a military salute stance. You get that 45 degree angle. You just set your feet… Brian Schoenborn 17:50 Yeah, heels together. Feet slightly apart, toes slightly apart. Richard Brion 18:17 Yeah. And then just kind of step each one at a time that way and it makes for good solid footing when you're not and you can move pretty quick downhill that way. Brian Schoenborn 18:26 That's interesting, like Richard Brion 18:27 I learned it from…oddly enough, I learned it from the Afghans. I grew up around mountains, and it's not something I've ever done. And I see them run down these steep sandy faces and I'm like, “Wait a minute, how did you do that?” They're like, “Oh, you know, we know how to do it.” Brian Schoenborn 18:43 So that reminds me of this. This time I did. I did a three day, two night homestay in northern Vietnam, like Sapa Valley, the foothills of the Himalayas, right? Richard Brion 18:55 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 18:55 Um, I was in good cycling shape at that point. So like my legs were strong or whatever. But like, I my guide was this lady she was like, I don't know, probably 30 something, 30 ish. But like, fucking four feet tall. Brian Schoenborn 19:09 She's tiny you know, minority minority village person, that sort of thing. And she wore these like, these sandals these cheap ass plastic sandals with just that wide band that goes across. It's not a thong, it's anything like that. And holy shit dude, she just boo boo boo boo boo boo boo boo up and down up and down, like no no beaten path, right like we're going up and down these Himalayan the foothills, right? Richard Brion 19:37 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 19:37 Just going up and down and stuff like mud path and you know and she's just flying dude. And like so I took it upon myself like, “I gotta keep up at her.” Point of pride. Richard Brion 19:47 Spoken like a true marine. Brian Schoenborn 19:49 Exactly. Richard Brion 19:53 That reminds me I one time in Thailand, you know they they've got the little Muay Thai boxers. Brian Schoenborn 20:00 Oh sure. Yeah. Richard Brion 20:01 They always have to tell the Marines when you come into port don't get in. Don't Don't do it. Don't do it. Sure enough, there's always a marine. It's like, I can try this. And this dude, you know, the funniest ones are when they're like, 14, 15 year old kids and they think that it's they think that Oh, I'm a big bad marine that the Marine Corps trained me and then… Brian Schoenborn 20:19 This guy looks scrawny. Richard Brion 20:20 Yeah, within seconds they get their ass whooped by this little, four foot tall 85 pound Thai kid that yeah, he's just tough as nails, but spoken like a true marine I got taken upon myself to keep up with him. Richard Brion 20:35 The few, the proud All right. Well, unfortunately isn't it isn't an old biblical proverb that says pride cometh before the fall? Brian Schoenborn 20:35 Right? It's a point of pride man. That's how we roll. Brian Schoenborn 20:48 There it is. Spoken like a true squid. Richard Brion 20:57 We, yeah, we some of us, we try to we try to finesse it a little bit rather than just brute force everything. Brian Schoenborn 21:03 Grace, fall gracefully. Richard Brion 21:04 Yes. Brian Schoenborn 21:05 Tell me a little bit more about this Afghanistan stuff. So this was in your in this wasn't we were working with Blackwater or was this the Navy? Richard Brion 21:10 So I was doing I was Brian Schoenborn 21:13 like, what timeframe was this? Richard Brion 21:14 So this is like, when was that? It was like 2004 or five ish. Brian Schoenborn 21:21 Okay, so that's likely the heat of Afghanistan. Richard Brion 21:25 I was at Well, it was in a weird it was in a weird transition like right at the beginning. It was on that transitioning period from still being really hot in everywhere to where then Kabul and some of the other places, Bagram and whatnot. Even parts of Nangahar and whatnot. It kind of settled down to kind of an equilibrium for quite some time. We were able to go… Brian Schoenborn 21:48 Was this before or after they put Karzai in power? Richard Brion 21:52 This was during Karzai. Karzai been in for a couple of years by this point, I think or at least or at least a year. Brian Schoenborn 22:00 I'm just trying to refresh memory cuz, you know, like I was active during 911. Right? I didn't serve obviously. But I mean, I didn't go over there for reasons out of my control. But, you know, my unit was a first to go Iraq, right? Richard Brion 22:07 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 22:11 But it was Afghanistan first so it was 911, Afghanistan, and then for whatever reason, they said, Hey, we gotta go to Iraq too, which was bullshit. But that's a whole nother thing. Richard Brion 22:23 Were you first Marines? Brian Schoenborn 22:24 My my unit was 3/1. Richard Brion 22:26 3/1? Brian Schoenborn 22:27 Third Battalion, First Marines. We were I MEF. We fought in Fallujah. Richard Brion 22:31 Yeah. My uh… Brian Schoenborn 22:32 We were the first battle in Fallujah. Richard Brion 22:33 My buddy that's a border patrol. He was in Afghanistan at the time, before I met him. He was active duty Marine for 3/1. Brian Schoenborn 22:42 No shit? Richard Brion 22:43 Yeah, he was a … Brian Schoenborn 22:44 Do you know what company he was in? Richard Brion 22:46 311. I want to say. Brian Schoenborn 22:48 Well, no, it's no No, no, no, no, no, it's three one and then the. So I was weapons company. Yeah, but it was like Lima, India and Kilo. Richard Brion 22:57 I would have done what I would have to ask him. But Brian Schoenborn 23:00 Lima, India, Kilo and Weapons Company. I was in Weapons Company. Was he rifle man or was he a weapons guy? Richard Brion 23:02 He was. He was infantry straight up grant. He was. He was the Brian Schoenborn 23:06 0311? Richard Brion 23:07 Yeah, he was 0311. He was he was the sergeant for his platoon. The actual, the Soldier of Fortune magazine actually, at one point there was a photo taken. So he was the Marine Sergeant that was actually tasked with doing the Marcus Luttrell recovery after, and the interesting story was we were in the same place basically at the same time didn't know each other yet. So it was with Blackwater. We were in Kabul. Brian Schoenborn 23:34 We might have even been in boot camp together. That's weird. That's fucking me up. Richard Brion 23:38 He's younger Yeah, I think he's younger but um, so he he's closer. But yeah, so anyway, so Brian Schoenborn 23:46 So 3/1 didn't, we were not in Afghanistan. The unit that went to Afghanistan before like the first ones in was 1/5. Richard Brion 23:54 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 23:54 First Battalion, fifth Marines. Richard Brion 23:55 I had them backwards. They were also saying it was 1/5 was Iraq and 3/1 was Afghanistan. Brian Schoenborn 24:00 They were also based in Camp Pendleton. They were near us. So I was in Camp Horno, which is kind of the it's like the coastal kind of North ish area. One five was right at the border of the base. I hope I'm not giving away government secrets, sorry, government. But ish ish, you know, but kind of kind of kind of at the, you know, kind of near the border between, you know, between San Diego and Orange County. Richard Brion 24:26 Yeah. And, but to funny, the interesting thing was is so during the whole Lone Survivor incident, I was in Kabul with Blackwater and a bunch of the Blackwater team were were former SEALs that were actually good friends with a lot of those guys. Brian Schoenborn 24:44 Oh shit, man. Richard Brion 24:45 So when it went down twice, we actually were planning, sending taking a helicopter down and Nangahar and getting out towards that area and jumping into the recovery mission until there was a… at first it we were having the green line and somebody decided was probably not the right idea to have private contractors handling that kind of thing. Richard Brion 25:05 So, so my buddy, because helicopters and air support was off limits because of the two helicopters getting shot down. So he was the sergeant that led the platoon on foot to go in, and they got ambushed. And then during the ambush, I don't know, I still don't know. And I'm not sure even he knows how the photograph was taken. But it ended up becoming one of the Marine Corps coins as well. There's a picture of Marines squatting down behind a rock: one with a with a rifle aimed, the other one making a phone call. And that photo made Soldier of Fortune and it was also made a Marine Corps coin and my buddy's that sergeant, is one of those two guys that are memorialized in that coin. Brian Schoenborn 25:45 That's crazy, dude. Richard Brion 25:46 Then he ended up becoming a contractor, working with me in Blackwater in Japan, then we went to Iraq together with another contracting company and… Brian Schoenborn 25:52 So so for late for so the listeners out there, let me let me let me explain what a private contractor for Blackwater is in terms of you can understand. He's a fucking mercenary. Right? I mean paid, you know you're for-hire security services in some of the most dangerous parts of the world. Does that sound…is that fair? Is that accurate? Richard Brion 26:15 Yeah, pretty much. Brian Schoenborn 26:16 He's just like, “Yeah whatever, you know, it's all in a day's work.” Richard Brion 26:20 Well, I mean it. So it's a perspective thing. Brian Schoenborn 26:23 Yeah, for sure. Of course. Richard Brion 26:24 So I sit down and I watched the show the Deadliest Catch from time to time you know, like, crazy assed crab fisherman and I think that is the craziest… Brian Schoenborn 26:31 That's a crazy fucking job but that also pays well, Richard Brion 26:33 Well, of course it does. and… Brian Schoenborn 26:35 it was like six months and they make like six figures in six like, Richard Brion 26:38 Yeah, of course. But to me, I think that it's crazy. It's a crazy ass job. Now, a good chunk of those guys would think that what I was doing back in the day, as a contractor with Blackwater and all this stuff was crazy stupid. And I mean, when you think about it, there's some there's some dumb things and we called it delayed death a little bit as you're dead being there. It's just a matter of if your card got called what while you're actually in country or not, but It's perspective. Richard Brion 27:01 You know, for me, those those Deadliest Catch people were way crazier than I was doing. But then again, it's because I was doing a job that I was well trained to do and well equipped for. Richard Brion 27:11 And I knew my equipment no different than an electrician knows his pliers and his wire strippers and everything else no different than a crab fisherman knows his nets in gear. For me, I always thought the distinction was is that humans are a lot more predictable than nature. So So when you're out there, even when you're even when you're surprised in an ambush, there's still things that humans do that are predictable on some level. So you can still make plans on some degree and you can still rely on them with some level of reliability, but nature just does whatever the hell it wants. Brian Schoenborn 27:11 Sure. Brian Schoenborn 27:45 There's no stopping nature, dude. Richard Brion 27:45 I mean, even when they're even when there's weather predictions and weather forecasts. I mean, Brian Schoenborn 27:50 Weathermen are never right, man. Richard Brion 27:51 Yeah, especially in these places, right. So, I mean, you were in in China too. The South China Sea? Brian Schoenborn 27:58 Oh, dude, they have typhoons all the time, man. Richard Brion 28:00 I know and it's so unpredictable. So you're going out into this thing with against effectively an opponent or a foe that you can't predict anything. You're just flying by the seat of your pants all of the time hoping for the best. So, I mean, that's, I guess that's what perspective is. So yeah, it was some crazy environments. You know, Afghanistan Kabul, you know, Nangahar, Salong. Up there in Iraq. I was mostly I was in Baghdad proper, but then we were in Diwaniya, which if you want to go look that up that was that was a fun show. It's on. Brian Schoenborn 28:33 Let's look it up right now. I wanna see what you're talking about. Richard Brion 28:36 So yeah, so it was a camp, or that Camp Echo? In Diwania. So this camp, when we first when Yeah, there it is, right there. Diwania, Iraq. So it's a couple hours south. Brian Schoenborn 28:57 I'll post information on this. What do we do when we post The show but yeah… Richard Brion 29:01 Oh l ook at that Polish troops in Iraq, Camp Echo. So so basically it was this little postage stamp of a forward operating base in central Iraq near near the Nijef province. But this thing was so small. I mean, it was literally probably the size of a small school compound. Brian Schoenborn 29:21 The camp or the town? Richard Brion 29:22 The entire camp. Brian Schoenborn 29:24 Wow, that's tiny. Richard Brion 29:24 In the in this town yeah and so they had this tire factory in town and whatnot and so it was first… Brian Schoenborn 29:30 It's the last place you would expect a military encampment to be. That's good shit. Richard Brion 29:36 But it was kind of a key point for the Nijef province for the US Army Corps of Engineers but this so initially post the invasion and us trying to figure out what to do you know, we brought in the coalition. The Spanish took it, and no offense to those Spaniards out there but you kind of you lost it. You got overrun. And it's because the city, I mean, and to be fair, it's not It's not as it wasn't a super large base, the area would go through ebbs and flows where the insurgency would build up and it would dissipate, but eventually they got overrun. Richard Brion 30:11 So then the Polish took over. And they were the ones running the camp when we were there with a small contingent of US Army, Military Police. And so and and basically the it was this kind of school kids playing with each other, where the Polish would completely be out in town, in full force, and then they would slowly start drawing back towards the base. The insurgency would get more and more emboldened by it. And then at some point, we ended up having to drop a MOAB, which is a “mother of all bombs” into the middle of the city, kind of kind of reset the situation. Richard Brion 30:55 The Polish went back out, they kind of held it and then they got drawn back to the base. So Diwaniya was probably the dodgiest place I was it was we were getting rocketed pretty much every night. Brian Schoenborn 31:07 Those are RPGs, right? Richard Brion 31:09 155 Katooshes. Brian Schoenborn 31:12 I'm not familiar with that. Richard Brion 31:14 So usually you know one five fives are your largest you can over the one of the some of the largest there are a lot louder, bigger than standard mortar there, you know. 155 millimeter. Brian Schoenborn 31:25 Mortars are no joke. I know some I remember, I had some mortar men in my CAAT platoon. Yeah, I mean, those guys are pretty hardcore. Richard Brion 31:32 I mean rules of engagement. This was starting to change as well. So we weren't allowed to specifically do straight up counter battery. Which for those that don't know counter battery just means we use sound to triangulate a rough position of where they might have been coming from. And then you just rocket everything back. Brian Schoenborn 31:49 Yeah. Richard Brion 31:49 Which is effective in certain circumstances, but at the same time, Brian Schoenborn 31:54 It's also essentially spray and pray. Richard Brion 31:55 Yeah, there's there can be significant collateral damage, and so we were, we were drawing back on that and the problem was they were putting their their rockets and stuff into mounts in the back of pickup trucks. So basically even by the time you were able to get a 3 pings triangulation for a counter battery, the truck had already moved. So even, you know, and then you're firing even within 30 seconds to a minute, if it took that if it was that fast, truck could still fire and move. So, the likelihood of you actually hitting the target that was rocketing you was small, so then, you know we get rocketed every day and of course, we were contractors. We had Polish. We had a Polish dude that was French, former French Foreign Legion, some British special boat guys, special air guys on the team. Couple of Army Greenie Beanies. l Brian Schoenborn 32:48 When you say special boat and special air, you're talking like Special Forces. Richard Brion 32:51 Yes. So the so the British they have their SS in there. SBS, so their Special Air Service and their special boats, which is kind of basically the SAS would be sort of like our it's a cross somewhere between our Army Special Forces and our US Air Force paratroopers in terms of responsibility. And then special boats are basically like their version of a Navy seal. Brian Schoenborn 32:51 So basically, you're a Motley Crue badass motherfuckers basically. Richard Brion 32:51 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 33:17 Okay, got it. Richard Brion 33:18 And then we had some, also some Royal Marine commandos, so kind of like our recon Marines and whatnot. So we had a hodgepodge of British, American, and European guys that were on this team all well-trained, but also a little bit mad in the head, as they would say. Brian Schoenborn 33:36 You kind of have to be off to go to do some of that stuff. Richard Brion 33:40 A little bit. Yeah. And then it got even more strange. So we lived kind of nearest to where the marine or not where the Marine Corps, where the army military police unit was. So every every evening the rocket… Brian Schoenborn 33:51 I bet they had their hands full. Richard Brion 33:52 Oh, they definitely did. But every every evening, the rockets always came in right around the same time. Everybody else has all hunkered down in places. And where we go, we get our chow, we come back, then we all sit around the proverbial campfire just bullshitting with our, with our gear, our guns, our body armor… Brian Schoenborn 34:11 As these bombs are going off. Richard Brion 34:12 And basically we're having what we called our mortar tea parties. We were drinking tea and biscuits, you know cookies and tea, waiting for the mortars to start and then the gear was all preset because then we'd have to repel borders, which again, for those that don't know what that means. That means that they would use the rockets in order to distract us because we're all hiding, hopefully then they could storm the walls. So basically, it was this kind of tit for tat thing, they'd rocket us then they would try to mount an offensive to come over the wall. So you have to have your gear with you in the mortar shelters to be ready for it. So we just kind of sat around every day just having a chat kind of like we're having right now. Just bullshiting, laughing and just waiting for them. And some of those those army military police guys thought we were batshit crazy. Brian Schoenborn 34:59 Of course! They have every right to think that. Richard Brion 35:03 AAnd maybe we were, but like I said that the those guys that go pick up crab fishing jobs in Alaska, they're crazier than me as far as I'm concerned. Brian Schoenborn 35:10 That's the thing that I'm talking about, right? Like like in the Marines, like my Marine Corps training, even as short as it was, like one of those things you realize it like you can be ,you can experience, you can be in the middle of experiencing fucking hell, dude. But what you realize that if you're with there was somebody, if you're there with somebody else and you can sit there and bullshit about stuff while while this is all happening? It's a completely different thing, dude. It makes it manageable. Richard Brion 35:38 Well, yeah it does. And I mean, Afghanistan was the same way so that circa 2004, 2005 and got to the point where we were allowed to go on town, there were Lebanese restaurants, French restaurants… Brian Schoenborn 35:55 You're allowed to go off base and like, check out the town? Richard Brion 35:57 Yeah. So as Blackwater we lived in our own compound anyway. We also we were running, we were help training counternarcotics police for the government in Afghanistan. We were doing those kinds of things. So we were we weren't doing a lot of things directly with US military. They had, we were getting support from them. So we could access military installations. We got Intel from them, of course, was since we were working in the same sphere, we also had to have crypto to be able to talk back and forth, so that we could deconflict so that in the event that we were out on our own thing, and in the middle of a fight and US military or ISAF forces were in the middle of a fight. We could make sure that we weren't shooting at each other kind of kind of important, you know, blue on blue. Brian Schoenborn 36:43 Crypto meaning encrypted messaging? Richard Brion 36:46 Yeah, encrypted radio, you know, the big old fat, you see them on movies. Brian Schoenborn 36:49 So you're free to talk, but nobody can intercept it. Richard Brion 36:52 Yeah, exactly. So basically, you see them on any of those military movies. You know, the guy standing back there with the little what looks like antique headset phone… Brian Schoenborn 37:02 One of my buddies was a comm guy, man. You look at before you stick it, when you put that little… Richard Brion 37:07 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 37:07 When you put the antenna on you got to like. Richard Brion 37:09 yeah they the old mark one seven you know the different radios and whatnot and and then they came up with some slightly better ones but the range was different so I mean yeah we were we were out there doing, but yeah we could go on the internet they have an Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, no joke, from the Intercontinental Hotel Group it's still there. As of 2018 when I was there last in Kabul, it's a little bit harder to get to in from these days, but back then there was a you could go get a proper massage at the hotel. You could go for lunch or whatever and they had a swimming pool you could take in there. They even had a lake resort in just outside Kabul that had a golf course that we could go on. Brian Schoenborn 37:51 Oh, it's crazy. So, I mean, so it sounds like you were pretty like ingrained into Kabul and the, you know, the local culture a little bit like did you I mean, did you stand out like a sore thumb or like what you know Richard Brion 38:08 For the most part… Brian Schoenborn 38:08 Like your interactions with the Afghans with the Afghans and stuff like that? Richard Brion 38:11 Yeah, I mean for the most part of course we stood out like sore thumbs but then again there was enough Western and I sat forces that there was no real distinguishment between who was who and you know, who was white, I mean, contractors we kind of dress like each other but then again, contractor dress looks like British Special Air Service dress. So you know, and then of course, you have your other governmental groups and they all dress kind of however, and so it was almost impossible to distinguish one set from another. Brian Schoenborn 38:40 Sure. Richard Brion 38:40 You could be at a restaurant having you know, having a meal with these people and they could have been FBI, they could have been, you know, any other lettered soup or they could have been a contractor or they could have been active duty Special Forces. There was really no way to tell unless you got into the weeds with it. Everybody wore beards, but as far as me? Oddly enough, you, you put the right kind of Afghan clothes on and I had my beard grown out and with the blue eyes and I could look like I'm an Afghan from the Panjshir Valley because Russian influence to the Panjshir area. Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 38:57 So did you? I mean, did you interact with, like the Afghan people? Or was it mostly with the other military units? Richard Brion 39:19 Oh, no, we were moreso Afghans and then I my job was intelligence. So I was a lot more interacting with them. But there's a famous street in Kabul. It's called Chicken Street. Basically, it's, every city pretty much has one. That's kind of where you go to get a lot of your tangible goods. So we could go down and get trinkets and rugs and everything else and we used to go down to Chicken Street and you could get a suit fitted. I have I still have them actually in my closet a few of the suits that an Afghan Taylor put together for me. Richard Brion 39:54 There was a barber that I would go in that would use all the old school hand tools, no power, to do trims and stuff and we used to, we used to get kids to come with us, because the Afghans themselves have this “kids are off-limits” in terms of this thing. So, Pakistanis and the Iraqis, unfortunately, don't quite have that same threshold when it comes to kids, but the Afghans do. So you get the kids that are out trying to make a buck or whatever else, and you give them some money and some food and then they would go recruit their friends. And then when you wanted to go into a place, they would then crowd the door, so that it would keep people that could be or are thinking about taking advantage of the situation from doing so because kids were off-limits. Brian Schoenborn 40:39 Yeah. Richard Brion 40:40 And so and then some of the elders in the village in the city and stuff that were around didn't mind it either, because we were giving the kids some sort of value and job, you know, we were giving them food and they were helping us out. And there was a similar thing in Djibouti one at one point and I can't get into the why I was there and with whom… Brian Schoenborn 41:00 Dammit. Richard Brion 41:00 But you pay, Brian Schoenborn 41:03 I wanna hear that styory. I always want to hear the ones that you can't talk about. Richard Brion 41:06 Yeah, I know, right? But the funny part about the story was is, there was there was a kid and you paid 20 bucks he would come he actually had this he had the racket down. He would come and he had this big stick and you'd be like, “I be your bodyguard” all in English. Couple couple of few bucks in English he would tell you he would be the bodyguard. And then he would have liked two of his little friends and they were doing, and I did protection details for years. So I had all these this training on doing the box and the, you know, contact rules, but Brian Schoenborn 41:33 What is it what is the box? Richard Brion 41:35 So the box we did, so depending on there's triangles, there's boxes. It's how you set your people up to do protection. So we always ran a five man box. Brian Schoenborn 41:46 Okay, so basically you had four corners and then one in the middle? Richard Brion 41:49 You have four corners, and then one in the middle standing next to the client that was basically the client director and then so depending on how contact goes you can close the box and basically create a wall. Brian Schoenborn 41:58 Got it. Richard Brion 41:58 But these these three little kids, they had their own little version of a protective detail triangle down with sticks. And then if people got too close, they would kind of, and sometimes even with some of the adults in the area, they even had a little, like playful ruse for the adults would kind of give them a little, a little reason to practice. So, you know, and then the little kid that was in charge was like, you know, “don't worry right now”, and then the adults would kind of come up and play and then they would like beat him back with the sticks and stuff like kind of keep practice. It was kind of interesting, but Brian Schoenborn 42:31 Enterprising entrepreneurial little kids over there. Richard Brion 42:33 Exactly. very entrepreneurial on how they were doing it. And in Kabul, it was that way too. There were stores that you want to go in and the kids would go in first and kind of rush all the other people out. And again, that sounds very privileged of us. We were able to have little kids kind of push the rest of the adults out but at the same time, like I said, it was that weird in between phase of the community where the the adults didn't mind so much because we were spending money in local shops and we were having some, we're having interactions with the kids. So in their own way it allowed it created a sense of security for us and a peace of mind for us that we knew there wasn't someone in the store waiting, gave the kids something to do then we were spending money on the local economy. So we felt that we were giving back a little bit a little bit. Brian Schoenborn 43:17 And you were giving the kids food and other stuff too. Richard Brion 43:19 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 43:19 So they were so they're, they're getting benefits for their services too, right? Richard Brion 43:22 Yeah. And I mean, we've had a lot of the guys thought I was crazy, but we had a little…but, I mean, so I there was a lot that I had to do that was by myself. So I was driving around a lot by myself places and there was a, there was this little rig on a rickety cart that was an engine with a set of wheels and basically you turn it on and you would feed what looked like a sugar cane through it. And then it would come out as a juice or something. Brian Schoenborn 43:53 Oh yeah! Sugarcane juice. Yeah. That's all over the place. Like I've had that in India. Richard Brion 43:58 Yeah, that's what I didn't realize that sugar cane. Something that was really available. Brian Schoenborn 44:01 It's literally just pressed cane liquid right? Richard Brion 44:03 Yeah, and it, but at the time I wasn't completely sure that was sugar cane because I still to this day not hundred percent certainly sugar cane grows naturally in Afghanistan, but in either case it was just it was kind of dirty looking cart but I would pull over for $1 whatever it was at the time I would get one and you know it's not like the United States or you pop in and they give you a bottle you take with you or whatever, it's just a glass. Brian Schoenborn 44:29 It's not the processed stuff. Richard Brion 44:31 Well, yeah, and it's just a glass that you drink it there. Brian Schoenborn 44:33 You drink it on the spot, right? Richard Brion 44:34 They take the glass right? Yep, they take the glass back and they wash it so you know a lot of guys are like, “hey man, you're kinda it's kind of dirty kind of don't know.” I didn't care. I liked it, and the other thing that I really liked to this day is Afghan naan you know? You can get naan everywhere else but the Afghan naan to me is some of the best I've ever had. Brian Schoenborn 44:53 So, like, how is it different from like Indian naan? So naaa, like n-a-a-n, like a flatbread? Richard Brion 44:59 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 44:59 Like Indian food that you would like take and like scoop with the curries and stuff. Richard Brion 45:03 Yeah and so you get Stone Fire here in the US makes it, is a brand that will make it. But it's it's a little bit more I would almost say even though it's unleavened, it's almost a little more leavened than Afghan, it's a little bit a little bit softer, which most people are like bread, you know, soft bread, but for some reason, the way that whatever it is in the recipe, and it's slightly more crispness to it. Brian Schoenborn 45:29 So it's crisp? It's not like a thick chew? Richard Brion 45:31 Not not quite like a thick chew, but it just something about it. You know, I could probably deal less with the fact that the way it was delivered is just a dude on a motorbike, sticks it under his arm after all day. Brian Schoenborn 45:44 That's what I'm talking about, dude. That's the real shit. You know, what I love about traveling, just diving deep and like, you know, there's millions of people that like eat that, you know, eat stuff like that or live a certain way like you don't, you can't really understand or appreciate another culture unless you really dive into it. You know? Richard Brion 45:58 Well yeah, and so this is a good story. Right, so I can I can say the guy's name now because it doesn't matter, but his name was General Aasif. He was the he was the general from the Afghan government. I don't know if he was specifically Afghan National Police or if he was Afghan National Army, but he had a general title general uniform. And he was in charge of the Narcotics Interdiction Unit, which is what we call the, basically, the Afghan version of the DEA. And he's no longer involves anybody that might be listening that thinks that they're getting any intel, he is not. But he used to think that I was so skinny. And so every time I come to his office, I mean, Brian Schoenborn 46:40 You're a slim dude, you're lengthy. Richard Brion 46:41 But I'm heavier than people would think. Right? And so especially then I was working out a couple times a day I was eating quite a bit. You know, when there's nothing else to do. You take your legal supplements and your protein shakes and your nitrus oxide and lift at the gym. You know, do all the bro things, right? Brian Schoenborn 47:01 No, of course. You got nothing else to do, you know, in an area like that. Richard Brion 47:04 And I mean, we had a lot to do, but there's still times when there's downtime, right? Brian Schoenborn 47:08 Sure. Richard Brion 47:08 Between stuff scene workout and you make sure that you're fit to do. Brian Schoenborn 47:12 Yeah, right. I mean, that's what I mean. Richard Brion 47:13 Yeah, it is part of your job. So you're fit to your job, but he would always want to give me food. So it was meatballs and naan and chai and… Brian Schoenborn 47:22 General Aasif always wanted to give you food. Richard Brion 47:23 Yeah. And so it was goat meatballs and lamb meatballs. Brian Schoenborn 47:27 Oh, dude, that sounds so good. Richard Brion 47:28 And I mean, at first I was in, you know, because I was still young, they're still fairly. I mean, I've been to a few places by this point, but I was still a little bit of an isolationist when it came to the local cultures at this point, because this, this happened from the moment I walked into Afghanistan, right into General Aasif's office there is just trying, and so he's feeding me food that I know came off the off of the local economy that wasn't specifically off of the military base that had, you know, all of the, what do they call it the HACCP or whatever. Brian Schoenborn 48:03 The HAACP? Richard Brion 48:04 Yes, sir. Yeah health standard yeah the health standards and servsafe. And, you know, they, they definitely didn't have their authorized food handler's permit. So I was a little bit apprehensive but truthfully I got in I didn't, didn't get sick. The only place that the only time I got food poisoning in Afghanistan was when I went to a Lebanese restaurant, that's an actual restaurant, but owned my Lebanese people, and to this day, I have a hard time with hummus. Because the only thing I ate that night was hummus because it was just there for a quick meeting. And it made me so sick they had a banana bag me for like three or four days. Brian Schoenborn 48:42 I have no idea what that means but it doesn't sound good. Richard Brion 48:44 So banana bags are. There are basically an IV fluid bag and it's very bright yellow, banana in color almost. That's why we call them banana but it's basically hydration bag. Brian Schoenborn 48:55 Oh got ya. Richard Brion 48:56 You know the team medics and stuff, you get way too drunk you know from whatever and they would banana bag you and it's good way to, but I needed a banana back for like 3 or 4 days. Brian Schoenborn 49:06 Good way to get your head right. Richard Brion 49:07 Yeah and it was pretty It was pretty gnarly. Brian Schoenborn 49:09 You know it's funny that you talk about the food poisoning thing, right? Like like, I was in Asia for almost four years. Richard Brion 49:14 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 49:15 Right? I traveled through Southeast Asia. Fucking Beijing all over China, South Korea all over the place. Indonesia, Australia. Everywhere dude, and I dive dive super deep. I get local street food, all that shit. I got food poisoning once in my four time in my four years there. Richard Brion 49:34 American restaurant? Brian Schoenborn 49:35 American barbecue restaurant. Richard Brion 49:37 Doesn't surprise me. Brian Schoenborn 49:38 The pulled pork sandwich dude. Richard Brion 49:39 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 49:40 Fucked me up. I was fucking like, it was literally like hours after I had this dude. I was just like, I could not puke enough. Richard Brion 49:48 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 49:49 Just all night long. Just dry heaving. It was fucking awful, dude. Richard Brion 49:55 Well, no, and I'm like you I got and after that point, I dove in. Iraq. You know, local food everywhere. In Japan I ate on the local economy a lot of the other guys that were there that came later you know, they were like oh there's McDonald's there let's get the McDonald's on the way to work. And me there I was with the… Brian Schoenborn 50:12 Fuck that. Richard Brion 50:13 with that sticky rice it's like a mayo finish like a mayo filling in it or whatever. Brian Schoenborn 50:18 Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Richard Brion 50:19 And then you know, I've got the rice dishes and I I like to go to the yakiniku places which is you know, you cook your own little barbecue, meats… Brian Schoenborn 50:28 Yeah, they do that in China too. They call it chuar. Yeah, it's a Beijing dialect. Brian Schoenborn 50:34 Were they giggling too? Richard Brion 50:34 I'm pretty sure it's yakiniku is what it is, I'm I might be slightly incorrect there. It's been a while but so for those who speak Japanese, you know, you know, I'm sorry for this but but it was it was really I loved it the sushi I mean, it got so local that there was a local family that was involved in running one of the little drinky bars we go to, they invited me and a couple of guys back on to this barbecue out on the coast. And we drove out to the coast. I still remember one of the pictures, actually my buddy that was a marine, he was one of those guys with us. And we took a picture of the cloud that just looked like a phallic symbol one day. One of the Japanese girls pointed it out. So the van had a sunroof… Richard Brion 50:59 And they're looking at the cloud. So what, they had a sunroof in the van we're all riding in so I stood up through the sunroof, because of course I'm the tallest dude in the van. Brian Schoenborn 51:26 And they point at it like, “Penisuh!” Richard Brion 51:27 So well I'm and I took a picture of it. So I still have the picture somewhere. But we get to the coast and we're having barbecued eel and everything, and then also uni, which for those that don't know the Japanese word, it's sea urchin. Brian Schoenborn 51:40 Sea urchin. One of my favorite foods. Richard Brion 51:41 Yeah. And so you can you can get it at your sushi restaurants but the best I ever had was the little kids were going down into the water sticking their hand right in the water grabbing it right out and then we were just popping in straight outta right on this remote beach and way north Honshu, Japan, the Honshu island of Japan. It was awesome. Brian Schoenborn 52:01 So, I mean, so where were you in Japan? I mean, you were there for a while, right? Richard Brion 52:05 Yeah, I was there for just shy of a year. Brian Schoenborn 52:07 Okay. Richard Brion 52:07 So we were we were on the far north end of Honshu. So um, Brian Schoenborn 52:13 And Honshu is what? Richard Brion 52:14 Honshu's the main island in Japan. Brian Schoenborn 52:16 Like Tokyo and stuff? Richard Brion 52:17 Yes, so Tokyo is on the southern. Brian Schoenborn 52:19 Japan like, yeah, primarily that island, right? Yes. Osaka of course. Richard Brion 52:25 Hokkaido in the north, right. Yes. So on to the main about Okinawa, which is right there. So Honshu was the main way up there. Yeah. So Tokyo is way south, almost on the complete opposite end of the contract Brian Schoenborn 52:36 Roughly how long of a train ride would that be or something? Richard Brion 52:39 So bullet train, it was like two hours and 45 minutes by car… Richard Brion 52:42 By car, it's like a 12-hour drive. Brian Schoenborn 52:42 Bullet train's going, like 200 miles a hour. Brian Schoenborn 52:47 Yeah. Okay. Richard Brion 52:47 And that's down the toll road. So that's pretty much nothing else but toll road and freeway and it's 12 hours. So basically, if you were to look on a map and you see where miss our airbase is, and then take a ruler and draw straight line To the other side of the island from them on that same skinny part. Yeah, that's where we were, was called the Aomori prefect or Aomoir prefect would be more more precise. And we were in a little town called Goshuguara. And we had to stay in a Japanese hotel and let me tell you, I mean, this one had a… Brian Schoenborn 53:16 What kind of Japanese hotel was this? I've heard a few. I've heard about a few different types of Japanese hotels. Richard Brion 53:21 It wasn't any of those. But it was…. Brian Schoenborn 53:23 Not a love hotel? Richard Brion 53:24 Well no, it was not a love hotel. And it was done…and it was also not one of the not one of the space pod ones are all bed slides out and stuff. Brian Schoenborn 53:31 I slept in one of those. In Bangkok I think. Or Saigon, one of them. Richard Brion 53:35 Yeah. And so it was still, I mean, it still was a room a desk. It was a queen size mattress, but there wasn't really room for much other. I mean, literally, I had to take the chair out for the desk so that the bed was my chair because that there I mean, there was no point. You couldn't pull the desk out. Brian Schoenborn 53:37 Dude, I slept in a pod that like, literally, like there's a hallway and on the left and on the right It looks like these bunk beds, but they're walled off and it's literally just this like, elongated hole. Richard Brion 54:05 Yeah. Brian Schoenborn 54:06 …that you slide into. It's just a bed. And there's a there's a TV at the foot of it. So if you want to watch TV you can there's nothing fucking on there anyway that you could understand. Literally slide in and then you drop down. It's like a curtain almost you just drop it down. There you go. That's my pod. Kinda like on a navy ship. It's a lot like that, you know? Richard Brion 54:25 You know, um, there's a there's a Netflix original that will had Brian Schoenborn 54:31 Shout out to Netflix. Richard Brion 54:32 Yeah, shout out to Netflix. Right? But it had Emma Stone and, wow, Jonah Hill. And it was called… it was about that was the… Brian Schoenborn 54:42 …they were they had a mental problems

Hedera Hashgraph is an enterprise-grade distributed ledger platform. After years of development, Hedera came out of stealth mode and launched the public beta of its mainnet in September. The Hedera team describes the Hashgraph as a 3rd generation public ledger (they refer to Bitcoin as 1st generation and Ethereum as 2nd generation). Hedera claims the Hashgraph can process up to 10,000 transactions per second, an order of magnitude faster than current blockchains. Rather than use a blockchain platform, the Hedera Hashgraph is based on a DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph). This form of DLT doesn't rely on a proof-of-work or proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. Instead, Hedera network participants act as nodes that validate each other's transactions which leads to faster consensus. However, the hashgraph is not decentralized. Instead, it has a governing council with members including corporate heavyweights such as IBM and Boeing. Mance Harmon co-founder and CEO of Hedera Hashgraph talks about his early years at the Missile Defense Agency where he met Leemon Baird, the inventor of the Hashgraph algorithm. The two tech entrepreneurs say they've solved blockchain's scalability problem. Have they? Let's try and find out... Key takeaway: Hedera is no threat to Bitcoin. But when compared to platform blockchains like Ethereum, Hedera appears to offer a compelling feature set and faster transaction times.  Why you should listen: Mance explains why he thinks Hedera is a generation ahead of current blockchains, why the team has been consciously controversial, and why existing within legal and regulatory frameworks is a feature, not a bug. Supporting Links Hedera.com Hedera Hashgraph - Time for Some Fud by Eric Wall Counter Fud by Hedera's Paul Madsen Counter Counter Fud by Eric Wall Fair Access v. Fair Ordering, & Transactions Per Second Examined & Explained Twitter.com/hashgraph Twitter.com/ManceHarmon

Topics: The Cold War, Run-DMC, New Edition, Bill Cosby (Himself), Eddie Murphy (Delirious). (Bonus Artist: Luck Pacheco)   1983 Notes   1. Ronald Reagan President   2. Feb - The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, setting a record for most-watched television broadcast in American history.   3. Mar - Strategic Defense Initiative: U.S. President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles. The media dub this plan "Star Wars".   4. Mar - Michael Jackson performs the dance move that will forever be known as the "moonwalk" at Motown 25.   5. Apr - The April 1983 U.S. Embassy bombing in Beirut kills 63 people.   6. Sep - Cold War: Korean Air Lines Flight 007 is shot down by a Soviet Union jet fighter when the commercial aircraft enters Soviet airspace. All 269 on board are killed including U.S. Congressman Larry McDonald.   7. Sep - Vanessa Lynn Williams becomes the first African American to be crowned Miss America, in Atlantic City, New Jersey.   8. Oct - United States troops invade Grenada at the behest of Eugenia Charles of Dominica, a member of the Organization of American States.   9. Oct - Microsoft Word is first released.   10. Nov - The first United States cruise missiles arrive at Greenham Common Airbase in England amid protests from peace campaigners.   11. Dec - Michael Jackson's music video for "Thriller" is broadcast for the first time. It becomes the most often repeated and famous music video of all time, increasing his own popularity and record sales of the album "Thriller".   12. Misc.: McDonald's introduces the McNugget and The Cabbage Patch Kids dolls make their national debut, their popularity leads to the Cabbage Patch riots.   13. Top 3 Pop Songs   14. 1 - "Every Breath You Take", The Police   15. 2 - "Billie Jean", Michael Jackson   16. 3 - "Flashdance... What a Feeling", Irene Cara   17. Record of the Year: "Beat It" – Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones   18. Album of the Year: Thriller – Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones   19. Song of the Year: "Every Breath You Take" – The Police Sting (songwriter)   20. Best New Artist: Culture Club   21. Top 3 Movies   22. 1 - Return of the Jedi   23. 2 - Terms of Endearment   24. 3.    Flashdance   25. Top 3 TV   26. 1 - Dallas   27. 2 - 60 Minutes   28. 3 - Dynasty   29. Debuts: The A-Team / Webster   30. Black Snapshots   31. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female: Chaka Khan – Chaka Khan   32. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male: "Billie Jean" – Michael Jackson   33. Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: "Ain't Nobody" – Chaka Khan & Rufus   34. Best R&B Instrumental Performance: "Rockit" – Herbie Hancock   35. Best Rhythm & Blues Song: "Billie Jean" – Michael Jackson   36. Best Comedy Recording: "Eddie Murphy", Comedian – Eddie Murphy (Also shows up in TV)   37. Apr - Harold Lee Washington became the first African American Mayor of Chicago.   38. Aug - STS-8: Space Shuttle Challenger carries Guion S. Bluford (Col, USAF, Ret.), the first African American astronaut, into space.   39. Nov - Reagan signed a bill, proposed by Representative Katie Hall of Indiana (a black woman), to create a federal holiday honoring MLK Jr. Although the federal holiday honoring King was signed into law in 1983 and took effect three years later, not every U.S. state chose to observe the holiday at the state level until 1991.   40. Nov - Jessie Jackson announced his campaign for President of the United States in the 1984 election, becoming the second African American (after Shirley Chisholm) to mount a nationwide campaign for president.   41. Sept - Vanesa Williams becomes the first African American recipient of the Miss America title.   42. Misc.: The Color Purple wins the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.   43. The Women of Brewster Place is the debut novel of American author Gloria Naylor. It won the 1983 National Book Award for "First Novel".   44. “Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?”, Maya Angelou's fourth volume of poetry, is published.   45. Nikki Giovanni publishes her 9th poetry collection, "Those Who Ride The Night Winds". Included are poems about John Lennon, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy, as well as friends, lovers, mothers, and the poet herself.   46. Economic Snapshots   47. New House: 82k   48. Avg Income: 21k   49. New Car: 9k   50. Avg. Rent: 350   51. Tuition to Harvard: 8K   52. Movie Ticket: 2.50   53. Gas: 1.20   54. Stamp: 20c     55. Social Scene: The Cold War Becomes A Real Thing for Gen X.   56. Brief Overview - [http://www.american-historama.org/1945-1989-cold-war-era/strategic-defense-initiative.htm]   57. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), also known as Star Wars because it promoted ideas such as lasers and computer-guided projectiles, was the US response to possible nuclear attacks and it was introduced on March 23, 1983 during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.   58. The objective of the SDI program was to develop an advanced anti-ballistic missile system to enable the United States to prevent missile attacks from the USSR and other countries during the Cold War.   59. The idea was to set up many space satellites that would detect the launch, and then shoot down, any enemy missiles.   60. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was cancelled in 1993 and replaced with the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) renamed the Missile Defense Agency in 2002.   61. 10 SDI Highlights   62. #1: Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) was the military strategy adopted during the Cold War Arms Race. It assumed that both the USSR and the US would refrain from launching nuclear weapons, knowing that the other country would retaliate and cause the complete nuclear annihilation of both the attacker and the defender.   63. #2: The Strategic "Defense" Initiative program focused on strategic defense and replaced the "Offensive" doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD).   64. #3: SDI became the subject of intense political controversy. A Washington Post article published the day after the speech, quoted Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy describing the proposal as "reckless Star Wars schemes."   65. #4: Critics in the media used that term frequently (despite Reagan's request that they use the program's official name), implying it was an impractical science fiction. This did much damage the program's credibility.   66. #5: Many critics believed that it would extend the arms race into space and cause the USSR to expand its own offensive nuclear weapons.   67. #6: SDI began extremely expensive research projects costing billions of dollars every year. The research projects included space-based laser weapons, spy satellites and space-based interceptors.   68. #7: In response to the US research projects, the Soviets began work on developing their own version of Strategic Defense Initiative.   69. #8: The efforts by the Soviet Union to match the expenditure of the U.S. in the Cold War Arms Race contributed greatly to nation's economic problems.   70. #9: Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev realized that the USSR could not afford the Cold War Arms Race or match the massive expenditure involved in the US Strategic Defense Initiative. In 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev fell from power and the Soviet Union was dissolved.   71. #10: The SDI had itself become an economic weapon and was instrumental in causing the downfall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.    72. Audio Clip:   73. Question: Do you think the threat of Nuclear War has grown or shrunk during your lifetime?   74. Music Scene   75. Top R&B Singles (from Billboard's Year-End Top 40 Pop Songs)   76. #2 - "Billie Jean", Michael Jackson   77. #3 - "Flashdance... What a Feeling", Irene Cara   78. #5 - "Beat It", Michael Jackson   79. #7 - "Maneater", Hall & Oates   80. #8 - "Baby, Come to Me", Patti Austin and James Ingram   81. #15 - "She Works Hard for the Money", Donna Summer   82. #25 - "Little Red Corvette"    Prince   83. #29 - "You"    Lionel Richie   84. #32 - "Sexual Healing"    Marvin Gaye   85. #29 - “One on One"    Hall & Oates   86. #41 - "1999"    Prince   87. Other Notable 1983 R&B Singles   88. Apr - "Atomic Dog", George Clinton   89. May - "Candy Girl", New Edition   90. May - "Save the Overtime (For Me)", Gladys Knight and the Pips   91. Jun - "Juicy Fruit", Mtume   92. Oct - "Ain't Nobody", Rufus & Chaka Khan   93. Oct - "All Night Long (All Night)", Lionel Richie   94. Dec - "Time Will Reveal", DeBarge   95. Vote   96. Top R&B Albums (from Billboard's number-one R&B albums)   97. Jan - Midnight Love, Marvin Gaye   98. Jan - Thriller, Michael Jackson   99. Jul - Between the Sheets, The Isley Brothers   100. Jul - Thriller, Michael Jackson   101. Sep - Cold Blooded, Rick James   102. Nov - Can't Slow Down, Lionel Richie   103. Vote   104. Key Artist #1: Run - DMC   105. Run (Joseph Simmons) @ 19 yrs old / DMC (Darryl McDaniels) @ 19 yrs old / Jam Master Jay (Jason Mizell) @ 18 yrs old   106. The trio grew up in Hollis, Queens, a moderately stable African American community in New York. / DMC was born to a teenage mother and was adopted three months later.   107. Run and DMC were childhood friends   108. 1978: JMJ discovers the turntable at age 13. By age 14 he is spinning for live crowds at block parties.   109. 1980: The trio met via the emerging hip-hop scene at Hollis' "Two-Fifths Park". Simmons and McDaniels rapped in front of Mizell at the park, and the three became friends.    110. 1981: Fortunately for them, Run’s older brother, Russell Simmons, had his foot in the music business, as the manager for rappers Kurtis Blow and Whodini. Russell made Run Kurtis Blow's DJ and helped him record the single “Street Kid,” but it went nowhere. Later that year, the friends decide to become a crew.   111. 1982: Russell agreed to help the new group record a single and get a record deal, but on one condition –McDaniels change his stage name, from “Easy D” to “D.M.C.”   112. 1983: Run DMC hit the scene with their debut 12-inch single for “It’s Like That,” with “Sucker MCs” as the B-side. The out-of-the-box success of these two songs was the beginning of a new era for hip-hop.   113. Run-D.M.C. exploded out of Hollis, changing popular culture in general. Not only was their sound different, so was their dress. Earlier rap stars fashioned their looks after the spangled superhero costumes of 1970s funk acts like Parliament-Funkadelic and Rick James, Run-DMC appeared in their signature bowler hats, black leather jackets, unlaced Adidas athletic shoes, and black denim pants, establishing the more casual look of hip urban youth.   114. They were the first rappers to have a gold album - Run-D.M.C. (1984). The first rap act to appear on MTV, becoming popular with the cable channel’s largely white audience with their fusion of hip-hop and guitar solos on hits such as “Rock Box” (1984) and a 1986 remake of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way”.   115. Although the group never officially disbanded, their recording and performing activities decreased significantly in the 1990s and in 2002 Jam Master Jay was fatally shot at a recording studio in Jamaica, Queens.   116. Run-DMC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009 and received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 2016.   117. Meanwhile, up the coast near Boston… In 1978, Robert Barisford Brown (@ 9 yrs old), Michael Lamont Bivins (@ 10 yrs old), and Ricardo "Ricky" Bell (@ 11 yrs old) started a vocal group.   118. Ricardo’s friend Ralph Edward Tresvant (@10 yrs old), and the nephew of the group’s manager and choreographer, Ronald Boyd DeVoe Jr. (@11 yrs old) soon joined.   119. Key Artists #2: New Edition   120. For a complete history go watch "The New Edition Story" on BET    121. But the short story is this...They all lived in the Orchard Park Projects in Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, and where heavily influenced by Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5.    122. They scored its big break in 1981, when they finished 2nd in a local talent show. They impressed the singer/producer Maurice Starr, and he brought the group to his studio the following day and started recording their debut album, Candy Girl.   123. Audio Clip   124. Question: These two groups are primarily responsible for hip-hop crossing over to rock and R&B, and therefore a wider and whiter audience. Has that been a good thing?    125. Movie Scene   126. Bill Cosby: Himself 127. After I Spy and before The Cosby Show, Bill Cosby left his own inimitable mark on the arena of stand-up comedy in this live concert showcasing his down-to-earth observations on the rigors and joys of family life. Cosby, using only a microphone and a chair, discusses his take on raising kids and the illogical nature of children and the futility of trying to argue with a child that in the end may be smarter than you. Notable highlights include Cosby's ruminations on the meaning of the all-purpose phrase "I don't know" to kids, and Cosby describing the effect raising children has on his wife Camille's mental state and the pitch of her voice. Containing the basis for the humor of his long-running situation comedy, Bill Cosby: Himself is a polished, occasionally insightful, and frequently hilarious night of comedy from one of the longtime masters of the form. --Robert Lane: https://www.quotes.net/movies/bill_cosby%3A_himself_1089   128. Born poor, the son of a sailor and a maid, he excelled at school, in both sport and academic study, becoming class president and winning a university scholarship while doing part-time jobs to help support his family. Giving all that up, he instantly became successful as a comedian, going on to be the first African American to star in a network TV series (I Spy), as well as the first to win an acting Emmy (three of them, plus one for variety shows and nine Grammies). By the time this performance was recorded, he had completed a doctorate in education, and was about to launch The Cosby Show, the decade's biggest sitcom, which would make him the best-paid entertainer in the world for two years running (1986 and 1987). He also sings and can play jazz guitar and drums. At 75, he's still extremely funny. - https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/jul/19/comedy-gold-bill-cosby-himself   129. Television Scene 130. Delirious (1983) is an American stand-up comedy television special directed by Bruce Gowers, written by and starring Eddie Murphy. The comedy became a TV Special for HBO released August 30, 1983.Eddie Murphy in stand-up before all the prosthetic flesh happened. For a generation of naughty schoolboys, this was the video to have; no parent-free gathering or playground conversation was complete without repeating some of Eddie’s profanity-strewn, impression-laden genius. The homophobic opening gambit and an alarmingly ignorant bit on AIDS are jaw-dropping, but there’s no denying Murphy’s supreme on-stage talent — when he’s on more timeless material (ice cream, cookouts, shoe-throwing mothers), few in the world were ever as funny as this. It’s easy to forget how funny Murphy's stand-up really was. Despite being a little dated in subject, this still slays. - https://www.empireonline.com/movies/eddie-murphy-delirious/review/   131. “The most homophobic standup routine I’ve ever seen,” says another. “Can’t believe all the messed-up things he says about AIDS, including saying how you’ll catch AIDS from your girlfriend if she kisses her gay friend. 80s hateful prejudice in full force.”   132. Murphy apologized for the routine back in 1996, saying, “I deeply regret any pain all this has caused. Just like the rest of the world, I am more educated about AIDS in 1996 than I was in 1981. ”I know how serious an issue AIDS is the world over. I know that AIDS isn’t funny. It’s 1996 and I’m a lot smarter about AIDS now. I am not homophobic, and I am not anti-gay. My wife and I have donated both time and money to AIDS research. I’ve had people close to me die from the disease as well. I don’t know a person who hasn’t been touched in some way by this disease. Everybody knows somebody who is sick. Black people have been hit harder by this disease than any other group of people on the planet.” - https://www.queerty.com/eddie-murphys-homophobic-comedy-special-delirious-now-streaming-netflix-20161229 133. Question: Does he get a pass?   134. The A-Team   135. Four Vietnam vets, framed for a crime they didn't commit, help the innocent while on the run from the military. It’s THE A-TEAM 136. Led by master of disguise, Lieutenant Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith played by the gruff but loveable George Peppard, this group of falsely convicted commandos now work as fugitive mercenaries. Dirk Benedict is the team’s master manipulator and con man, Templeton “Face” Peck. Dwight Schultz plays the certifiable master aviator, Captain H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock. And you can’t spell The A-Team without Mr. T as master mechanic, Mohawked muscle man, and van driver (with a serious fear of flying), Bosco “B.A.” (“Bad Attitude”) Baracus. But enough jibba jabba. Tune in and watch the plan come together, fool!   137. The show ran for five seasons, with several minor cast changes along the way; the show's eventual decline was attributed to the constantly recycled and extremely formulaic plot. Attempts to win viewers back, by both changing the overall premise and having the A-Team overseen by a former antagonist, worked for only a short while.   138. Logic and credibility were usually ignored for the series' trademark over-the-top explosions, but the show never took itself particularly seriously, anyway: most of Hannibal's disguises were paper-thin, the villains were usually mostly-inept and somewhat one-dimensional, and the weapons that the Team cobbled together from miscellaneous parts were invariably more effective than the machine guns that the episode's villains used. 139. A big-screen version was released in June 2010, with Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley and Quinton Jackson as the team. The trailer can be seen on YouTube. Tropes go to the respective page.   140. Question: Does anybody care?   141. Webster   142. The post-retirement season is suddenly disrupted for football player George Papadapolis and his wife Katherine when Webster, the orphaned son of a former teammate, moves in. Laughter, and life lessons, in every episode. Webster was ABC's answer to the long-running NBC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes ... especially with its showcase star and even down to the basic concept (a young African American child being adopted by a white family).   143. The showcase star on Webster was Emmanuel Lewis, who played the title character. At 4-foot-3, the 12-year-old Lewis easily passed for 6 or 7 (the character's age at the start of the series in 1983), which was Webster's age when he was adopted by    144. Clark's production company. After the third season ended, Emmanuel Lewis Entertainment Enterprises, Inc. was established and became a third production company. This was actually part of an agreement between Karras and Clark, Paramount, and ABC, in which Emmanuel Lewis would get production credit alongside them for ABC to stop making the story lines be "all Webster, all the time. “The series ran from 1983-1987 on ABC before spending its final two first-run years in syndication. By the time the final first-run episode aired in 1989, Webster was 12 years old and getting ready to enter junior high school; in real life, Lewis had just turned 18.   145. Question: Why didn’t we riot in the streets?   146. Final Vote: Favorite pop culture event/item for 1983?  

On today’s show, host Shawn Murray speaks with Tim Montgomery, a cyber security engineer at Jacob’s Engineering at Schriever Air Force Base. He is assigned as the Missile Defense Agency as an ISSO Information Systems Security Officer. Tim talks about his background in cybersecurity and his interest in the field. He speaks about the team effort it takes for a group of business professionals to make a good collaborative team of cyber professionals. He stresses how his job entails explaining how security can imply to a system more securely through the means of technology. Join us as he also breaks down what it to be successful while working in the cybersecurity industry for the Federal Government. Visit our sponsors: Cyber Resilience Institute Internet Broadcasting Network BlockFrame Inc. SecureSet Academy Murray Security Services

GUEST BIO: My guest on today’s show is currently a VP and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research. He is a recognized industry expert on a variety of topics including digital transformation, social collaboration and online business models.  And in 2015 he was identified as one of the top 20 people most mentioned by IT leaders.   EPISODE DESCRIPTION: Dion Hinchliffe is Phil’s guest on today’s show. He is an internationally recognized thought leader, enterprise architect and IT specialist. Dion is also a keynote speaker and the co-author of the best-selling books, Web 2.0 Architectures and Social Business by Design. He is currently a VP and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research. KEY TAKEAWAYS: (1.07) – Please tell us about the things you have been up to, particularly recently. Dion explains that he has always worked on large IT projects. For example, he worked as a lead architect for the Missile Defense Agency on their advance battle manager program. At the time, it was one of the biggest IT projects in the world. As a young man, he was chief architect for Rowe Price. Dion recommends that everyone try to work on a government IT project. He explains that dealing with the red tape, bureaucracy, long lists or requirements and politics really hones your skills. It is challenging, but by the end of it you are far better able to realize change and lead. More recently, Dion has been working with the CIO audience. His main focus is on helping them to apply technology strategically to modernize and transform their businesses. He develops digital strategies, ensures they work and guides firms through the implementation of them. Dion speaks and writes extensively about this and runs CIO workshops. Importantly, he follows up with the people who are implementing his strategies to see how things went. Using their feedback he is able to understand how well each strategy works and tweak them if necessary. (4.21) – Please tell us more about your speaking, blogging and writing. Dion explains that he sees himself as a storyteller who is working to fill a gap in the industry. He likes to go into detail and share in a way that ensures people can actually take action with what they learn from him. These days, people in the industry are more willing to share what they are doing. But, in a way, they are still quite secretive. Their case studies tend to be high level. People end up hydroplaning over the top of subjects they don’t really explain how they got something hard done. So, Dion has tried to break that habit. He writes long-form, detailed pieces that include diagrams to help people to fully understand what he is sharing. (5.29) presumably you get great feedback from doing that. Dion says that is the case. People especially appreciate his use of diagrams. It is something few people do. But, Dion discovered early on that the best way to sell an idea, especially an expensive one, is to use a visual. Somehow showing them a picture makes it real for them. (6.46) – Can you please share a unique career tip with the I.T. career audience? In IT your bedside manner really matters. You need to be able to put yourself in your customer’s shoes and communicate with them in a way that improves their understanding. It is important to remember that this is probably the first time they have been through a technology roll-out. Or, if they have done it before, it was a long time ago. So, the whole thing is completely new and alien to them. They are relying on you to show them the way. It is up to you to help them to understand the process, manage their expectations and make them feel comfortable. Looking at the situation through their eyes will really help you to do this effectively. You will be able to help them to see how their department will run once the technology is in place. When you become more empathetic your relationship with your customers improves drastically. They find it easier to trust you. So, it is far easier for you to convince them of the direction they should take. (8.42) - Is there anything in particular that you do to enable yourself to be in their shoes, as it were? Dion tries to think about the experiences they have gone through with IT departments. Doing this gives him an insight into what the customer is expecting. (9.15) – Can you tell us about your worst career moment? And what you learned from that experience. Dion used to run a boutique consulting firm. They specialized in performance optimization. Often, that means turning failed IT projects around. The first time they let one of their senior people to start an engagement. Unfortunately, the client called them and said they did not think things were going to work out. They did not feel they were a good fit. So, Dion had to let that person go. Basically, because they were no longer a good fit, which meant there was no work for them. It was very difficult for Dion to do this. (11.01) – What was your best career moment? While working on a large government project, Dion and his colleagues came up with a way to apply Agile working principles to a large distributed team. They found a way to do the stand-ups, the user stories and put together fast feedback loops. A way to ship code every week and show customers what they were doing despite the team being huge, fragmented and distributed. Getting there was tough. They had a lot of hard knocks. But, eventually, they were able to greatly speed up the pace at which the project moved forward. They still moved slower than most other agile teams, but it was a massive improvement on what had been happening before. Today, this way of working is common, but it was not back then, so successfully leading the way was exciting and a great achievement. (13.04) – Can you tell us what excites you about the future of the IT industry and careers? The fact that technology budgets are growing is exciting. It will enable companies to move forward at a much faster rate. This extra cash is opening up all sorts of possibilities for exciting, life-changing projects. So, working in IT is certainly not going to be boring. There is no longer any need for IT professionals to spend their life working as drones, in some back office. Unless, of course, that is what they want to do. Today, the IT team is likely to be involved in every aspect of the business. To touch every department and be an important and integral part of every team. If you are a cross-disciplinary technology specialist, now is a very exciting time to be working.    (14.21) - So why do you think that change from a predominantly maintenance function into more of a change delivery function has taken place? This is mainly because the statistics show that those firms that do not digitize will simply disappear. Firms have no choice but to change and they need IT professionals who can deliver that change. (15.04) – What drew you to a career in IT? As an 11-year-old Dion realized that with a computer you can create your own world with its own rules. He found that exciting, so just kept on learning and ended up following his passion and working in IT. (15.39) – What is the best career advice you have ever received? That advice to try new things and push yourself out of your comfort zone is the best advice Dion was given. We all have a tendency to gravitate towards the technologies and platforms that we know. Those times when you try something that is completely unrelated are when you learn the most. It also really broadens your worldview. So, deliberately go out there and try something different. Getting into this habit has turned Dion into a novelty seeker and fueled a lot of his writing. (16.57) - Conversely, what is the worst career advice you've ever received? That advice came from his father. He had been around in the 50s. At that time, there ended up being a glut of engineers and was worried that the same thing would happen with tech professionals. As a result, he questioned whether it was wise for Dion to work in the industry. Fortunately, Dion did not see things in the same way as his father. He felt that the possibilities for tech were endless, which meant there would always be work for IT professionals. So far, he has turned out to be right. The tech industry has negative unemployment and will have for the foreseeable future. (17.41) – If you were to begin your IT career again, right now, what would you do? Dion says that he would probably learn more about business. He focused too much on the technology and not enough on how it would be used. If he had done so at an earlier stage, he feels his career would have progressed even faster. (18/17) – What career objectives are you currently focusing on? Dion says that he wants to write more. It is a hard task and finding the time to write can be difficult, but it is really rewarding. His aim is to publish three or four more notable books. Books that really unpack everything that he has learned in his career to date. One of them will definitely be about digital transformation. (18.54) – What’s the number one non-technical skill that has helped you the most in your IT career? For Dion that has almost certainly been his people skills. Most IT folks are not great with people, but the direction Dion’s career took forced him to develop good people skills. These days, being able to talk to customers is essential for most IT-related jobs. (19.50) - What do you do to keep your own IT career energized? Being excited about new things creates momentum. It keeps you moving forward. (20.51) - What do you do in your spare time away from technology? Dion has 4-year-old twins, who keep him busy. He really enjoys spending time with them. When they are older, he is hoping to get back into rock climbing.  (21.32) – Phil asks Dion to share a final piece of career advice with the audience. In the past, people learned a technology and kept much of that knowledge to themselves. They set themselves up as the gatekeeper of that technology, so people would have to come to them for information. It was a way of creating and holding onto power. Today, setting your information free and sharing what you know is the way forward. When you do that, you get your knowledge working for you 24 hours a day. Even more people realize that you are the go-to person for that technology. They are able to understand how it works and how they can use it. That means that even more people look to you for understanding. Importantly, over time, others absorb your knowledge, explore the tech and become experts. They start to share the load. Sharing your knowledge gets you known and shows you in a favorable light. BEST MOMENTS: (2.05) DION – "I recommend anyone go through some government IT projects. You will learn so much." (4.20) DION – "Speed is really the biggest issue that IT departments and technical teams are having to cope with, right now." (7.03) DION – "It's absolutely critical to be able to put yourself in your customer's place." (13.03) DION – "People going into IT today are not going to be stuck as drones in the back office. Unless they want to be." (21.37) DION – "Learn to set your knowledge free and benefit from doing so." CONTACT DION: Twitter: https://twitter.com/dhinchcliffe   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhinchcliffe   Website: https://dionhinchcliffe.com

This Sunday we're going to focus on the things of nightmares; Anti-Ship Cruise Missiles and Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles with fellow paleo-milblogger SteelJawScribe.In a wide ranging discussion, for the hour we'll cover ASCM history, Cold War tales, and what present day Russia and Crimea are bringing to the game. SJS is a retired Navy Captain with multiple operational tours, including command of the VAW-122 Steeljaws, flying the E-2C Hawkeye as a Naval Flight Officer. With over 3500 hrs in type and 525 carrier arrested landings he was a designated Mission Commander, NATOPS and PMCF check flight NFO, a NATOPS qualified NFO copilot and the first CVW strike lead from the VAW community. He also was navigator on the USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69).Shore tours included time at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA where he earned a Masters (with honours)in National Security Studies (Russia) and multiple joint penance tours working operational/technical intelligence, collection management and strategy/policy. Following retirement he worked in industry, first in BMD supporting the Missile Defense Agency and then helping establish the Navy Air and Missile Defense Command in Dahlgren VA. As the Navy’s premiere center for all things associated with ballistic and fleet air defense, NAMDC became the IAMD division (Dahlgren) of the Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC) in 2015, where SJS works today after transitioning to govt work.An honours graduate of the Naval War College, SJS also teaches 2of 3 JPME-1 courses as a Fleet Seminar Program professor and is a published author. Together with his wife Sharon and their fearless dachshund, Jake, they live in Chancellorsville, VA

In this episode, Grey Jabesi interviews Mance Harmon .Mance is an experienced technology executive and entrepreneur with more than 20 years of strategic leadership experience in multi-national corporations, government agencies, and high-tech startups, and is Co-Founder and CEO of Hedera Hashgraph. His prior experience includes serving as the Head of Architecture and Labs at Ping Identity, Founder / CEO of two tech startups, the senior executive for product security , Program Manager for a very-large scale software program for the Missile Defense Agency, the Course Director for Cybersecurity at US Air Force Academy, and research scientist in Machine Learning at Wright Laboratory. Mance received a MS in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts, and a BS in Computer Science from Mississippi State University. Mance and his partner, Leemon Baird (who invented hashgraph), have been in the technology/security/privacy space for decades. Their latest venture, Hedera Hashgraph, is a platform that provides a new form of distributed consensus. It’s kind of like blockchain on steroids, except that it’s not a chain; it’s a graph. Also, it’s not open source; it’s patented. Their aim was to take all that is good about blockchain and create an enterprise-level platform that is faster, stable, and more secure. In today’s episode you’ll learn: · About Mance and Leemon’s technical and entrepreneurial background · Why Leemon invented hashgraph · How hashgraph differs from blockchain · Why Mance and Leemon patented Hedera Hashgraph · The types of applications for which hashgraph can be used · About Hedera Hashgraph’s immediate and anticipated plans (including a cryptocurrency) links; https://www.crunchbase.com/person/mance-harmon https://www.linkedin.com/in/manceharmon/

Last year some spectacular footage showed a successful interception and destruction of a missile aimed at the United States. It was a test, and the Missile Defense Agency showed what was possible. But the larger program is more of a mixed bag that includes failed and canceled tests. Cristina Chaplain, director of contracting and national security issues at the Government Accountability Office, had more information on Federal Drive with Tom Temin.

We speak with Dr. Ches Thurber, Associate Professor of Political Science (International Relations) at Northern Illinois University. We ask for his insight on the latest developments in the Korean peninsula and the Iran Nuclear Deal. In the second half, we talk about US foreign policy, as well as relations between two nuclear powers: India and Pakistan. Guest: Dr. Ches Thurber Host: Tariq I. El-Amin Producer/Engineer: Ibrahim Baig Music: Lessazo - Moussa - http://bit.ly/2wHdV6z Manuele Atzeni - La Nuit - http://bit.ly/2sUDn71 Image: U.S. Missile Defense Agency - https://flic.kr/p/o89QWB

Dr. Thomas W. Campbell: “Der Schlüssel ist: Liebe!” Der Hauptredner der Stuttgarter  OneWorldFamily Days, am 13.09.2013 war Dr.Thomas W. Campbell, der am 9. Dezember 1944 geborene, amerikanische Atomphysiker. Er arbeitete für die NASA in verschiedenen Forschungsprojekten, die von ihm unter anderem wissen wollte, was passiert, wenn eine Trägerrakete mit einem Vogel kollidiert. Der Wissenschaftler hat eine sehr lange Erfahrung mit der Simulationen großer Systeme, mit Risikoanalysen und der Entwicklung neuer Technologien und deren Integration - hauptsächlich im Zusammenhang mit dem US Raketenabwehrsystem, wo er mit der Space Missile Defense Command, der Missile Defense Agency und eben auch der NASA zusammenarbeitete. Campbell führt eigentlich ein „Doppelleben“, mal ist er Experimentalphysiker, mal ist er Bewusstseinsforscher. Nach dem Abschluss seines Studiums Anfang der 70er Jahre startet er zusammen mit Bob Monroe Versuche zur Erforschung des menschlichen Bewusstseins. Campbell baut mit Bob Monroe und anderen zusammen ein Labor auf, in dem sie selber verschiedene Techniken anwenden und so Erfahrungen in diversen Bewusstseinszuständen erforschen. Ihre Experimente im Bereich der Bewusstseinsforschung und außerkörperlichen Erfahrungen prägen ihn seitdem. Dr. Thomas W. Campbell beschäftigt sich fortan mit der Erforschung von Bewusstsein und der Entstehung und Mechanik von Realität. Er wendet seine wissenschaftliche Erfahrung als Physiker auf seine Erlebnisse an, berücksichtigt die neuesten Sichtweisen der Physik und entwickelt im Lauf der folgenden 30 Jahre seine "My Big Theory of Everything“ (Theorie von Allem), die sowohl Physik als auch Metaphysik zusammenführt. Basierend auf der durch seine Experimente gewonnenen Erkenntnis, dass Bewusstsein fundamental für unser Realitätskonstrukt ist, kann Campbell sowohl "unerklärliche" Phänomene der Quantenmechanik erklären als auch Antworten auf viele philosophische Fragestellungen liefern. In zahlreichen Vorträgen verweist er immer wieder auf die unterschiedlichen Aspekte seines Realitätsmodells hin und bietet dem Zuschauer dadurch eine alternative Sichtweise zum vorherrschenden Materialismus, die aber trotzdem auf einer wissenschaftlichen Grundlage basiert. In dieser Folge des Paradies-Podcast hörst du seine Hauptrede beim Symposium mit dem Titel: „Die Verbindung von Wissenschaft, Geist, Bewusstsein und unserem alltäglichen Leben“ Höre! Gute Inspiration wünscht dir Katalin Fáy Moderatorin und Herausgeberin des Paradies-Podcast für ein Leben in Fülle, Freude und Faszination für alle Lade herunter, nimm mit, höre, teile mit deinen Freunden!   #1 in "Business News" - 15 Tage nach Launch (international PodOmatic Ranking) Zuhörer weltweit in 52 Länder. 100% Love 100% Life 100% Peace P.S.:   weitere Informationen zur Veranstaltung findest du unter http://www.oneworldfamily.eu P.P.S: sei gespannt auf die nächste Folge mit persönlichem Interview mit Dr.Thomas Campbell!