Berto Jongman: Udo Ulfkotte –Europe’s Most Courageous Journalist Who Exposed CIA Control Over European Media — Dies
Ethics, Media
The death is not so suspicious. It has been reported as a regular heart attack after he had survived several other heart attacks before and did not recover well from a case of malaria Tropicana.Over the years he moved in the direction of rightwing circles. His latest books were on silent islamization and the profitable refugee industry. He also issued a publication based on a German secret domestic intelligence report on no-go zones for the police in Germany
Norie Huddle: Surveillance State Repeal Act — a Non-Starter as Long as Most Members Work for the Military-Industrial Complex
Ethics, Government
Police State USA Finally Gains the Attention of Congress, Bipartisan Bill Will Kill PATRIOT Act
Aptly named the Surveillance State Repeal Act, the bill, if enacted, would be the single biggest legislative check against the unwarranted government overreach and draconian surveillance of Americans that has transpired subsequent the events of 9/11, while at the same time restoring our civil liberties.
The bill is looked at by congressional watchers as a non-starter, as there are far too many congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle in Congress that have strong interests in the Military/Intelligence Industrial Complex.
Don Vandergriff: The US Army’s Poor Leadership — How Did It Get So Bad?
Ethics, Military
How did the US Army’s leadership problem grow so bad?
Summary: The US spends $600 billion on the US military (narrowly defined; almost a trillion broadly), yet repeatedly fails to defeat our poorly trained and equipped foes. In this chapter of our series asking “why”, Don Vandergriff points to ways the Army selects and promotes officers (its problems are usually about people; seldom about hardware). Tomorrow he discusses solutions.
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Don Vandergriff: Next Steps for Military Personnel Reform
Ethics, MilitaryNext Steps for Military Personnel Reform
Mandy Smithberger, 19 September 2016
Ten years ago the Center for Defense Information published Raising the Bar: Creating and Nurturing Adaptability to Deal with the Changing Face of War. Written by Straus Military Reform Project Advisory Board Member Major Donald E. Vandergriff, USA (ret.), the book has been used in numerous courses, including in the Department of Military Instruction at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and remains a pivotal reform text. This spring Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s attempts to modernize the military, an initiative called “Force of the Future,” have been largely rejected. We interviewed Vandergriff for his thoughts on the next steps for military reform.
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Don Vandergriff: Personnel Reform and Military Effectiveness
Ethics, MilitaryThe following piece was first published in August 2015 by POGO’s Center for Defense Information.
Warfare is first and foremost a human endeavor. Wars are fought by people using their minds; weapons are only tools to implement people’s ideas. It is people, and the ideas they wield, that make the difference between a sharp, decisive victory like Desert Storm and a slow, deadly slog like World War I. Fostering the right ideas requires a culture of Mission Command. But in today’s military, harmful personnel practices preclude such a culture.
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Worth A Look: Don Vandergriff – The Path to Victory – America’s Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs
5 Star, Force Structure (Military), Leadership, Military & Pentagon Power
Revised and with a new foreword from leading reform advocate COL (ret) Douglas MacGregor, PhD, Don Vandergriff revisits his 2002 manifesto for the evolution of the U.S. Army.
From the foreword: “Few books in the history of the U.S. Army have made a more convincing argument for change than Don Vandergriff's Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs. It is therefore a great privilege to offer some thoughts on the re-release of this important work.
When Don's book appeared for the first time in 2002 it was not simply detailed account of the Army's personnel management system, its promotion policies and unit manning practices. It was also a critical examination of the Army as an institution and its extraordinary resistance to change in the way it identifies, develops and employs human talent.
