John Amble
Editorial Director Modern War Institute at West Point; former @WarOnTheRocks; Iraq/Afghan vet. Tweet mostly about war, and sometimes sports on weekends.
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Articles by John Amble
MWI Podcast: Forty Years of Goldwater-Nichols
Forty years ago this month, President Ronald Reagan signed the Goldwater-Nichols Act into law. The landmark legislation—along with the Nunn-Cohen Amendment and Packard Commission reforms—made a number of major changes to the way the US military operates. Any member of the US armed forces who has worn a uniform over the past four decades has served in an organization heavily defined by features introduced in October 1986.
MWI Podcast: Operation Vivaldi
In mid-September, the commander of Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps confirmed that his unit was in the midst of a major offensive in Donetsk Oblast: Operation Vivaldi. It was the first time the operation’s name was publicly acknowledged. But the operation had begun well before then—perhaps months earlier. And its foundations can be traced even farther back, as dynamics that began to take shape in 2024 would prove instrumental in enabling the operation.
MWI Book Club: Hadji Murat
A faraway counterinsurgency fight. Trying terrain. Elusive intelligence. Self-deceiving higher headquarters. And those caught in the middle of it all. These are the ingredients of what one venerable critic called the “greatest story ever told.” The novel is Hadji Murat, and its author is Leo Tolstoy. This is episode 4 of the MWI Book Club, a podcast based on the idea that a military that reads books is a military that wins wars.
MWI Book Club: The Forever War
Welcome to the MWI Book Club, a podcast based on the idea that a military that reads books is a military that wins wars. Join cohosts John Amble and Theo Lipsky for the third episode as they read one of the most influential science fiction novels of all time: The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. The book’s plot follows a young man named William Mandela who is drafted into an interstellar war.
MWI Podcast: How Commanders Win Wars
In late 1776, George Washington was outnumbered more four to one by British forces and on the run from enemy pursuit. Comparatively disadvantaged by virtually every measure, he not only kept his combat power intact but turned the tides of the war. When Ulysses S. Grant took overall command of Union forces in 1864, he faced the same challenges that each of his predecessors had failed to overcome.
MWI Book Club: Defeat Into Victory
Welcome to the MWI Book Club, a new podcast dedicated to the proposition that a military that reads books is a military that wins wars. Join cohosts Theo Lipsky and John Amble for this second episode as they read one of the great war memoirs of all time: Defeat into Victory, by Field Marshal William Slim. In the early months of 1942, the Japanese Army dealt the Allies a humiliating defeat in Burma. Amid a hasty British retreat north toward India, William Slim arrived to take command.
MWI Podcast: NATO’s Ankara Summit
This week, the leaders of NATO’s thirty-two member states gathered for the alliance’s 2026 summit in Turkey. Over two days of private meetings and public remarks, the states discussed a range of issues and challenges facing the alliance—from the threat posed by Russia to the pressing need for European states to shoulder more of the burden of defending Europe. But how much can observers learn from the summit?
The Caine Mutiny
Though The Caine Mutiny is celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary, we were struck by just how fresh and powerful the novel remains
MWI Book Club: The Caine Mutiny
Welcome to the MWI Book Club, a new podcast dedicated to the proposition that a military that reads books is a military that wins wars. The idea is not a new one. As long as war has been waged, great soldiers, from Napoleon to William Tecumseh Sherman to George S. Patton, have readied themselves for battle by hitting the books. And though technologies may change, the imperative to study the profession through close reading is evergreen.
MWI Podcast: Logistics, Landpower, and Large-Scale Combat
For years of expeditionary counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, US and coalition forces benefited from a logistics enterprise that was so effective that, for many, its operations seemed essentially automatic, something that happened in the background. Equipment, ammunition, fuel, spare parts, food and water—all was available when needed, if not at the most miniscule outposts, at least at forward operating bases spread across the battlespace.
War Books: The Marine Corps Commandant’s 2026 Reading List
Editor’s note: Welcome to another installment of our War Books series! Each installment typically presents a themed list of books by an expert contributor. This edition departs from that model and instead presents highlights from the 2026 professional reading list published by the commandant of the US Marine Corps.
Mobilization as Deterrence: The Strategic Case for a Big Lift 2.0
The war does not begin with American tanks crossing a European border or carrier strike groups racing toward the Taiwan Strait. It begins at home. Imagine a scenario: Russia invades Poland. Article V is invoked. Within hours, the United States announces that it will surge armored brigades, air defense, sustainment units, ammunition, and follow-on forces to Europe. The message is meant to reassure NATO and warn Moscow: America is coming.
MWI Podcast: The Future of the All-Volunteer Force
In 1973, the US military took an enormously consequential step by adopting an all-volunteer force model. That decision has produced the most professional, capable joint force in history. But there have also been real costs associated with it—from the large budgets required to maintain it to a shrinking recruitment base that has serious implications for civil-military relations. So what does the all-volunteer force’s future look like? That’s the question at the center of this episode.
MWI Podcast: Putin’s Intelligence Services
Shortly after taking power in Moscow, Vladimir Putin began consolidating his authority over the Russian intelligence services that had long been deeply embedded in Russian and Soviet politics and a pervasive influence in society. The degree to which he succeeded was striking, ultimately transforming them into organizational assets that remained effective at what they did but were entirely loyal to him. But how has Putin employed those intelligence services since taking power.
MWI Podcast: The Weapons Defining the Iran Conflict
Since the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel have struck a wide range of targets in Iran with air and missile strikes—targets associated with the country’s political and military leadership, its nuclear program, and both launch infrastructure and production facilities for its missile and drone programs. Iran’s response has included attacks against targets in neighboring states in the Middle East. Many of these have been US military and diplomatic facilities.
MWI Podcast: The Iran Conflict’s Strategic Dimension
What were the strategic calculations that drove the United States and Israel to launch a military operation aimed at a wide range of targets in Iran? And are the fundamental objectives of the two partners fully aligned? Inside Iran, as the regime’s resilience and the military’s capability are under more pressure than they have been in decades, how are institutions responding? What drove the decision to respond with drone and missile strikes throughout the region?
MWI Podcast: What to Make of the New National Defense Strategy
About a week ago, the Department of Defense released the 2026 National Defense Strategy. As with any new NDS, the document quickly came under scrutiny across the defense landscape. Defense experts observed, among other things, its overwhelming emphasis on homeland defense, the more détente-oriented approach it takes to China than previous strategies, an apparent reduction in support for allies, the document’s limited focus on emerging technologies, and its disregard of climate change.
MWI Podcast: Analyzing Operation Absolute Resolve
Soon after news broke that the United States had conducted an operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in Caracas and bring them to the United States to face drug trafficking charges, a wave of media coverage erupted. Much of the public discussion focused on the event’s geostrategic implications, questions of policy, and the political and legal context. But what if we examine the raid exclusively military operation.
Eight Military Takeaways from the Maduro Raid
Despite steadily heightening tensions, heated rhetoric, US strikes against alleged drug trafficking boats, and a buildup of U.S. forces near Venezuela, news of the successful mission to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro still surprised the world. Read Full Article » Show comments Hide Comments
War Books: The Marine Corps Commandant’s 2026 Reading List
War Books: The Marine Corps Commandant’s 2026 Reading List This week, the commandant of the Marine Corps, General Eric M. Smith, released a 2026 list of recommended books as part of the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program. Read Full Article »
MWI Podcast: Training, Education, and the Modern Battlefield
For the Army to prepare its leaders for the challenges of tomorrow’s wars, two elements are vital: training and education. Separate activities, the two are interlinked and both weigh heavily on the Army’s readiness. Units must be truly challenged in training environments that reflect the realities of today’s battlefield. And those units must be lead by leaders who have been in classrooms where they hone the critical thinking skills necessary to identify, navigate, and solve battlefield problems.
MWI Podcast: Europe’s Airspace Violations and the Counterdrone Challenge
Late on the night of September 9, twenty-one medium-sized, fixed-wing drones were detected entering Poland’s airspace. Polish and NATO aircraft were quickly scrambled, with several of the drones successfully shot down. Others crashed on their own, some deep inside Polish territory. About two weeks later, reports emerged of unidentified drones in the air around airports and military installations in Denmark—with sightings continuing over a number of nights.
MWI Podcast: The Military Technological Arms Race in Ukraine
A drone optimized for a new mission. A development of a new tactic to employ unmanned systems. An advance in electronic warfare. Since the war in Ukraine began, these incremental innovations have offered the side that produces them a window of advantage—until the other side responds with its own means of countering the innovation.
MWI Podcast: China’s Strategic Competition with the United States
The December 2017 release of a new US National Security Strategy was, in key ways, a watershed moment. The previous strategy, released in 2015, noted that “the scope of our cooperation with China is unprecedented.” By 2017, the tone had shifted markedly. It was perhaps the clearest starting point of the era of US-China strategic competition. In the years since, the two countries have positioned themselves in opposition to one another on a range of issues.
MWI Podcast: The Army and Tomorrow’s Technologies
The US Army is in a period of transformation. And unsurprisingly, a big part of that transformation centers on the way it fosters technological innovation and integrates new technologies—from artificial intelligence and robotics to drones and directed-energy weapons.
Podcast: The Spear – The Battle of Barawala Kalay - Modern War Institute
In 2010 Kevin Mott’s unit deployed to eastern Afghanistan’s Kunar province. An intense firefight in the first days of the deployment set the tone for what would prove to be months of hard fighting. At one point, he was even wounded so badly—shot in the head, four fractured vertebrae, a broken leg, a torn labrum—that he was sent back to the United States for medical care. Five months later, he had recovered enough that he was allowed to rejoin his unit in Afghanistan.
MWI Podcast: The US Military’s Critical Minerals Challenge
The US government established the National Defense Stockpile in 1939 to ensure that in the event of a major conflict, there would be enough raw materials on hand to continue production of vital equipment. Since the end of the Cold War, it has steadily shrunk, now just a tiny fraction of its peak size.
MWI Podcast: Bunker Busters and B-2s
In June, when the United States conducted Operation Midnight Hammer—a series of strikes against Iranian nuclear targets—it did so with two key pieces of exquisite hardware: the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a large bomb designed to penetrate hardened and deeply buried targets, and the B-2 Spirit strategic bomber. But how does the GBU-57 actually work? How is it designed? And what’s it like to fly this type of long-range bomber mission in a B-2?
Podcast: The Spear – A Marine Platoon in Anbar Province - Modern War Institute
In 2004, western Iraq’s Anbar Province was becoming increasingly restive. Within the US-led coalition forces in the country, the area was the responsibility of the US Marine Corps. Tim Strabbing was a Marine lieutenant and platoon commander at the time, and he arrived in Iraq as part of a Marine unit that would take over the area. His platoon was sent to an area just outside the city of Fallujah.
MWI Podcast: The US Defense Industrial Base, from Steel to Software
US military readiness rests on an array of critical components. Recruitment and retention of talent, a properly aligned force structure, cutting-edge training opportunities, a global network of allies and partners—all contribute to a US joint force ready for the challenges it will face in today’s global operational environment. But as history has shown, readiness also requires the ability to leverage the full potential of the US defense industrial base.
MWI Podcast: A Survey of Europe’s Defense and Security Landscape
When Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022, it galvanized both NATO and the European Union, doing more to unify much of Europe than any event in recent history. But how has political and strategic unity translated to improvements of collective European defense and deterrence? Amid uncertainty about continued US support for Ukraine, which European states are stepping into leadership roles?
Podcast: The Spear – Forward Air Controller in Ramadi - Modern War Institute
In 2006, a small US Army element left its base in Ramadi, Iraq on a movement-to-contact patrol. They were moving through an increasingly rural area when they began taking incoming fire. The soldiers maneuvered to covered positions, and then one specific member of the patrol’s job became especially important. David Berke was a Marine officer assigned to the Army unit as a forward air controller.
MWI Podcast: The Future Battlefield, from Europe to the Indo-Pacific
Disclaimer The articles and other content which appear on the Modern War Institute website are unofficial expressions of opinion. The views expressed are those of the authors, and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense. The Modern War Institute does not screen articles to fit a particular editorial agenda, nor endorse or advocate material that is published.
Blowing up Bridges in Vilnius: The Tactical Lit Review
You defend Vilnius by blowing the bridges. A few years ago, during a warfighter exercise, my battalion was tasked to delay Donovian forces assaulting through Vilnius into the Suwalki Gap. While poring over the maps, I paused to wonder: Has Vilnius been fought over before? A quick search on Google and Google Scholar turned up examples from 1655, 1812, and 1944—all pointing to the same solution: blow the bridges. We did. It worked. This is the power of what we might call a tactical literature review.
Podcast: The Spear – Surprise on the Kunar River - Modern War Institute
In this episode of The Spear, John Amble is joined by Maj. John A. Meyer. In 2007, he was a platoon leader in Afghanistan on his first deployment. On July 27, his entire squadron was undertaking a mission to secure the route along the Kunar River between Forward Operating Base Naray and Camp Keating. His platoon and a group of Afghan National Army soldiers were moving along the road next to the river when they came to a bridge.
Remembering General Charles Jacoby
I didn’t know General Charles Jacoby well. At least not as well as countless men and women in uniform who served with him over his decades-long Army career. My first real exposure to him was indirect. I was working as managing editor at War on the Rocks and we had the opportunity to publish something he wrote—a piece that marked his retirement and reflected on his service.
MWI Podcast: The Collapse of the Continuum of Conflict
Imagine a linear spectrum. On one extreme end is peace. On the other, total war. In between lies everything from political violence and low-intensity conflict, through large-scale combat operations, to strategic rivalry and nuclear saber-rattling. This is, effectively, the continuum of conflict, and it serves as a cognitive framework for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to understand the wide variety of ways in which conflict can take shape. But what if that continuum is collapsing?
Podcast: The Spear – Rescue Mission in Kunar - Modern War Institute
Disclaimer The articles and other content which appear on the Modern War Institute website are unofficial expressions of opinion. The views expressed are those of the authors, and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense. The Modern War Institute does not screen articles to fit a particular editorial agenda, nor endorse or advocate material that is published.
Podcast: The Spear – Chasing Ghosts in Kandahar - Modern War Institute
In 2012, Mike Kelvington was a company commander in 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, deployed in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. In the area his company was responsible for, much of the company’s activities were those typical of a counterinsurgency effort—taking part in key leader engagements, supporting security and governance, coordinating with the provincial reconstruction team, and working to build the capabilities of local police.
Podcast: The Spear – The MQ-9 Reaper in Combat - Modern War Institute
This episode represents a first for The Spear—a conversation with a pilot of the MQ-9, what the Air Force calls remotely piloted aircraft and is more widely known as the Reaper. John Amble is joined by Maj. Joe Ritter, who shares a story from October 2018. Uniquely, the story takes place both in south-central Afghanistan—where the aircraft was—and at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada—where Ritter and a sensor operator were flying it from.
MWI Podcast: DeepSeek and the US-China AI Race
On January 20, the Chinese company DeepSeek released a new AI large language model, called DeepSeek-R1. The company was only founded a little over a year earlier, and yet this model’s capability was largely similar to that of leading models produced by Western companies like OpenAI. Not surprisingly, these facts triggered a wave of public discussion in the United States about the pace of China’s AI development. What is the state of the US-China competition for superior artificial intelligence?
MWI Podcast: Why Security Force Assistance Only Sometimes Works
For much of America’s post-9/11 wars, the US military worked to build capable and effective security forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. This mission took on various guises. There were special operations forces conducting foreign internal defense, one of their core activities. In Iraq, there were military transition teams and national police transition teams. Conventional forces conducted patrols and missions with partner forces.
Podcast: The Spear – The A-10 At War - Modern War Institute
This episode of The Spear features a conversation with retired US Air Force Col. Kim Campbell. She spent her career as an A-10 pilot, flying an aircraft designed for specific missions: close air support for ground forces and combat search and rescue. In early 2003, her unit got a deployment order and prepared to head to Kuwait to participate in the early stages of the Iraq War.
Thanksgiving: A Holiday Forged in War
“To inspire our Commanders, both by Land and Sea, and all under them, with that Wisdom and Fortitude which may render them fit Instruments, under the Providence of Almighty God, to secure for these United States, the greatest of all human Blessings, Independence and Peace.” When the Second Continental Congress issued the Thanksgiving proclamation containing this passage in 1777, it did so in the name of a young nation still bitterly engaged in its fight for independence.
War and Thanksgiving - War On The Rocks
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Podcast: The Spear – A Fight Inside the Wire - Modern War Institute
Disclaimer The articles and other content which appear on the Modern War Institute website are unofficial expressions of opinion. The views expressed are those of the authors, and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense. The Modern War Institute does not screen articles to fit a particular editorial agenda, nor endorse or advocate material that is published.
MWI Podcast: Amateurs Talk, Professionals Write
In the Army, the extent of any individual’s direct influence is a function of his or her rank, job, and position in the hierarchy. But there is one way to expand that influence beyond those limitations: writing. Have a good idea on implementing new doctrine? Find a solution to a thorny problem? Want to share your unique perspective based on your personal operational experience? Put pen to paper (or fingertips to keyboard). Writing is often treated as a peripheral activity in the military.
MWI Podcast: Casualty Care in Tomorrow's Wars
During its post-9/11 counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US military achieved its lowest case fatality rate in history. An unprecedented number of casualties received life-saving treatment, and an extraordinary number of service members survived wounds that would have been fatal in any previous conflict.
MWI Podcast: The Maven Smart System and the Future of Military AI
From military practitioners to data scientists to scholars of war, there is a virtually unanimous expectation that artificial intelligence will influence the changing character of war in the future. But the precise ways in which it will do so and the specific operational roles AI technology will play are much less clear, especially as we look years and even decades into the future.
THAAD Attitude: What to Make of the Air Defense System’s Combat Deployment to Israel
In an unprecedented move, the Department of Defense announced over the holiday weekend that it would be deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery to Israel to assist in defending Israeli airspace against Iranian ballistic missiles. By the time you’re reading this, it’s almost certainly already operational. The deployment of US air defense systems to an allied country isn’t what’s unprecedented. It isn’t even the deployment to Israel, specifically.
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