One week after Quantico, not a hot takeāa reading list for SecDef Hegseth, offered in good faith: Gates (Duty), Reed (Tarnished), Moyn (Humane), Schake & Mattis (Warriors & Citizens), Bacevich, and Philippians 2:3ā8. Judgment > Lethality. #TempleOfLiberty https://t.co/C1OYCylaQB
At an Omaha graduation last month, six of roughly 650 students were listed as bound for military service.
Six young people saying yes.
The rest of us owe them more than applause and slogans. We owe them a country worth serving.
"The Six at Graduation" https://t.co/ku2DkjKwoe
The next DNI should understand intelligence as a profession: tradecraft, sourcing, dissent, warning, and truth-telling under pressure.
The Pulte appointment today points in the other direction.
Read: "The Intelligence Profession Has No Autopilot" https://t.co/Qmoec0wLbw
New essay today at Temple of Liberty.
āSupport the troopsā should mean more than applause after the order is given.
It should mean asking who authorized the war, what the objective is, and what would count as success.
Support them. Question the war. https://t.co/mytacRiDRR
New essay: a winter trip back to @FletcherSchool, a memorial for Richard Shultz, a final visit with Leo Carroll, and a few thoughts on what it means to keep telling their stories. https://t.co/rYSmbmsKOU
New on #TempleOfLiberty: Donāt burn the bridge between the military and Bostonās classrooms. Cutting off contact between officers and civilian universities is a peculiar way to build judgment and trust. Bostonās classrooms have been a national asset. https://t.co/5z9AUzsQuj
New on Temple of Liberty: "Letter from Hsinchu," a field report from Taiwanās Silicon Valley, and why it matters for China/Taiwan, export controls, and deterrence. https://t.co/8FAiL4saQS
Five years after Jan 6, three scenes: at the Pentagon, in Lafayette Square, and a crowded room where the oath was spoken plainly. This isnāt a call for anyone in uniform to āfreelance.ā Itās about restraint, and the civic culture that makes it possible. https://t.co/YOPaZBtpjA
Fort Meade canāt afford a learning curve at the top. New post on the Rudd nomination to lead @NSAGov + USCYBERCOM: competence, stewardship, and the @SASCGOP/@SASCDems/@TomCottonAR/@MarkWarner questions that actually matter.
https://t.co/7VoNs4IcXK
Congress is moving @NationalIntelU toward @NDU_EDU. The transfer may be inevitable; mission drift isnātāif campus access, research, and cross-IC participation are protected now.
New essay: āDonāt Adopt the Child and Sell the House.ā https://t.co/QuMvd6VTnR
From Yokosukaās century-old dry docks to the Constellation cancellation, itās hard to escape the sense that others are doing the hard industrial work we keep postponing.
The question isnāt for one retired admiral in a TSA line. Itās for the rest of us.
https://t.co/jiWPnEbqVI
New today on #TempleOfLiberty: "Letter from Yokosuka: The Ships We Donāt Build."
Japan is quietly turning out some of the worldās best frigates. The U.S. just canceled the one that was supposed to prove we still know how.
https://t.co/jiWPnEbqVI
New today on #TempleOfLiberty: my November Field Notes from Japan and Taiwan ā shipyards, libraries, air-raid shelters, and what they showed me about deterrence and democracy.
Field Notes, November 2025: Walking the Rim https://t.co/jg7QzVeIqR
New today: "Letter from Taipei: Building a Resilient Society."
A morning walk along the Keelung Riverāgrandparents walking kids to school, shelter signs on city streets, jets overheadāraises hard questions about demography, doubt, and deterrence.
https://t.co/kYQc5tDjps
First in a new series of leadership reflections from nearly 30 years in uniformāstarting not with a heroic moment but with the night I answered a platoon sergeantās question the āwrongā way. Honest followership is the apprenticeship to real leadership: https://t.co/CDhwdRm7Px
What didnāt fit in printāon the oldest-to-youngest slice, the oath, and why small rituals matter. Directorās Cut: āA Blueberry Muffin, a Candle, and 250 Years of the Marinesā https://t.co/EzUEvrRJug
In a republic, there are no kings. Here are the five tests Iāll use to judge leadersāleft or rightāand four habits any citizen can apply. A standard, not a jersey. #TempleOfLiberty https://t.co/scPrdn2adf
Studio Notes ā October is live: drafts in motion, what Iām reading, and whatās next for #TempleOfLiberty.
Free preview + credit unlock for the full post: https://t.co/Ex6RE9CuiP
1/ "Field Notes ā October, in Motion" is live.
Eight-domain reality vs. binary habitsāfrom @USNIProceedings (2ā8), chips/export controls, archives, @csisponi, and the @StimsonCenter FALLOUT book launch. š§µ https://t.co/sKCq9ajyCa