GODFATHERS, DIALOGUE, AND FUN: A NEW EDITOR’S THOUGHTS

I believe in WAR ROOM’s mission

Twice now, the editor-in-chief of WAR ROOM has come to me — like the Godfather —with offers I could not refuse.

In 2018, it was Andrew Hill who invited me to join the team as a senior editor.

More recently, it was Jackie Whitt who as she moves on to opportunities outside of the Army War College came to offer the proverbial scepter of the editor-in-chief (I assume it is proverbial; if there literally is a scepter then it is lost somewhere within the mail room – I should check into that).

Though I have a history of missed social cues, I am fairly confident that in neither instance was any violence threatened against me or my family’s pets. Even if there had been, I needed no inducement. Twice now I have leapt at the chance to be part of the WAR ROOM team for a few reasons.

First, I have long had the utmost respect for both Andrew and Jackie. In just a few years at the Army War College, Andrew brought it all – teaching, scholarship, and innovation – together with effortless style, wit, and even a hint of mystery. WAR ROOM is one of several programs he instituted that live on here. In Jackie’s case, she has been a good friend and valued colleague for nearly two decades. No one surpasses her deep personal commitment to providing a platform open to diverse perspectives on national security topics. When people of the caliber of Andrew and Jackie ask you for help, you gladly pitch in because they are leading the way with their own talent, energy, and dedication.

Second, WAR ROOM is far more than its editor-in-chief. Painfully aware of my own limitations in comparison to the Hill-Whitt duo, I might well have passed in favor of a more qualified substitute but for the talented team that they assembled. The team is a pleasure to work with and their talents virtually ensure success. I was not the only one to have a conversation with “the godfathers.”

Finally, I believe in WAR ROOM’s mission. We are a user- and creator-friendly place for smart discussions about all facets of national security. We make space for everyone from acknowledged experts and leaders in their respective fields to first-time authors and podcasters. Pardon the ‘corn,’ but I consider it a noble mission – one I am eager to serve once again.

Looking forward, I see four traits essential to the identity of WAR ROOM that must continue:

It is forum for exploring enduring topics related to national security. The easily overlooked adjective here is enduring. Obviously, there is a larger need for commentary that keeps up with the pace of current events, but there are other outlets for that kind of content. Instead, one of the cardinal editorial measures for WAR ROOM is whether an article or podcast will still be relevant in a year. This is not to say that we banish all references to the present. Far from it! But we ask authors to employ contemporary events to help illustrate some broader, enduring lesson or principle. A great example of this is a recent dialogue between two of our faculty, Colonel Leon Perkowski and Dr. Joel Hillison, who used the ongoing war in Ukraine to explore elements of our curriculum, such as international relations theory and the problems of victory and war termination.

It welcomes everyone to the dialogue. We deeply value the accomplished authors and leading national security professionals who publish with us, but our editorial staff also takes great pride in assisting other thinkers with good ideas – but with limited or no publishing experience — to join the conversation, too. It is also important to note that one does not have to be affiliated with the Army War College (or the U.S. military for that matter) to write for WAR ROOM.

It takes an expansive view of national security. As the online journal of the U.S. Army War College, our content will always feature military strategy, national policy, defense management, and strategic leadership. Those venerable topics, however, do not constitute the entirety of worthwhile topics. Some of our most-read articles address topics as diverse as whether the Army should exclude photos in promotion boards to mitigate implicit bias; how frequent changes of station affect military members’ quality-of-life, morale, and retention; and the role wargaming plays (pun intended) in professional military education. My favorite aspect of these examples is that they were all written (or in one case, co-written) by a single author, Major Paul Kearney.

It has fun without minimizing serious discussion. A sense of playfulness has long been a staple of WAR ROOM, even when dealing with serious issues. At times, our contributors have flipped that relationship by using what is essentially humorous to express a serious point. Two of many examples are Colonel Matt Morton’s use of a travel voucher from 1944 to illustrate the extent of what might be called military diplomacy – something too often overlooked – during World War II, and Dr. Craig Bullis’s riff on the phrase “life is too short for bad beer,” as the starting point for telling observations about America’s professional military culture. The building blocks of comedy – surprise and dissonance – are also useful tools for expanding our perspectives on familiar topics. Besides, fun is, well, fun.

Those four foundational traits leave WAR ROOM with plenty of room to grow. So, where do we go from here?

Naturally, I have some ideas. But one hard-learned lesson gained in a decade or two of service is to listen and be patient. At the end of each WAR ROOM podcast, Ron Granieri, asks you, our listeners, to let us know what you think, through e-mails or comments on the website. And thankfully, you often do. The editorial team always appreciates your feedback; but, there is something about a transition that makes it a particularly good time for such dialogue. So, please, send us your comments. Let us know what you find valuable, what could be better, and which new directions we should consider. We just passed our five-year anniversary, and with your support, we hope to be as enduring as our content. Thank you for making room in your busy lives for us here at WAR ROOM. We’re grateful!

J.P. Clark is a Colonel and an Army War College Professor (Functional Area 47W) in the Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations. He is the 3rd Editor-in-Chief of WAR ROOM. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in history from Duke University, an M.S.S. from the Army War College, and a B.S. in Russian-German from West Point. His book, Preparing for War: The Emergence of the Modern U.S. Army, 1815-1917, (Harvard, 2017) examines the influences that shape military adaptation and professionalism. His current project explores the development of U.S. military strategy in the Pacific from 1898 to 1941. Follow him on Twitter @JPClark97.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, the U.S. Army, or the Department of Defense.

Photo Description: General Buck Turgidson (played by George C. Scott) sitting in the War Room, in the 1964 Stanley Kubrick film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Photo Credit: Screen capture from Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1927 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice.