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SHIFTING MENTAL GEARS: PHILIP CAPUTO (ON WRITING)

Michael Neiberg is back with our On Writing series and this time he’s talking with Philip Caputo in the virtual studio. Phil, a Marine infantry lieutenant, is a combat veteran who served in Vietnam before becoming a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author. His first book, A Rumor of War, has sold over 2 million copies and was eventually adapted as a two-part TV movie in 1980. He has written memoirs, travel books, fiction, non-fiction and award-winning investigative journalism pieces and he discusses the shift of mental gears to accommodate each of the genres.

TRANSCRIPT: https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/wp-content/uploads/21-092-SHIFTING-MENTAL-GEARS-PHILIP-CAPUTO-ON-WRITING-Transcript.pdf

FIX JPME? LOOK TO THE CARLISLE SCHOLARS METHOD

“The evolving and dynamic security environment, which includes disruptive changes in the character and conduct of warfare, demands immediate changes to the identification, education, preparation, and development of our joint warfighters.”
That’s a direct quote from the May 2020 Joint Chiefs of Staff Vision and Guidance for Professional Military Education (PME) & Talent Management. PME institutions at all levels were directed to re-look how and what they taught. Before comin gto the Army War College Marc Sanborn thought he knew what that meant based on previous experience in the PME enterprise, and it wasn’t good. Sanborn, a graduate of the AY21 Resident Course and a member of the unique Carlisle Scholars Program (CSP), suggests that CSP is exactly the type of program that meets the intent of the Joint Staff’s vision. He explains that CSP can be implemented widely, despite critics, and provide the academic rigor and benefit to the DoD that creates incredibly capable joint warfighters of the future.

GENERAL HISTORY: H.R. McMASTER (ON WRITING)

A BETTER PEACE welcomes H.R. McMaster, retired Lieutenant General, former National Security Adviser, and accomplished author. On today’s episode he joins our own Michael Neiberg to discuss his writing process and research techniques as he wrote Dereliction of Duty and his newest book Battlegrounds. The conversation takes them on a tour of McMaster’s time at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he transitioned from operational armored cavalry officer to PhD candidate. They share stories of their times studying with some of the greatest minds and mentors in the field of history and how that served him throughout his career.

WHEN A GENERAL WRITES FOR THE GENERALIST (ON WRITING)

A BETTER PEACE welcomes authors General Sir Rupert Smith and Ilana Bet-El to the virtual studio to talk about the ultimate goal of being understood as authors. Smith and Bet-El are co-authors of The Utility of Force now available in a second edition. They join our own Michael Neiberg to discuss their collaborative process and the different strengths and attributes they each bring to the effort. He is a retired British Army officer with a wealth of experience in matters of war and diplomacy culminating as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe. She is a strategic adviser, writer and historian with experience at the UN as well as advisory work around the world. Together they compliment each other’s strengths and weaknesses to produce a book that is readable by academic, specialist and generalist alike.

Editor’s Note: We apologize for the intermittent sound quality of our guests. We had technical difficulties with the equipment, but we feel the intent of the conversation remains intact and is well worth the distractions.

THE VALUE OF WRITTEN THOUGHT: STEPHEN VOGEL (ON WRITING)

A BETTER PEACE welcomes Pulitzer nominated journalist and author Stephen Vogel to the virtual studio to talk about his path to authorship and his love of history. Steve joins our own Michael Neiberg to discuss the differences between his role as a journalist versus his style as a narrative historical author and how that differs […]

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