Mitch’s Comments (group member since Dec 08, 2016)

Mitch’s comments from the The Bookshelf group.

Thanks for all the contributions to this discussion over the past week. I hope you got something out of it. If you have suggestions on how we could facilitate future discussions more effectively, let us know on Slack. More to follow on the online discussion with August!

There has been good discussion from you all so far - thanks very much. As we begin to wrap up the week, consider the following. If you had to write a one page book review that captures your key take-aways, what would you write about?

Awesome, thanks mark. I can't really disagree with anything you've said. I wonder, does anyone have a different point of view on some or all of the things you've written?

This is well worth a read. How would we mobilise if we needed to?
http://mwi.usma.edu/high-tech-call-ar...

QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION POINTS – GHOST FLEET:

Although the majority of people in this discussion have Army backgrounds, I encourage you to think and discuss issues broader than just land warfare. Warfare is always influenced by more than just military assets on the land. Ghost Fleet deals with the air, sea, land, cyber and space domains as well as private industry, emerging technology, politics, and the different strategic cultures of different countries. We should probably avoid discussing potential causes of, or actors in, war in the future. For example, lets avoid discussing how likely it is that China and Russia will gang up on the USA, China’s strategy to win, etc. The benefits of discussing Ghost Fleet are, in my opinion, discussing the tactical, warfare-focussed points that are drawn out by the authors. The discussion will occur on this discussion thread between 06-10 Feb 17. Below are some points and questions for you to consider – they are not exhaustive so discuss ‘the future fight’ as you wish.

1. Control of the air over battlefields became and remained important in the 20th century. Ghost Fleet showed how warfare in space might significantly affect warfare in the other domains in the 21st century. Will space warfare be prominent in future wars in the 21st century? If not, why not?


2. If our country suddenly lost access to the advantages we accrue from space assets, how would our defence force fare? How would your platoon / combat team / battlegroup cope without GPS and other space-enabled products? How can you train those in your command to use advanced technology while also being resilient enough to work without it?


3. Should we be focussing our acquisitions upon small numbers of ‘exquisite’ technologies (F35s for example), or should we be focussing upon larger numbers of less technologically advanced models?


4. How will the advent of drones affect air forces around the world? Are manned fighter jets becoming obsolescent?


5. Ghost Fleet paints the Chinese as a highly developed cyber power (234th Information Bde of the Third Army Cyber Militia, for example). Are we underdone in the cyber domain?


6. Could the next great power war occur in a similar sequence to the fictional war in Ghost Fleet? Are space and cyber attacks likely to proceed more ‘traditional’ military operations on land, sea and air?


7. Are human enhancements (stims) the way of the future? What are the pros and cons? Should you expect your future enemies to be using them?


8. How might 3D printing influence future warfare? Will it complicate or simplify resupply? How might it impact your part of the Army?

Good morning everyone. As per my post on Slack, this is where we will hold the discussion of 'Ghost Fleet' and future warfare in general. To refresh you all, the plan from here is:
- Dec-Jan: Read ‘Ghost Fleet’. As Tom mentions, it is available on Amazon fairly cheap. It is a very interesting and fairly easy read.
- Jan: Open a Goodreads account and join the Postern Association group.
- NLT 16 Jan 17: I will put some discussion points and questions on the Goodreads discussion board under ‘The Future Fight’. The intent of these points is to get you thinking, they are not intended to limit the discussion. Have a think about what you’ve taken away from the book for the latter half of January.
- 06-10 Feb 17:The main discussion will take place on ‘The Future Fight’. Put your points of view forwards, read and (politely) debate other peoples points, and discuss the book as you wish. I will help moderate the discussion if it starts to go too far astray.
- TBC - @tommcd will coordinate an online chat with the author, August Cole to answer any questions you have of him. More to follow on this one.
Please sing out if you have any questions or dramas.

Mitch