Thirty years ago this week—on October 3, 1993—US special operations forces launched a mission in Mogadishu. It was part of Operation Gothic Serpent, which was aimed at capturing Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The mission was intended to be of a short duration. But things changed when, shortly after members of Task Force Ranger launched from their base, fighters on the ground began firing on US aircraft. The battle that ensued—which would later become the subject of journalist Mark Bowden’s book, Black Hawk Down, and subsequently a film of the same name—lasted well into the next day. In this episode, you'll hear three people who took part in that battle. Listen as they share their firsthand perspectives of the action over those two days, describing the challenges they faced, reflecting on what was required to overcome those challenges, and exploring the lessons the battle holds for future Army leaders.

The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

When news emerged from Lebanon recently that several thousand pagers belonging to members of Hezbollah had exploded, observers quickly began piecing together an assessment of what happened. It looked to be an Israeli intelligence operation—and a wildly successful one, both operationally and psychologically. But why did Israel pick now to conduct it? Is it likely to become just another episode in an ongoing shadow war between Israel and Hezbollah or lead to a dramatic escalation? And how is Hezbollah likely to respond to this glaring failure in its operational security? Colin P. Clarke, director of research at the Soufan Group and a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, joins this episode to share his insights.

The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

Would Patton be an effective battlefield commander today? Do the characteristics of successful commanders generally remain constant over time? Or do they evolve alongside—and in response to—the changing character of warfare? And if they do change, what traits will commanders need on the battlefields of today and tomorrow? Dr. Anthony King, the author of the book Command: The Twenty-First-Century General, joins this episode to discuss these questions and more.

For weeks, after an Israeli strike that killed a senior Hezbollah commander and the killing of a Hamas leader in Tehran, tensions between Israel and Iran have spiked. So far, Iran has yet to follow through on its threats to retaliate against Israel. But these heightened tensions, like the period earlier this year when Israel killed senior officers from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps at a diplomatic facility in Syria and Iran responded by launching hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel, are inflection points in a broader regional rivalry between the two states. Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, joins this episode to examine that rivalry.

The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Ukrainian government began asking its international supporters to provide it with combat aircraft. By 2023, a number of NATO members had agreed to provide training on the US-made F-16 to Ukrainian pilots, and last summer it was announced that a number of F-16s would be provided to Ukraine. Now, the first batch of aircraft have arrived in the country and, according to reports, have already begun flying operational missions. But what role will they play and what effect might they have on the overall war? In this episode, John Amble is joined by retired US Air Force Colonel Mike Pietrucha, a veteran aviator and airpower scholar who has closely studied the war in Ukraine. He shares his insightful perspective on what the introduction of F-16s means for the war in Ukraine.

The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

The term "cohesion" features prominently in discussions of military effectiveness, especially at the small-unit level. We all know intuitively what it means, but understanding how to develop and nurture it in practice is a challenge. That's even more true as technological advances continue to make constant connectivity with the outside world easier, even from a battlefield. How do soldiers' stresses from home impact cohesion? What about when soldiers no longer process shared traumatic experiences together? John Spencer spent twenty-five years as an infantry soldier and officer, including leading troops in combat. His book Connected Soldiers is based on both his personal experience and deep research. He joins this episode to discuss how unit cohesion affects military performance and how leaders can foster its development.

How does cyberspace differ from the other warfighting domains—land, sea, air, and space? What challenges do those differences pose? Does cyber require unique approaches to talent manage to ensure the US military can recruit, promote, and retain the talent it needs? What resources are needed to effectively compete in cyberspace, and are those different from the resources necessary for a conflict scenario? How would the cyber dimension of a modern war play out, and are there lessons from the ongoing war in Ukraine that illuminate this question? This episode addreses those questions as John Amble is joined by Maggie Smith, an Army officer and codirector of Project Cyber at the Irreegular Warfare Initiative, and Dr. Erica Lonergan, an assistant professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

The Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz is held in high regard among US military scholars. But it can be challenging at times to apply his ideas—with necessary nuance—to real-world security challenges. In this episode, Dr. Donald Stoker, a professor at the National Defense University’s Eisenhower School and the author of Clausewitz: His Life and Work, joins John Amble to discuss several of Clausewitz’s theories and use them as a lens through which to examine the ongoing war in Ukraine—and how it might eventually come to an end.

The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.