“Without external threats to repel, the world’s 15th-biggest standing army is turning into a de facto police force Few places illustrate the modern role of the Brazilian army better than Tabatinga, a city of 62,000 on the shared border point between Brazil, Colombia and Peru. The frontier, protected by Amazon rainforest, has not budged since the Portuguese built a now-ruined fort… Read More
“Vietnam attempts a delicate strategic balancing act Near the point where Vietnam bulges deepest into the South China Sea lies Cam Ranh Bay, perhaps the finest natural deep water harbour in South-East Asia. France based a fleet there in colonial times. Russian ships made use of it in the Russo-Japanese war, Japanese ones during the second world war… Read More
“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” Old Shaolin saying
The “Thucydides trap – the disaster that befell ancient Greece when the incumbent power, Sparta, failed to accommodate the rising one, Athens.” (The Economist, 2017, p.26). Thucydides (c. 460 BC–400 BC) was a general who was exiled for his failure to defend the Greek city of Amphipolis in Thrace. During his exile, he began compiling histories and… Read More
“What do you do when the enemy taking aim at you is a nine-year-old? One of the worst dilemmas soldiers face is what to do when they confront armed children. International law and most military codes treat underage combatants mainly as innocent victims. They offer guidance on their legal rights and on how to interrogate and demobilise them. They have… Read More
“The laws of strategy are objective and apply impartially to both hostile sides.” (Sokolovsky, 1963, p.9). Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky (21 July 1897 to 10 May 1968) A prominent Marshal of the Soviet Union (aka Field Marshal, OF-10) and known as an excellent planner and exceptional military leader. Reference Sokolovsky, V.D. (1963) Military Strategy: Soviet Doctrine and… Read More
“Never fall in love with a plan!” Lieutenant Colonel Phil Tracy (US Marine Corps during Operation United Shield) Operation United Shield was the codename of a military operation, conducted 09 January 1995 to 03 March 1995, bringing a conclusion to the United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II). Commanded by the United States, two… Read More
Boot Camp & Military Fitness Institute 