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Welcome back to Five Questions for a General, a production of the Modern War Institute at West Point. This series features specially selected cadet hosts who are given an incredible professional development opportunity—to sit down with senior military officers and ask carefully crafted questions about everything from leadership to their unique experiences while serving, to their expectations about the future of war. In this episode, Cadet Nathan Unks sits down with retired Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr., former Commander of US Pacific Command and former US Ambassador to South Korea, for a conversation focused on national security, leadership, and perseverance. Admiral Harris reflects…

Talking at the International Armoured Vehicles conference last January, the annual event organised by Defence IQ, a Finnish Army representative highlighted which are the drivers that are leading the transformation of the Finnish Army, looking at 2035, joint air-ground integration, deep battle and lessons learned from Ukraine being the main ones. The target is to have a service with over 185,000 personnel, mostly based on conscription, with a focus on lethality, readiness, magazine depth and NATO integration click on image to enlarge On 4 April 2023 Finland became officially a NATO member; two and a half years later, on 3rd…

On the eve of invading Ukraine in 2022, Russia enjoyed a decent global position. It had a strong partnership with China; extensive economic ties with Europe; a working relationship, however fraught, with the United States; and an informal network of partners with which to do business. Russia dominated few countries (other than Belarus) but also had few real enemies and could exercise influence beyond its neighborhood. More than a rising or declining power, Russia was a protean power.Then Russia invaded Ukraine. In response, Europe and the United States immediately became Moscow’s adversaries. The Kremlin, having lost much of its diplomatic…

Terry Gerton GAO started off 2026 with a really interesting report looking at how federal programs implement practices to prevent and detect fraud. That’s certainly a key issue for this administration. Let’s start by digging into the five programs that you looked at. Tell us who they are and why you picked them. Hannah Padilla We picked five programs from five different agencies, and we were asked to look at their oversight over payment integrity. So not just fraud, but also improper payments, fraud, waste, abuse over their federal wards. We picked programs from the FCC, the Department of Energy,…

Meetings Coverage Security Council 10101st Meeting (AM) SC/16288 4 February 2026 Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) and its affiliated terrorist groups continue to adapt and pose a threat to international peace and security, speakers in the Security Council warned today, citing increased use of virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies, as well as cybertools, unmanned aircraft systems and advanced artificial intelligence (AI). “The group and its affiliates continued to adapt and demonstrate resilience despite sustained counter-terrorism pressure,” said Alexandre Zouev, Acting Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, as he presented the Secretary-General’s latest biannual report on the…

Romania – Ministry of National Defence Press release No. 20 03.02.2026 The Chief of Defence Staff, General Gheorghiță Vlad, has recently paid an official visit to Portugal, at the invitation of his counterpart, General José Nunes da Fonseca, Chief of Defence of the Portuguese Armed Forces. During the talks, the officials emphasized the high level of bilateral military cooperation and the concrete contribution of the two armed forces to regional and Euro-Atlantic security, including through allied deployments, rotations of Portuguese military personnel in Romania and constant participation in joint exercises conducted within NATO. At the same time, General Vlad was…

Editor’s note: This article is the first in an 11-part series examining how the United States should organize, lead, and integrate economic statecraft into strategy, defense practice, and the broader national security ecosystem. This special series is brought to you by the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and War on the Rocks. Prior installments can be found at the War by Other Ledgers page.  The United States loses upwards of $225-$600 billion each year to stolen trade secrets, pirated software, and counterfeit goods, mostly through activities orchestrated by China’s government. Right now, the two countries are locked in a struggle that…

Grace McCaffrey Yeah. Well, this is a big year for the country and also for the National Archives. The National Archives is the permanent home of the Declaration of Independence, and that’s the document that is turning 250 years this summer on July 4th. The Declaration Of Independence is kept here in Washington, D.C. at the National Archives building all year round. It’s the permanent home of it, as I said. So we’re so excited to welcome folks from around the country around the world to see the document, but we’re also focused on how, in broader, ways we can…

The United States Army has selected Swarmbotics AI to develop swarming, attritable small unmanned ground vehicles as part of its Transformation in Contact effort with the 1st Cavalry Division, the company announced on Feb. 5. The award follows Swarmbotics AI’s performance at last year’s xTech Overwatch competition, where Army soldiers evaluated autonomous systems intended for […]

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – JANUARY 23: Michael Chandler reacts after his knockout victory over Dan Hooker of New Zealand in a lightweight fight during the UFC 257 event inside Etihad Arena on UFC Fight Island on January 23, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)