July 2014: Published Elsewhere

Well this month has been busy, and since submitting the last journal article I've started some more... and trying to turn my thesis into books, but saying that I have been writing and here is what's been published, so far.

Published at European Geostrategy:

http://www.europeangeostrategy.org/2014/06/european-navies-surface-warfare/

European navies and surface warfare

Posted in: Articles on Sunday, 29th June 2014  – by Alexander Clarke

Recently there was a guest article published on CIMSEC – which is worth a read – written by R. Adm. Thomas S. Rowden, United States (US) Navy, who discussed the future of surface warfare from a US perspective. Not only is it thought provoking, it serves to highlight the fact that while the US Navy may not be as strong at surface warfare as it once was, at least it is having the conversation about how to change that – which the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) European nations do not seem to be doing.

http://www.europeangeostrategy.org/2014/07/centrepiecebut-rest-board/

We have the centrepiece…but what about the rest of the board?

Posted in: Articles on Friday, 4th July 2014  – by Alexander Clarke

The game of chess is played with both players having sixteen pieces, of which eight on each side are pawns. Pawns are often the most undervalued of all pieces, but as Anatoly Karpov once said ‘pawns not only create the sketch for the whole painting, they are also the soil, the foundation, of any position’. The Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers will be the Queens of British strategy for most likely the next four to five decades. However, that strategy may evolve to deal with potential threats/situations which will arise over a far longer period of time. The trouble is that security, much like the game of chess, requires more than just Queens.

http://www.europeangeostrategy.org/2014/07/supporting-british-naval-aviation/

Supporting British naval aviation

Posted in: Articles on Wednesday, 16th July 2014  – by Alexander Clarke

With the launch of HMS Queen Elizabeth, and the forthcoming launch of her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy will be starting to take on the shape it will be for the next 30-plus years. This means there is a problem, because the Royal Navy is getting just two of these capable, versatile, first rate, short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft carriers. In all likelihood therefore only one ship will be available for operations, even if the money is found to operate both (maintenance requirements will mean one vessel will be in port at any given time). This limitation becomes a strategic problem when coupled with other decisions:


Published at CIMSEC:

http://cimsec.org/intelligence-matters-nations-need-think-collection-methods/12037

Why Intelligence Matters, And Nations Need Think About Collection Methods

July 9, 2014 Alex Clarke 2 Comments

In the military sense, intelligence means something approximating a combination of knowledge and understanding of others – whether they are friends or foe. In the modern risk averse world the temptation has been to rely upon more and more distant observation methodologies; using satellites especially to monitor communications, movement and equipment – prima facie the what, the where and the why of information available.