The last 24 hours have raised questions and attention about the Secretary of Defense's role in General Officer promotions.
Kate Kuzminski
@klkuzminski.bsky.social
Director of Studies and Director of the National Security Human Capital Program at the Center for a New American Security | Adjunct Professor, Georgetown Security Studies Program | Military Personnel Management | Civil-Military Relations
In earlier work with @klkuzminski.bsky.social we showed that older recruits were promoted more quickly and re-enlisted at higher rates than recruits under 20. This change brings the Army's age requirements more in line with other branches of the military. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/u...
Army Raises Enlistment Age Limit to 42 and Eases Marijuana Rules
nytimes.com
warontherocks.com/2026/03/mili... @bradduplessis.bsky.social bringing some damn sense #RealPME
Military Senior Service Colleges Require Reform, But There Sure Are Some Bad Ideas Out There
“No one is thinking if everyone is thinking alike.” Gen. George S. Patton’s quip shows that he not only understood the advantage of audacious combat
warontherocks.com
Terrific new roundtable review for the H-Diplo Jervis Forum on Mara Karlin's outstanding book, The Inheritance. An all-star lineup of reviewers in Peter Feaver, @klkuzminski.bsky.social, @profjessblankshain.bsky.social, and Paula Thornhill! Read closely and in full! issforum.org/roundtables/...
Jervis Forum Roundtable 17-19 on Karlin, The Inheritance
H-Diplo | Robert Jervis International Security Studies Forum Roundtable Review 17-19 Mara E. Karlin, The Inheritance: America’s Military After Two Decades of War. Brookings Institution Press, 2022.
issforum.org
Super excited that a new edited volume, Bend But Do Not Break, is coming out, edited by Jaron Wharton, @klkuzminski.bsky.social @jkdemp.bsky.social @mzmargulies.bsky.social Keith Carter, and @carriealee.bsky.social And it’s apparently doing well on the amazons
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com Since the Russian invasion, the security services of Russia and Ukraine "have discovered a cheap and accessible asset — youngsters who can be recruited for one-off covert attacks," Lilia Yapparova, an investigative reporter, writes in a guest essay.
Opinion | The War in Ukraine Has a Shocking New Weapon
Teenagers are being recruited for one-off covert attacks behind enemy lines.
nyti.ms
Scoop: The Army is implementing a gender neutral fitness test for combat arms in June www.military.com/daily-news/2...
New Army Fitness Test: No More Ball Yeet, Higher Standards for Combat Arms
Among the most notable adjustments, which will likely be met with glee across the ranks, is the removal of the Standing Power Throw.
military.com
The recovery, which took a week and hundreds of personnel, was punctuated by fuel leaks and engineering setbacks. It ended when an Estonian dog team smelled faint traces of the fourth soldier still in the bog. The fuller story: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Tragedy killed 4 U.S. soldiers in Lithuania. A small army got them home.
Over seven days, hundreds of people from four countries searched a muddy bog for the missing Americans. This is their remarkable story.
washingtonpost.com
The mission to recover 4 U.S. soldiers from a Lithuanian bog was more complex and dangerous that you know. Navy divers could barely breathe in the thick mud, struggling to move as if it were drying concrete. They couldn't see anything and did their work entirely by touch.
NEW: CNAS launches National Security Human Capital (NSHC) Program, a major research program led by @klkuzminski.bsky.social focused on strengthening the United States’ most critical defense asset: its people. www.cnas.org/press/press-...
CNAS Launches New National Security Human Capital Program to Safeguard America’s Warfighting Edge
Military personnel, political appointees, and civil servants meet the demands of the National Security Strategy by providing the nation with the…
cnas.org
Army Reverses Course and Resumes Remote Entrance Exam Testing After Cutting Off Funding
Army Reverses Course and Resumes Remote Entrance Exam Testing After Cutting Off Funding
The Army has reversed its decision to halt travel funding that enabled potential recruits to take the military entrance exam at remote locations and high schools -- just a week after cutting off the…
military.com
Important new @foreignaffairs.com piece from @cnas.bsky.social’s Defense Program Director @spettyjohn.bsky.social: www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
America’s Eroding Airpower
Washington must upgrade its fleet of planes, drones, and missiles.
foreignaffairs.com
A vital piece in @warontherocks.bsky.social warontherocks.com/2025/03/roug...
Rough Seas Ahead: Steering the Military Profession - War on the Rocks
The cyclone of rapid-fire actions taken by the Trump administration in its first weeks has affected every part of the U.S. government, including the
warontherocks.com
New and important from @lindsaypcohn.bsky.social in @lawfare.bsky.social: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/trum...
Trump’s Military Purge Spells Trouble for Democracy and Defense
Firing military leaders for perceived disloyalty is often part of a strategy to consolidate regime power—even as it weakens the military.
lawfaremedia.org
Dig into the full volume here: www.cnas.org/publications... Featuring stellar contributions from @rhfontaine.bsky.social, @klkuzminski.bsky.social, @beccawasser.bsky.social, @vivekchil.bsky.social, and @jonathanlorddc.bsky.social, along with other incisive colleagues without bsky accounts.
The First 100 Days
The First 100 Days is a series of recommendations from CNAS experts. The recommendations span the most pressing issues that will test the administration.
cnas.org
Always fun to join @jkdemp.bsky.social for a conversation on @warontherocks.bsky.social Soldier Pulse podcast; this time, we’re talking officer promotions. How does it *actually* work? What’s the deal with generals? Can a president just fire a G/O?: warontherocks.com/episode/sold...
Let's Talk Promotions - War on the Rocks
warontherocks.com
Seven years. You would love the new office. You’d be proud of what we’ve continued to build. www.esquire.com/news-politic...
Saying Goodbye to One of the Best Men in Washington
Shawn Brimley was of a special breed.
esquire.com
Excited to close out the year with the inclusion of my piece with @klkuzminski.bsky.social among the most read War on the Rocks articles of 2024! Honored to be among such prodigious authors warontherocks.com/2024/12/most...
Most Read War on the Rocks Articles of 2024 - War on the Rocks
As we close out 2024, War on the Rocks reflects on the stories and analyses that resonated most with our readers during a year marked by evolving
warontherocks.com
New @warontherocks.bsky.social piece from LTG David Barno and Dr. Nora Bensahel featuring analysis from @tcdsylvester.bsky.social + my recent @cnas.bsky.social report, "Back to the Drafting Board": warontherocks.com/2024/12/amer...
America is Not Prepared for a Protracted War - War on the Rocks
The gruesome ongoing war in Ukraine should have shattered any remaining illusions that the U.S. military can count on swiftly and decisively defeating any
warontherocks.com
NEW @defenseone.bsky.social OpEd from @cnas.bsky.social's @tcdsylvester.bsky.social and Kareen Hart: "To Improve Recruiting, Make Medical Standards Match Retention Ones" www.defenseone.com/ideas/2024/1...
To improve recruiting, make medical standards match retention ones
Many of the assumptions that undergird the recruiting standards are outdated or simply wrong.
defenseone.com
I appreciated the opportunity to join Vox’s Today, Explained to discuss what the nominee for Secretary of Defense signals about future DoD policy and Civ-Mil norms. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Team America
Podcast Episode · Today, Explained · 11/18/2024 · 27m
podcasts.apple.com
Great to sit with @gregjaffe.bsky.social of WaPo and Kate Kuzminski to discuss military recruiting challenges.
Few better experiences than getting to discuss the state of military recruitment with @jkdemp.bsky.social + @gregjaffe.bsky.social on @warontherocks.bsky.social Soldier Pulse: warontherocks.com/episode/sold...
The Army's Evolving Recruiting Standards and Their Implications - War on the Rocks
warontherocks.com