Arete 1.27.24

Military, National Defense, Foreign Policy Russia Regains Upper Hand in Ukraine’s East as Kyiv’s Troops Flag, NY Times Vietnam Isn’t North Korea—and 50 Years of Australian Aid Has Helped, HSN How Quickly Could Iran Make Nuclear Weapons Today?, HSN What’s Behind the Surge in Attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, RAND British military takes out moving drone […]

My Challenges in Retiring from the Army

By Brian Reed, MTI Contributor I joined the Army at 18 on 1 July 1985 when I entered the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point.  Upon graduation, my plan was to do my 5-year active-duty service obligation (ADSO) and then get out – “5 and fly.”  I retired on 1 September 2023, over […]

Arete 1.13.24

Military, National Defense, Foreign Policy French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne resigns, Al Jazeera French colonel: Ukraine will run out of ammo in February, Pravda Report Sweden to send 800 troops to Russian borders to get ready for war, Pravda Report ­­Ukraine Has a Pathway to Victory, Foreign Policy It’s Not Too Late for Biden to […]

Happiness Formula – A Retrospective Approach 

By Carl Amolat, MTI Contributor BLUF: When I was deployed to Kuwait in 2022 I first found the article about the Happiness Formula during some downtime. Needless to say, aboard Camp Arifjan during my deployment and during my subsequent demobilization and return to my home in Florida I spent quite a bit of time thinking […]

Supple At 60: A Thought Experiment On Longevity

By Craig Hysell, MTI Contributor My jiu-jitsu instructor’s movements were smooth, patient, and meticulous. When he demonstrated being in a bad spot, he made the bad spot look better than the good spot. He was light, lean, lethal, highly energetic and looked like he was in his early to mid-50’s.  He was closer to 70. […]

Arete 1.6.23

Military, National Defense, Foreign Policy Arkansas Air Guard wing commander resigns over abortion policy, Governor says, Task & Purpose (T&P) More than 100 killed in Iran blasts near Soleimani’s tomb during ceremony, Al Jazeera Israel’s controversial use of weapons in Gaza, Al Jazeera Drone attack leaves 82nd Airborne pilot critically injured with head injury, T&P […]

Quiet Professionalism in Action

By Brian Reed, MTI Contributor Ray was hands down the best Soldier in the Battalion. He lived it every day.  Not flashy, not emotional…simply steady…and really, really good.  As the senior Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) in the unit, he was the standard by which everyone in the 700+ manned formation measured themselves.  He was physically fit; […]

Mini Study Results: Percentage-Based Progression Beats Tempo for Strength, No Difference Between Interval and Negative Pull Up Progressions, More Work Needed on Aerobic Base Development

  By Rob Shaul, Founder BLUF A standard, percentage-based strength progression outperformed a Tempo-based progression to increase back squat strength, but bench press strength improvements were the same. Interval-based, concentric pull up and negative pull ups resulted in similar max rep pull up gains. Three weeks of 3 day/week, aerobic-base running resulted in unconclusive results […]

Arete 12.27.23

Military, National Defense, Foreign Policy Ukraine Attacks Novocherkassk, a Russian Warship, in Crimea, NY Times San Diego vs Parris Island: Who has the toughest Marine boot camp? Task & Purpose Gaza’s orphans: Pain without borders, Al Jazeera Taiwan elections: TikTok teams up with fact checkers to stop disinformation on site, South China Morning Post A […]