prbeckman

@TwoRulesOfWar Task Force with Gary Cooper en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Task_Forc… Away All Boats tubitv.com/es-mx/movies/6… The Gallant Hours with James Cagney as Halsey tubitv.com/movies/307480/…

Drop American Sniper. ADD: The Longest Day. I’d also note that these are all movies about the army. We need a naval movie list.

The scale of Balikatan 2026’s maritime strike & long-range missile drills compared to previous exercises is staggering. Their concentration in Northern Luzon also demonstrates the changing priorities of Balikatan. My latest with Naval News with a great graphic by @Drethegrater:

A Russian tank is 40 kilometres from the front line. The crew thinks they’re safe. The crew is wrong. A Ukrainian fixed-wing reconnaissance drone is already overhead. The tank’s coordinates are already in Delta — Ukraine’s combat coordination system. The strike drones are already queuing up. The tank has minutes to live, and the soldiers riding past in the truck behind it don’t know they’re about to be a bonus. Meet “Domakha” — the reconnaissance wing crew of Ukraine’s 42nd Separate Mechanised Brigade. ArmyInform spent a day with them. This is what modern warfare actually looks like in 2026. 🧵👇

Russian blogger “Kuban” describes the tactics for evading an incoming FPV. The essence: a moment's hesitation is death. “FPV ABOVE THE HEAD: SECONDS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE. 1/

🚩Note: Critical international response to the White House Correspondents Dinner (#WHCD) incident and post-facto “ #ReichstagFire” political implications: 🔥🔥🆘The international 🌏press has been quick to frame the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting as a potential "Reichstag moment," with several non-American outlets expressing skepticism about how the incident will be leveraged for political gain by Trump, his party and core supporters. Foreign Media Skepticism (Last 4 Hours) • 🇫🇷Le Monde (France): A lead editorial suggests the incident is being "meticulously staged" to justify a broader crackdown on domestic political opposition. The analysis notes that while the trauma is real, the speed with which the administration pivoted to "enemies within" rhetoric suggests a prepared response. • 🇩🇪Der Spiegel (Germany): Using the most direct historical parallels, commentators have questioned whether this represents a "Washingtoner Reichstagsbrand" (Washington Reichstag Fire). The skepticism centers on the immediate call for emergency decrees and the suspension of standard legal oversight following the shooting. • 🇪🇸El País (Spain): Reports focus on the "transactional use of tragedy," noting that the incident provides a convenient distraction from recent setbacks in the Middle East and domestic economic pressures. • 🇬🇧The Guardian (UK): Coverage emphasizes the "security-industrial complex" of the administration, suggesting the shooting will be used to permanently "fortify" the executive branch against judicial and legislative scrutiny. The prevailing sentiment in these original-language reports follows three distinct lines of skepticism: The "Pre-Written" Script: Observation that the political messaging—targeting specific "radical" groups—emerged before the shooter was even fully identified. The "Bargaining Chip" Theory: In Asia, particularly in 🇹🇼Taiwan (United Daily News), there is concern that a "shaken" administration might use the domestic crisis as an excuse to pull back from international commitments, focusing instead on internal "purification." The "Basket Case" Narrative: Across European outlets, the shooting is cited as final proof that the U.S. has devolved into a "failed state" where even the most secure elite gatherings are subject to the same chaos as rural schools.

A U.S. Army Bell H-13D Sioux helicopter flies medevac mission near Taegu, Korea. March 16, 1951.

"Ramble On" is 56 years old and Robert Plant just walked onto The Late Show and made it sound like he wrote it this morning.

If you’re interested in questions of mobilization, civil-military relations, war as an extension of politics—and much more—this is the podcast for you. @prbeckman @NKFinney podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the…

In the new @Strategy_Bridge Podcast episode, I talk with @NKFinney about his book “Orchestrating Power” on the role of North Carolina’s Council of Defense during WWI mobilization. Listen here: traffic.libsyn.com/secure/thestra…

In the latest episode of the History & Culture podcast, I talk with Tim McGrath about the Founding of the Continental Navy. #navy #seapower youtube.com/watch?v=uD_HJT…

For the United States, the Middle East is a great power trap.

A Warning from History. A year after WW1 ended, A French Pilot, Jacques Trolley de Prévaux, flew an Airship from the Belgian coast to the devastated battlefields of France where millions died. Lost for decades this is part of what he saw remastered in color and HD.

Interesting article on Army and Marine amphibian tank battalions in the Pacific during WWII. mca-marines.org/wp-content/upl…

WATCH: New dashcam video shows the crash of UPS Flight 2976 in Louisville, Kentucky

@DJISupport We just noticed a hairline crack on an antenna for our Air 2s controller. Is that a replaceable part?

Ben Young One Last Walk with Izzy 2021

You can still dine at Restaurant Fournaise, on the banks of the Seine, the setting for Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party 140 years ago. Incidentally, that’s Aline, Renoir’s future wife, at lower L, & fellow artist Gustave Caillebotte at lower R artinsociety.com/floating-pleas…

@DJISupport I tried to fly my Mavic 2 Pro today but the drone would not start and got a message: “unknown error (code 180) contact DJI support.” What is this about?

Gerrit Dou - "Astronomer by Candlelight"

Ideology and Soviet and American and Correspondents During the Cold War Join @prbeckman for a conversation with @DinaFainberg about the Cold War ideologies that shaped how Soviet and American foreign correspondents reported on each other’s countries. thestrategybridge.org/the-podcast