In this episode, we discuss:
--Alford’s experiences as a platoon commander in Operation Just Cause
--His experiences in Desert Storm, including seeing the effects of Allied airpower and artillery on Iraqi forces
--The organization of Task Force Tarawa in Operation Iraqi Freedom I
--The virtues of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force
--Alford’s experiences with commanding a light armored infantry platoon
--How Alford and a cobra detachment commander worked together to create an air-ground cavalry team while on a MEU
--Alford’s experiences afloat
--The strategic value of port calls
--How to keep Marines engaged during sea deployments
--Alford’s role in Operation Assured Response in Libera
--The experience of watching a horrific civil war unfold in the Liberian capital of Monrovia
--The traits that Alford looked for and sought to develop in his squad leaders and platoon commanders
--The benefits of having Marines live in squad bays
--The Gunfighter Gym and the need to invest substantial funds into the individual infantry Marine
--The rigors of Marine Corps recruiting duty
--Alford’s experiences as a battalion executive officer during the March Up to Baghdad
--Fighting the Fedayeen
--Alford’s deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq as a rifle battalion commander and the differences between them
--The origins of how the Marines ended up concentrated in Helmand Province, Afghanistan
--Alford’s time as General David McKiernan’s counterinsurgency advisor
--Some of the US Army officers that Alford has worked for and his high praise for them
--Alford’s thoughts on Marine Corps Recruit Training and its transformative effects
--The cult of the Marine Corps
--What Alford learned from spending time with different NATO forces in Afghanistan
--The counterinsurgency books and thinkers that most influenced Alford
--The role that Alford’s counterinsurgency reading had on his decisions as a battalion commander
--How Alford expects the Chinese to fight the US
--The focus on Western warfare in US PME institutions and why we should study more Chinese military history and warfare
--Alford’s stance that the Marine Corps needs to be ready to do “anything, anytime, anywhere, today”
--The deployment that influenced Alford most
--The sacrifices of command and the toll they take on one’s family life
--What it was like serving during the ‘maneuver warfare years’
--Alford’s interactions with Bill Lind
--How faithfully the Marine Corps adheres to its capstone doctrinal publication, Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication Warfighting 1
--What maneuver warfare in garrison looks like and Alford’s surprising response
"Underground PME: The Warfighting" Society by Damien O'Connell: https://innovatedefense.net/kcic/customObject/viewCustomObject/8f0088d3356d
Some of the books mentioned by MajGen Alford
The Village by Bing West: https://www.amazon.com/Village-Bing-West/dp/0743457579
Invisible Armies by Max Boot: https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Armies-History-Guerrilla-Warfare/dp/0871406888
The Bear Went Over the Mountain edited by Lester Grau: https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a316729.pdf
Everything Under the Sun by Howard F. French: https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Under-Heavens-Chinas-Global/dp/0385353324
