Recruiting for SWC members because....

[Bill Moore]

Posted by Carl,

Bill, here is an article from a Journal past about Thai Village Security Teams.

Thanks. I do recall this article and it is good, but what I was trying to get across is I haven't seen an article from a Thai soldier or police officer on the conflict, so we can see it through their eyes. I suspect Jeff Moore isn't Thai

The reality is many cultures tend to prohibit independent thinking and views, and writing an article truly could be detrimental to their careers or worse. In that case we'll have to rely on other sources, but in those cases we miss an important point of view. I would love to see more Afghans write articles that are critical of our strategy in their country and explain why.

Listening to one another is important, but listening to voices from other countries is critical if we're serious about learning.

[carl]

Bill:

I wonder if we could take advantage of the huge immigrant community in the US. There are people from everywhere and I'll bet a surprising number have relevant experience or have relatives back in the old country who do. If somehow we could reach out to them, we could get around the reluctance to publish. What the heck would a guy who owns a sandwich shop and has a green card care about what the guys in the old country's HQ think.

For example, there are very large numbers of Vietnamese in the US, people from both sides of the line. I don't know if there are Vietnamese veterans associations around but if there are they could be contacted and asked if any of their people would like to submit material dealing with their experiences. The submissions wouldn't have to be in English if arrangements could be made for translation. That would be one of the keys to getting submissions, not having to write in English.

[G Martin]

I think we broaden the discussion and articles to include other examples of small wars- instead of being so OEF/OIF-specific- like others have said. That said, it is very difficult to get politicians and their staffs to get some deeper knowledge of those fights, much less fights that aren't in the news...

I'd echo getting funding up in order to sponsor writing competitions and also conferences- either unilateral or co-hosting or just participating in somehow. I personally haven't been involved in them- but I know there are some IW, etc. conferences held annually- and getting involved with those, maybe SWJ sponsoring a contributor or two or an editor participation/involvement/attendance might be beneficial.

[Dayuhan]

In many places it's difficult for serving members of a military (or those employed in government) to publish anything that deviates in any way from the official line, and in some places that might apply even to those in retirement. Not all military/political cultures are tolerant of dissent. It still might be possible to attract input from other stakeholders in conflict areas, who might have more freedom to express original views.

I've always wanted to see participation from current or past insurgents, though it's easier to talk about than to arrange.

For the journal it might be worth putting out groups of articles focused on specific regions or issues, asking experts to contribute and discuss varying viewpoints.

I think there may be a perception in some quarters that the site is primarily by and for Americans and those in the military, and that participants form outside those parameters are not as easily accepted. I don't think that perception is accurate at all, but as with so many perceptions it can have an impact even if it's not accurate. I'm not sure how that could be overcome, but it might help to have roundtable discussions on specific issues and invite or actively solicit participation from serious, informed foreign critics of US policy.

For the Council... I wouldn't say quality has declined, but I do notice that some of the people who were active participants when I joined, and whose posts made me want to join, are no longer active. That's probably inevitable; participants will always come and go. The question of how to build the participant base while maintaining quality will always be here, I suppose.

[Fuchs]

In many places it's difficult for serving members of a military (or those employed in government) to publish anything that deviates in any way from the official line, and in some places that might apply even to those in retirement.

The Armor and IIRC Infantry Journal appeared to be platforms for occasional dissenting opinions during the 90's, but according to my observation / memory this largely ceased to be true when the top forced the "we need to be quickly deployable for relevance = bureaucratical budget retainment" Stryker hysteria on the armor and infantry branches.
By that time the journals turned into propaganda outlets.

[jcustis]

It would be nice if the guys who keep the lights on here, Bill and Dave, could weigh in.

Where this place is, relative to where it was when things started out, and their vision of where they think it needs to go, it pretty important.

It's also important to define relevancy. For whom? Academics, practitioners, hobbyists...everyone? That sets the context as well.

[Steve Blair]

It would be nice if the guys who keep the lights on here, Bill and Dave, could weigh in.

Where this place is, relative to where it was when things started out, and their vision of where they think it needs to go, it pretty important.

It's also important to define relevancy. For whom? Academics, practitioners, hobbyists...everyone? That sets the context as well.

Concur, but we should also remember that this same sort of thing happened after Vietnam. No more limited wars was the cry then, and we're seeing the same sort of thing now. We're also seeing a bit of rehash of "any good soldier can deal with guerrillas." Maybe yes, maybe no, but it's always helpful to have reminders of what can work and what is a really bad idea floating around somewhere.