I copied these from the RFI forum because I think this is a topic that's well worth discussing in the history and education forum. My main personal interest here is the Air Force because of its obvious ties to technology as a totem and its consequent impact on its ability to function in a small wars environment, but there are other examples as well.

Marc's post sets some of the theoretical background for us, but I'd propose some additional ideas for discussion:

1) How do the totems of each specific service help or hinder their Small Wars practice?

2) How can we identify these totems?

3) When a totem has a negative influence here, what are some ways to work around that influence?

These are just some starting points for discussion. I find this area quite interesting.