What Are You Currently Reading? 2009

[Rifleman]

Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of Seal Team 10

There's nothing like a good tactical story for those of us who are too shallow for strategic thought.

[The Cuyahoga Kid]

Finished Reading
Baghdad at Sunrise: A Brigade Commander's War in Iraq by Peter R. Mansoor

Next Books
Joker One: A Marine Platoon's Story of Courage, Leadership, and Brotherhood by Donovan Campbell
The Accidental Guerrilla: Fighting Small Wars in the Midst of a Big One by David Kilcullen

[Schmedlap]

Human Intelligence, Counterterrorism, & National Leadership by Gary Berntsen

This is very short book. I read about chapter at a time while on the subway. If I had a longer attention span, I could probably read it cover to cover in an hour or less. It is written as a series of recommendations to the current administration (written before the election) and each chapter ends with a bullet-format summary of those recommendations.

Thus far, I particularly like his idea of getting rid of the polygraph for everyone except those in the counterintelligence center. He points out the unreliability of it (lots of false positives) and the deterrent effect it has upon individuals whom we need to recruit.

I have taken a polygraph as part of an investigation into the conduct of my Soldiers. I took it voluntarily, but midway through I was starting to regret it. It turned out well - as a result of the test the investigation rightfully ended. But as the interview progressed and the interviewer kept adjusting the questions to box me into a yes or no response, I really didn't like it. "Have you ever stolen someone's trust?" WTF does that mean? I answered every question truthfully. When it was over, the interviewer said, "you're good, everything's fine - there was one question that was kind of iffy, but everything pertinent to the case checks out." What question was that? Like I said, I answered them all truthfully. I was already a bit unsure of whether it was going to misread me. Now I am even less inclined to take one in the future. I know a few guys who are unwilling to take full-scope polygraphs, not because they've done anything wrong but because, as they put it, the answer to most questions is, "none of your business." The author also points out that people who have conducted espionage in the past have taken the polygraph and "passed."

[Sergeant T]

Enormous digression for this thread. Taken a half dozen polygraphs for employment in my time. They almost always break down to the same questions, but the results can vary greatly. There is simply too much sway in the results due to the polygraph administrator. Some approach it as an interrogation, some approach it as a conversation. There is a very good reason they are not admissible as evidence in a criminal trial. The test is only as good as the person administering it. It has become one of those devices organizations wrap themselves in to feel warm. Adlrich Ames passed two polygraphs while engaged in espionage. Because he was able to pass the Agency never looked for other obvious clues. It's become a lazy shortcut for organizations not willing to expend the effort looking into a person's character. (Had an acquaintance 25 year old female fail because the 50+ year old male administrator kept digging for details about her sex life while the tape was running.) Part of the fixation with metrics rather than qualitative measures.

[carl]

Not such a big digression. A book called The Lie Detectors got a very good write up in the Wall Street Journal sometime back. I have not yet read it but mean to.

I have read other books and articles on lie detectors and if you are so inclined they are pretty easy to beat; at least in the sense that you can easily foul up the result to the point it won't be usable.

[selil]

Not a book, but watched the movie "Defiance". Not what I expected. Insurgency v. high intensity conflict. The special features section of the DVD was interesting too.

[Old Eagle]

Ran across two pubs that provide a lot of insight into what we're discussing here.

Flashback #1 CGSC Field Circular 100-20 Low-Intensity Conflict, of 1986. Many of the same tensions, confusions and frustrations rear their ugly heads in this pub. Remarkably, the schoolhouse had a decent insight into many of the challenges and potential solutions in Small Wars.

Flashback #2 The Trailwatcher -- a TRADOC complilation of many of the writings of the very prolific Mike Malone. I worked a major project with M2 (as he refered to himself) back in the 80s. M2 was truly an Army treasure, understanding the essence of soldiering, leadership, organizational behavior and information technology (in an era before advanced computer communication!!)