A Day in the Life of NSTR

** Check out “Building and Running an Online Forum” to learn more about NSTR and why you might want to stand up an online forum.**

0510 - Wake up and check in with NSTR. Two new threads from overnight are getting traction. First, in #national-security-general there’s a conversation between a handful of officers of different ranks about the history and utility of Commander’s Action Groups (CAGs). A psyops major has shared both Pillai’s ‘CAG Overview’ and ‘Brilliance on Demand: An Analysis of the Commander’s Action Group’.

Meanwhile, over in #Irregular-Warfare-political-unconvetional a Goodpastor Fellow has shared Amos Fox’s latest article on proxy warfare in the newly rebooted Small Wars Journal.

Flag all three articles for reading, but first, it’s time to work out.

0745 - After gains. Make a post in #books-podcasts-reccomendations about the latest MWI podcast on the Harding Project listened to during the workout. Check out both a video and an article on the latest drones spotted in Ukraine hung in #remote-autonomous-systems.

0850 - Quick check-in after-breakfast but before the first meeting of the day. Read the first article on CAGs. Spot a new post in #eucom discussing expanded use of ATACMS by Ukraine.

1025 - Make a quick post between meetings. Share a good meme you saw on twitter in #memes-n-humor:

1205 - Lunch. Send out an NSTR invite to the new captain you met at the chief of staff synch. Read the second CAG article and jump into the fray with a spicy hot take: “CAGs are stolen manpower from the staff”. Catch a LinkedIn share in #generative-ai where Ben Affleck talks about how AI will impact Hollywood. Spot a post in #writing asking for a French speaking co-author for Special Warfare Piece on ‘the 250th anniversary of France's pilot team (really one guy) operation that helped set the stage for the subsequent UW campaign in the (future) United States’ — Lafayette. Four other NSTR members offer up suggestions to include one on twitter who went to French ILE and another who ‘graduated French Commando school, has a Masters in History, and is currently in a prof in USMA’s history’.

1545 - Quick break from fighting the work emails. Check out a share in #indopacom from a colonel and future SF Group commander about how the army is pivoting its training to focus on fighting in the First Island Chain. Open up Amos’ article from this morning, but quickly give up because the overly academic language. That’ll have to wait. Wish he’d listen to Trent Lythgoe’s advice on writing.

1715 - Office is starting to clear out, just the field grades left. Spot a post in #books-podcasts-reccomendations from a battalion commander in Europe who just dropped the latest installment of his ‘books I’ve read this year’. Flag it for later.

1905 - Quick check on the phone after dinner. The CAG conversation has drawn in some NCOs and captains. Someone is asking how other countries handle CAGs. Several people have thumbs upped your previous comment. Finish the second CAG article and thumps up a few posts in the thread.

2100 - Settle into the desk after putting the kids to bed. Give another go at Amos’ article but give up again halfway through. Post a comment about how he should have read Trent’s article in the MilReview special edition. Check two new posts in The Speakeasy. One’s a call for cigars next Thursday in #meet-ups and the other is a great share in #memes-n-humor:

2235 - Almost bedtime. Spot one of your friends online playing COD. Hit them in a DM about writing a post to help amplify the MilReivew special edition.

Creating an online forum allows you to crowdsource your own professional development. You can recruit a diverse team spanning ranks, services, and specialties. Use it to curate the latest news you would otherwise miss, shop new ideas or concepts, connect with subject matter experts, or sharpen your wit with memes. What starts online can easily become an IRL meetup to discuss a complex topic and then transition to informal mentorship with a veteran leader. Or it can stay online and help you span the time zones that PCSs inevitably introduce. It’s your forum. What’re you going to make it?