Bearings: Spring 2019

Volume I

The Capital Battalion Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps

Table of Contents

I. Editor’s note (2)II. “Culture, Democracy, Migration, and Beauty in the

Arab World” (3)III. “Spring New Student Orientation” (5)IV. “Industry Leaders Discuss Tech and the Future of

National Security” (7) V. “The Rosenberg: Germany Post WWII” (11)VI. “A Weekend at the Notre Dame Leadership

Conference” (9)

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Editor’s Note

Good Day Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would first like to thank everyone who contributed to this edition of Bearings. Thank you to the writers and administration for their help, as this would not be possible without their participation. Additionally, I would like to thank the Bearings editors who have come before me whose editing prowess guided me through the process of compiling this edition.

Welcome to those of you reading this volume, whether it be your first or fortieth time reading the Bearings publication. The midshipmen of the Capital Battalion have risen to the challenge once again and put forth some outstanding content. As you will read, my peers are world-travelers, leaders, scholars, and so much more. I could not be more honored to present to you the accomplishments and content of the Capital Battalion, spring 2019.

Very respectfully,

MIDN 3/C Ward

MIDN 3/C Ward

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“Culture, Democracy, Migration and Beauty in the Arab World”

By MIDN 1/C Ivison

As a brief introduction, I am a Marine Option Midshipman who waited to study abroad until after I completed Marine Corps Officer Candidates School in July of 2018. I study International Affairs and Political Science and am the President of a Professional Foreign Service Fraternity. Therefore, I knew that I needed to immerse myself in another culture to get the full value of my college education.

Studying abroad was the best decision that I made in college. Through the School of International Training, I went to Tunisia, a small Arab nation in northern Africa, because I believed my experiences there would help me as a future Marine Officer. My experiences gave me a personal understanding of Islamic politics, democratization, and immigration that my classroom experiences here in DC simply could never provide. Tunisia is a crossroads of Arab, African, and European culture due to its dynamic history and colonization by France. Given Tunisia is the birthplace of the Arab Spring and the one successful full democracy that resulted, it is a crucial case study for the future of US policy in the MENA region.

I was immersed through my studies of Tunsi and Fusha Arabic, and my experiences of daily life through my stay with a host family. An imperative skill for me to hone as an officer is cultural empathy, which I developed through learning the language and perspectives of the region’s people. A Marine Officer should hold an understanding of a region’s culture, religion, and language in order to have a positive influence on the region, and to hopefully offer insight for future relations.

I also spent 3 weeks in Sicily, visiting many different organizations to learn about the migration of people from Africa from both sides of the journey across the Mediterranean, a critical issue in the world today. I spent my last month working in Tunis for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) which gave me an opportunity to do research on its security state and the role of international organizations.

Picture courtesy of MIDN 1/C Ivison

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This program taught me more than I could have imagined and brought me to some of the most unique and beautiful places in the world. In Tunisia, I stood at the most northern point of Africa, visited ancient Roman and Carthegian ruins throughout the country, swam and hiked on the coasts of the Mediterranean, road on a camel in the Sahara desert, swam under waterfalls in the desert’s oases, saw many sites where Star Wars was filmed, visited great mosques and ancient civilizations, slept in a cave, saw

grand amphitheaters, and tried so much delicious food. In Sicily, I hiked above the

beautiful cities, saw cliffs lined with Greek temples, visited many more theaters, climbed one of the world’s most active volcanoes, and enjoyed genuine Sicilian pizza.

One of the many reasons that I felt myself drawn to the Marine Corps is the incredible opportunities to explore the world and being drawn to understanding and helping those that need our help from the dangers they are unable to stop. My experiences taught about issues and cultures that our future officers need to understand while opening my eyes to the beauty that the world offers.

Picture courtesy of MIDN 1/C Ivison

Pictured MIDN 1/C Ivison

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“Spring New Student Orientation”

By MIDN 2/C Locher

On January 19th and 20th, MIDN Skawski and myself were given the privilege of leading Spring New Student Orientation (NSO) 2019. Spring NSO serves the purpose of reaffirming the  training returning 4/C had throughout the Fall semester and also as an indoctrination period for any new 4/C. However, NSO evolutions serve an even greater purpose, providing Upperclass Midshipmen (MIDN)  with leadership opportunities.

Preparing for Spring NSO allowed me to see sides of Midshipmen I had yet to see. Throughout my time in NROTC, I believe training evolutions to be the best time to earn respect and establish trust from fellow MIDN. Spring NSO was only a two-day evolution but it shed light on many MIDN and their potential greatness that is to come. MIDN Rosen was the Company Gunnery Sergeant and he successfully carried out the plans of the day with his staff. He implemented new approaches to Spring NSO such as establishing a 4/C platoon structure with leadership positions. MIDN Bishop, although just a 3/C, established herself as a Platoon Sergeant and one to be taken seriously among MIDN above her and MIDN below her. She and MIDN Michael implemented MCDO qualification training with their Instructor Staff. At the helm of the Admin Staff, MIDN Conner produced informative briefs that enabled all 4/C to pass the MCDO qualification test and provided them will skills to become better Midshipmen and college students. In agreement with MIDN Skawski, I trust in all who were on this Spring NSO staff and look forward to see their NROTC careers unfold.

Being the second year of Spring NSO in our battalion, it has established itself as an essential evolution for MIDN professional development. The 4/C came into the evolution blindly and left with new experiences that have helped them mature. The highlight event of Spring NSO that made it unique was the Leadership Reaction Course (LRC). The LRC put the 4/C into a training environment that induced abnormal stress to test how they would react as a team. I believe it was a great experience for the 4/C because they had to establish leadership and clear communication amongst each other in order to complete tasks. I specifically enjoyed paying attention to the time it took for a leader to step up and the rest of the 4/C to follow. Besides the

Pictured MIDN 2/C Locher (left) MIDN 2/C Skawski (right)

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LRC, Spring NSO provided the 4/C with knowledge on how to improve their time management and professionalism. There is still room for the 4/C to grow and in order to be effective 3/C next year, they must take their development as MIDN seriously and aggressively seek improvement . As MIDN Skawski told them, “Know yourself and seek improvement: You should always be striving to do this.”

Thank you again to the NSO Staff and MIDN Lee and MIDN Eskin for their logistical support. Thank you Capt Ryan, LT Coyne, LT Lazott, LT Lada, and LT McGee.

Pictured 4/C MIDN Study for inspection at Spring NSO

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Pictured 4/C MIDN stand in formation at Spring NSO

“Industry Leaders Discuss Tech and the Future of National Security”

By MIDN 4/C Cate     

Myself and another midshipman of the Capitol Battalion attended a talk on January 28th, held at Georgetown University, focused on Technology and the Future of National Security. The two special guests for the conversation were Palmer Luckey, founder of Anduril and Oculus Virtual Reality, and Trae Stephens, Chairman of Anduril, as they discussed the future uses of technology in battles and wars, as well as the relationship between defense contractors and the United States Department of Defense.         Luckey initially founded Oculus VR out of his garage in 2012 after experimenting with creating a virtual reality headset, later marketed as the Oculus Rift. When asked how to create a successful company, Luckey responded to one member of the audience saying that he “didn’t create any new technology, but instead took existing technologies and put them together in a different way to make a new product”. Luckey repeatedly emphasized the need for innovation in the defense sphere to better equip soldiers and personnel.

Luckey’s current project is, as he described it, “a sort of Call of Duty heads-up display”. Luckey’s vision is one where troops on the battlefield have an abundance of information about their surroundings and the current battle conditions they face. This would be accomplished by providing each troop with gear that incorporates sensor-technology to provide real-time updates on the battlefield with all the sensors working in concert to create a comprehensive, shared set of information among all the friendly troops in the area. Each troop would have an interface providing information like “distance-to-target” and where enemy combatants are in the battlespace.

During the conversation with Luckey and Stephens, a former Army infantryman in the audience asked a question regarding gear acquisition and how long the pipeline is from the research and development of new technologies to the acquisition and supply of those technologies to America’s troops and military personnel. The infantryman described having worn-out, heavy equipment with no option but to use what was given to him. Luckey remarked that ideally, newly developed technologies and tools for use on the battlefield would be available immediately to troops and personnel, but the only space that sees that rapid transition is special forces. He attributed this fact to the size of the community being smaller and the presumed necessity of providing special forces with the newest and best technology because of their advanced mission set.

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In response to the conversation about research and development of new technologies, Trae Stephens, Chairman of Anduril Technologies and a graduate of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, discussed the saturation of the defense contracting space and the Department of Defense’s reluctance to give contracts to companies outside of the large, established “defense primes” like Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing. Stephens envisions a shift in the DoD’s relationship with contractors in the future, encouraging progress in the defense space by giving contracts to smaller, innovating companies.

Although the development of Luckey’s sensor-array technology and the shift from a saturated defense space to one of smaller, more ambitious companies will be gradual, we can expect to see some changes occuring by the time many current midshipmen commission as officers in the Navy and Marine Corps. By the time the conversation was held in January, Trae Stephens had already begun talks with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment with aims to shorten the R&D to acquisition pipeline which could lead to the Navy and Marine Corps receiving new and better technologies more rapidly. Luckey and Stephens’s visions of the future defense sphere may come to fruition in the next decade, greatly improving the efficiency and capabilities of the Navy, Marine Corps, and US Military altogether.

MIDN 4/C Cate

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“The Rosenberg: Germany Post WWII”

By MIDN 3/C Murdoch

This semester from 05 Feb to 15 March the first floor of the Elliott school will house the museum exhibit, “The Rosenburg - The Federal Ministry of Justice in the Shadow of Nazi Past.” I attended the opening of this exhibit where Katarina Barley, the Federal Minister of Justice for Germany, explained the research behind the museum exhibit as well as recent German history regarding denazification.  In the years immediately following World War II, there was an abrupt and immediate purge of former Nazi party members and conspirators in government positions. However, as the internal and external pressure from occupying countries and the German population lessened, an increasing number of former Nazis were allowed back into leadership positions, especially within the Ministry of Justice (BMJV).  By 1957, 76% of the BMJV were formerly members of the Nazi party, with 20% being former members of the SA. For decades, Nazi officials were allowed to remain in positions of power, making decisions regarding the punishment of convicted war criminals, reconstruction and reparations costs, and rebuilding Germany after the war. These people in power were also able to quietly and continually perpetuate Nazi ideology using their political and social influence.  

An investigation into this part of Germany’s past was widely unaccepted and protested for decades following the war.  Any attempt into an investigation of government officials’ was met with widespread resistance and pushback until these people became old enough to retire or pass away.  In 2002, the German government started a campaign dubbed “The Rosenburg Files,” named after the building where the Ministry of Justice is housed. For the last 15 years, they conducted careful and meticulous research into the personnel that made up the German government in the years following WWII and faced a harsh reality: Nazi ideology and personnel continued to have a direct influence on German domestic and foreign policy throughout the rest of the 20th century.  The exhibit shows concrete examples of the consequences, including expungements of Nazi punishments and continued persecution of minority groups. When this museum exhibit first debuted in 2017 in Germany, this was one of the first public displays and efforts into recognizing and dealing with the greater truth of Germany’s Nazi past.

MIDN 3/C Murdoch

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What makes this exhibit so interesting is how differently the German and United States governments address handling the actions of the past.  It was brought up during the question and answer portion that in many capacities, the swastika symbol is banned and talking about Nazism in any capacity is widely taboo.  Comparing this to the conversation about the Civil War and addressing the remaining statues of Confederate officials in the South revealed an interesting comparison about the right of free speech as represented in different countries, as well as the lines that are drawn between free speech and hate speech.  Additionally, studying the way that countries learn from their policy mistakes informs our own policy-makers to learn from our mistakes as well. This exhibit, while seemingly niche and a narrow field of study, has many applications to current and future policymakers, and is necessary to learn about to understand the dynamics of world politics today.  

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“A Weekend at the Notre Dame Leadership Conference”

By MIDN 1/C Bucholz

I smile at the midshipmen across from me, adding creamer to the too hot coffee in my hands while we play the ‘who knows who’ game. The room is filled with comfortable chatter and the smell of breakfast pastries, people around round tables asking ‘what school are you from?’ and ‘oh do you know so and so?’ It’s a familiar dance. A Notre Dame midshipman, his nametape in distinct bright green, lets us know it’s almost time to head over. I wrangle myself into my all-weather jacket, wrestle my SDB collar back into compliance after it has decided to pop up, and set out with the rest of my group.

        Every exposed inch of skin stings in the frigid wind, and I curse Indiana in February. The long snake of us, black clad and joking about freezing our fingers off, makes good time to the auditorium. We’re desperate to get into the warm, and eager to get to the hot coffee that’s promised. I’m even more excited to see our speakers.

        The Notre Dame Leadership Conference is huge. Midshipmen from units across the nation, some as far as California and as close as Ohio, are together for the first time since CORTRAMID. It was a non-attribution environment, so I can’t tell you exactly who said what, but I can say I was incredibly impressed with the assortment of speakers and the quality of questions asked. The two topics that kept coming back up, from speaker topics as well as midshipman questions, were personnel and ethics. How do we look out for each other? How do we re-focus technical proficiency with the recent trends of emphasis on collateral duties? What do you have to say about the rash of senior enlisted being removed? How do we hold our subordinates accountable? Our bosses? Ourselves? How do we speak truth to power?           One speaker talks about a serious ethical incident, graciously allowing us to dissect his conduct during Q&A. Another speaker exhorts us to focus on developing ourselves as well as our personnel. A professor introduces the pros and cons of interventionism. The JO panel gives it to us straight, taking a moment when a midshipman asks a hard question to think of the answer. They do not disappoint, bringing up aspects of the problem only lived experience teaches, honestly stating the mistakes they have made and how we can avoid them. I’m not embarrassed to say I was frantically scribbling advice and phrases.

        At the break I stretch my legs in the lobby and see an old buddy across the room. We met on my first summer cruise and even though I haven’t seen in her almost two years we immediately click, asking about family and “how’s your cat?” and where we want to select. The

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same thing happens all across the room, old friends in circles catching up over more coffee. We trade stories about out home units, swapping protocols and comparing how we do things, putting new ideas in our pockets to bring back with us.

        The conference was a rich source of knowledge not only for what the speakers chose to begin with, but also for where our questions led. They gave honest, intelligent answers that had me jotting down notes on things to research further, newly aware that I didn’t even know what I didn’t know, and reinvigorated to seek the answers.

Pictured MIDN 2/C Squires (left) MIDN 1/C Bucholz (right)

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