Best Command and General Staff College Podcasts (2025)

1
Episode 75 - Reassessing Bernadotte with Dr. Mike Bonura 1:07:25

Play Pause

4d ago1:07:25

1:07:25

Dr. Bill Nance hosts a reassessment of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, future King Karl XIV Johan of Sweden, with Dr. Jonathan Abel and Dr. Mike Bonura of DJIMO. They explain why Bernadotte is often seen negatively. They explore if that is an accurate assessment of his career. They conclude with their own thoughts on the topic.…

1
Episode 74 - Special Guest COL Diven 33:21

6h ago33:21

33:21

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance host special guest COL. Ethan Diven, Provost and Command and General Staff College Deputy Commandant. They discuss his favorite story from history, the importance of history in the CGSC curriculum, and how students should approach military history. Finally, he offers advice to students entering the course and gradu…

1
Episode 73 - Villanueva on Amphibious Operations in World War II 1:07:46

30d ago1:07:46

1:07:46

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance are joined by special guest MAJ James Villanueva, PhD, US Army Mission Command Training Protocol, to discuss US Army amphibious operations in the Pacific in World War II. They begin by discussing the origin and training of amphibious operations in the interwar Army. They detail the difficulties of undertaking them …

1
Episode 72 - Reassessing Westmoreland with Dr. Martin Clemis 1:06:01

2M ago1:06:01

1:06:01

Dr. Jonathan Abel and co-host Dr. Bill Nance launch a new series in which we reassess commanders who have been given a good or bad reputation by historians. We begin with DR. Martin Clemis reassessing William Westmoreland, US commander in Vietnam during the key years of 1964 to 1968, and frequent punching bag for the ultimate defeat there. He expla…

1
Episode 71 – DiMarco on Replacements and Reconstitution in WWII 1:11:22

3M ago1:11:22

1:11:22

FM 3-0 Operations 2025 says that “Some combination of maneuver and attrition is typically necessary to achieve victory during armed conflict.” Dr. Jonathan Abel discusses the process of replacements and reconstitution in the European Theater of Operations in World War II with Drs. Bill Nance, co-host, and Dr. Lou DiMarco. They detail how replacemen…

1
Episode 70 – Operation Southern Watch with Dr. John Kuehn 55:29

4M ago55:29

55:29

Dr. Jonathan Abel and Dr. Bill Nance talk Operation Southern Watch with Dr. John Kuehn, US Navy (Retired). They explain why Desert Storm wasn’t actually the end of the story in Iraq. They explore how the no-fly zones were set up over Iraq, and their purpose. Dr. Kuehn walks through how missions in Southern Watch worked. They conclude with an examin…

1
Episode 69 – Preparing for MDO: WW2 with Dr. Bill Nance 1:09:52

5M ago1:09:52

1:09:52

Dr. Jonathan Abel sits down with Dr. Bill Nance to discuss how the US Army prepared for World War II. They begin with the period of austerity in the 1920s and the three competing Army missions in the Philippines, on the Mexican border, and training at home. They move through the era of rising tensions in the 1930s as George Marshall worked to build…

1
Episode 68 – Moseman on Strategic Military Intelligence 1882-1947 1:01:41

6M ago1:01:41

1:01:41

Dr. Jonathan Abel, joined by Dr. Bill Nance, talk with Dr. Scott Moseman about strategic military intelligence between its birth in the US and the end of World War II. They begin by detailing what intelligence is and how it operates on each level of war. They explain how it came about in the Army and Navy. They explore how it went through a fallow …

1
Episode 67 – Special Guest Dr. Sanders Marble on Casualty Care 1:06:49

7M ago1:06:49

1:06:49

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance are joined by Drs. Mark Gerges and Sanders Marble, Senior Historian at the US Army Office of Medical History, for a wide-ranging discussion on casualty care in US Army history. They explain how casualty care began in the earliest years of the Army and trace it through the Civil War. They detail how casualty care ch…

1
Episode 66 – Nagel on Race Relations in the US Army in World War 2 1:05:49

8M ago1:05:49

1:05:49

Dr. Jonathan Abel, joined by Dr. Bill Nance, completes the trilogy on race relations in the US Army with Dr. Amanda Nagel by looking at the period from 1920 to World War 2. They examine how the interwar years changed the discussion of the issue. They detail how changes going into World War 2 influenced race relations. They explore how the war chang…

1
Episode 65 – Bonura on Napoleonic Officers 1:40:20

9M ago1:40:20

1:40:20

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance discuss Napoleonic officers with Dr. Mike Bonura of DJIMO. They explain where the officers came from and how they were trained. They detail how Napoleonic command and control and mission command worked. They discuss some of the issues with the system. They conclude with lessons modern officers might take from the p…

1
Episode 64 – Special Guest Dr. Sam Watson 51:20

10M ago51:20

51:20

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance sit down with special guest Dr. Sam Watson from the US Military Academy at West Point. They have a wide-ranging discussion on officers in the early US republic and the state of military history today. “History is only a confused heap of facts.” – Philip Dormer Stanhope, Earl of Chesterfield Host: Dr. Jonathan Abel,…

1
Episode 63 – He Who Desires Peace, Let Him Prepare for War:” Hosler Talks Vegetius 1:05:12

11M ago1:05:12

1:05:12

Dr. Jonathan Abel is joined by Dr. John Hosler to discuss the Roman military theorist Vegetius. They discuss Vegetius’s work and its themes. They trace its transmission and influence through the medieval period. They examine its use in early modern France. They conclude by discussing one of the major misuses of Vegetius and similar works. “History …

1
Episode 62 – Clemis on Twentieth-Century Vietnamese Politics 1:04:17

1y ago1:04:17

1:04:17

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance continue their discussions about Vietnam with Dr. Martin Clemis. They dive into Vietnamese politics throughout the twentieth century. They begin with major influences on Vietnam like China, France, Marxism, and Buddhism. They detail how politics evolved throughout the century, particularly in the North. They explai…

1
Episode 61.5 – Schedule Announcement 0:27

1y ago0:27

0:27

A short of announcement that we'll be moving to a once-a-month model for CHF instead of the twice -a-month.By Department of Military History

1
Episode 61 – Brown on Eisenhower’s New Look 1:16:27

1y ago1:16:27

1:16:27

Dr. Jonathan Abel is joined by Dr. Gates Brown to discuss Eisenhower’s New Look policy. They outline the background to Eisenhower’s strategic views via the late 1940s and early 1950s. They explain what Eisenhower’s approach to deterrence was via the New Look and Massive Retaliation. They explore the responses within the Army, particularly the Pento…

1
Episode 60 – Rafuse on the 1862 Valley Campaign 57:26

1y ago57:26

57:26

Dr. Jonathan Abel is joined by Dr. Bill Nance to discuss the 1862 Valley Campaign of the U.S. Civil War with Dr. Ethan Rafuse. They discuss the background of the campaign and how it fit into the other Union efforts that spring. They detail the fighting in the valley and how Union efforts failed. They conclude with lessons from the campaign, includi…

1
Episode 59 – Abel on Early Modern European Military Theorists 1:05:39

1y ago1:05:39

1:05:39

Dr. Bill Nance interviews Dr. Jonathan Abel about military theory during the early modern period, especially in France. They discuss the gap in knowledge between Machiavelli and Clausewitz that many modern students of the subject have, and how it developed. They detail the theorists who worked between those periods and how theory evolved. They talk…

1
Episode 58 - Kuehn talks JC Wiley 1:00:37

1y ago1:00:37

1:00:37

Dr. Jonathan Abel is joined by Dr. Bill Nance and guest Dr. John Kuehn to talk about an under appreciated theorist: JC Wiley. They discuss his background and how it shaped his theory. They note his service record in World War II, including his participation in the foundation of the Combat Information Center (CIC). They then explore his theories, in…

1
Episode 57 – Clemis on Dau Tranh 1:01:41

1y ago1:01:41

1:01:41

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance sit down with Dr. Martin Clemis to discuss Vietnamese communist strategy in the Vietnam War, especially what is known as “dau tranh.” Clemis describes the holistic communist approach that stymied efforts by the French, Americans, and Chinese to defeat it. He traces its origins in Marxism and Maoism, and he discusse…

1
Episode 56 – Nagel on Race Relations in the US Army 1900-1918 1:03:05

1+ y ago1:03:05

1:03:05

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance are back with Dr. Amanda Nagel to talk race relations in the US Army in the early twentieth century. The dig into social and military issues as Jim Crow began its long reign in the US, including the Army. They detail the struggle of Black American officers to find justice and equity in the Army leading into World W…

1
Episode 55 – Babb on the Russo-Japanese War 55:53

1+ y ago55:53

55:53

Dr. Jonathan Abel, with Dr. Bill Nance, talks with Dr. Geoff Babb about one of the most important twentieth-century conflicts: the Russo-Japanese War. They discuss why the Russians were not prepared for the war, while the Japanese were. They detail the difficulties both sides faced in fighting it. They conclude by discussing its influence, particul…

1
Episode 54 – LTC Hatzinger on the US Army Mortuary Service 1:09:56

1+ y ago1:09:56

1:09:56

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance talk to LTC Kyle Hatzinger, PhD, from the Department of Sustainment and Force Management, about the US Army Mortuary Service. He describes its origins in the nineteenth century during the US Civil War and the Spanish-American War. He details how many of the Mortuary Service’s traditions and procedures originated in…

1
Episode 53 – Abel on the French Revolution 1:20:01

1+ y ago1:20:01

1:20:01

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance discuss the French Revolution. They explore its origins and its various stages. They discuss the different groups involved in it and their machinations as they sought to gain power and shape France in their image. They explore the military aspect of the Revolution as it came to an end under Napoleon. They conclude …

1
Episode 52 – Whitford on British Leadership in the Early 20th Century 1:07:55

1+ y ago1:07:55

1:07:55

Dr. Jonathan Abel and Dr. Bill Nance are back with LTC Andy Whitford, PhD, of DDE to discuss British army leadership in the early twentieth century. They trace the early career of General Nevil Macready through the Boer War and the Tonypandy Riots of 1910-1911. They detail how he managed to use military force effectively to keep peace in his variou…

1
Episode 51 – Gerges on Napoleonic Cavalry in the Peninsular War 1:01:42

1+ y ago1:01:42

1:01:42

Dr. Jonathan Abel and Dr. Bill Nance talk with Dr. Mark Gerges, Napoleonist, about Napoleonic-era cavalry in the Peninsular War. They begin by describing the conflict and the characteristics of the operating environment. They explore Napoleonic cavalry in general, particularly British and French. They detail how British cavalry fought in the confli…

1
Episode 50 – On the Road at the 2024 CRE 58:31

1+ y ago58:31

58:31

Dr. Jonathan Abel is on the road at the 2024 meeting of the Consortium on the Revolutionary Era in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His first discussion is with Dr. Julia Osman, Associate Professor of History at Mississippi State University, about early modern French soldiers. They examine misconceptions of soldiers of the period, particularly about their l…

1
Episode 49 – Jennings on Winfield Scott 1:04:35

1+ y ago1:04:35

1:04:35

Dr. Jonathan Abel, with Dr. Bill Nance, talks to LTC Nate Jennings, PhD, of DJIMO about the life and career of Winfield Scott. They discuss the early American army and Scott’s place in it as a leading intellectual. They then detail his role in the Mexican-American War from its beginnings to his triumph in Mexico City. They explore how Scott was a j…

1
Episode 48 – Hosler on Crusades and Crusading 1:04:14

1+ y ago1:04:14

1:04:14

Dr. Jonathan Abel sits down with Dr. John Hosler, DMH medievalist, to discuss the Crusades and Crusading. They examine the terminology and interrogate what constitutes a “Crusade.” They discuss the people who went Crusading and their motivations. They interrogate the time range in which Crusades took place. Finally, they opine on the utility of suc…

1
Episode 47 – Nagel on Race Relations in the US Army 1865-1906 1:18:28

1+ y ago1:18:28

1:18:28

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance talk with Dr. Amanda Nagel about race relations in the US Army between the Civil War and World War 2. They discuss the participation of Black soldiers in Reconstruction and how many transitioned to being Buffalo Soldiers in the American West. They detail the issues those soldiers faced, both within the Army and in …

1
Episode 46 – Hull on International Law 59:52

1+ y ago59:52

59:52

Dr. Jonathan Abel, joined by Dr. Bill Nance, talk international law with Dr. Mark Hull. He examines the effects of World War 2, especially the Nuremberg Trials, on the development of international law. He discusses how international law and its implementation languished in the late twentieth century before picking up again in the 1990s. He explains…

1
Episode 45 – Zinsou on French Politics in WW2 1:08:37

1+ y ago1:08:37

1:08:37

Dr. Jonathan Abel and Dr. Bill Nance discuss French politics before and during World War 2 with Dr. Cameron Zinsou. They analyze the impact of World War 1 on France and how it shaped the French military going in to the next war. They outline the politics of the Third Republic and explain why they were so fractious. They detail how politics changed …

1
Episode 44 – Babb on Stilwell 1:04:25

2y ago1:04:25

1:04:25

Dr. Jonathan Abel, with Dr. Bill Nance, discusses the career of General “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell before and during World War II with DMH China expert Dr. Geoff Babb. They explore Stilwell’s early career in the slim interwar-years Army and how it uniquely qualified him for service in East Asia. They detail how this resulted in an important civil-milit…

1
Episode 43 - Whitford on Britain in the Vietnam Era 1:00:54

2y ago1:00:54

1:00:54

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance meet with special guest LTC Andy Whitford, PhD, of the Department of Distance Education, about Britain during the Vietnam era. He outlines the difficulties of post-war and post-colonial Britain and how they influenced politics. He discusses Britain's efforts at mediation throughout the US-Vietnam conflict. He concl…

1
Episode 42 - Jennings on the 1973 War 1:07:09

2y ago1:07:09

1:07:09

Dr. Jonathan Abel, joined by Dr. Bill Nance, talks with special guest LTC Nate Jennings, PhD, of the Department of Joint, Interagency, and Multinational Operations, about the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. They discuss the background of the conflict, particularly coming out of the 1967 Six-Day War. They detail why the 1973 War was such a surprise for Israe…

1
Episode 41 - Abel and Nance on Professionalism 1:12:17

2y ago1:12:17

1:12:17

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance interview each other about a key element of modern militaries: professionalism. Dr. Abel discusses what constituted professionalism and merit in early-modern France, especially in the transition from the noble Old Regime to the French Revolution and Napoleonic armies. Dr. Nance explores how that changed in the Amer…

1
Episode 40 - DiMarco on Urban Warfare 1:11:57

2y ago1:11:57

1:11:57

Dr. Jonathan Abel, joined by Dr. Bill Nance, discusses urban warfare with the dean of the subject, Dr. Lou DiMarco. They discover the unique nature of urban warfare and what challenges it poses to militaries. They trace the origins of urban warfare through the ancient, medieval, and early-modern eras, as technologies and techniques changed. They ex…

1
Episode 39 - Kuehn on Mahan 1:05:20

2y ago1:05:20

1:05:20

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance talk with Dr. John Kuehn about the naval theorist Alfred Mahan. He explains Mahan's background and why he chose the Navy over his father's Army. He traces Mahan's career during the middle of the nineteenth century, correcting several errors that have entered the historical record about it. He then details Mahan's t…

1
Episode 38 - Clemis on Pacification in Vietnam 1:11:25

2y ago1:11:25

1:11:25

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance talk with Dr. Martin Clemis about pacification efforts during the conflicts in Vietnam in the mid-twentieth century. He explains how the US got involved in the region and how the conflicts originated. He details various methods of pacification, and challenges to them, by US and US-allied organizations. Finally, he …

1
Episode 37 - Schneider on Limiting War 1:07:30

2y ago1:07:30

1:07:30

Drs. Jonathan Abel and Bill Nance talk with Dr. Benjamin Schneider about efforts to limit war via law between the US Civil War and the mid-twentieth century. They discuss historical antecedents and why the mid-nineteenth-century wars inspired a push for formal laws of war. They trace those efforts through World War II and conclude by examining the …

1
Episode 36 - Periodization with Hosler 1:13:51

2y ago1:13:51

1:13:51

Dr. Jonathan Abel is joined by Dr. Bill Nance and Dr. John Hosler to nerd out about a controversial topic in historiography: periodization. They discuss why periodization is important, how it can be done, and what issues accompany it. They also illustrate some of the pitfalls of periodization, including whose stories it might prejudice. "History is…

1
Episode 35 - Cotter on the 2003 Iraq Invasion 1:01:59

2y ago1:01:59

1:01:59

Dr. Bill Nance, joined by Dr. Jonathan Abel, talk to Dr. Dave Cotter about the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. Dr. Cotter outlines his role in the invasion, working in one of the logistics units that enabled it. He explains the difficulties of operating in the theater and what workarounds he and his team developed. Dr. Nance discusses the invasion from h…

1
Episode 34 - Bonura on French Influences on the US Army 1:03:05

2y ago1:03:05

1:03:05

Dr. Jonathan Abel and Dr. Bill Nance sit down with special guest Dr. Mike Bonura of DJIMO to discuss the French influences on the US Army from its earliest years to the US Civil War. He outlines how the French were the paradigm army of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and what immediate and long-term influences that had on US Army…

1
Episode 33 - Kuehn on the Strategic Roots of WW2 in the Asia-Pacific 1:05:42

2+ y ago1:05:42

1:05:42

Dr. Jonathan Abel is joined by Dr. Bill Nance to discuss the deep roots of the Asia-Pacific theater(s) of World War 2 with Dr. John Kuehn. Dr. Kuehn analyzes the growing conflict around the turn of the nineteenth century between Japan and its neighbors China and Russia, then how that led to animosity with the United States. He details the roles eac…

1
Episode 32 - Vietnam Vets 1:02:13

2+ y ago1:02:13

1:02:13

Dr. Jonathan Abel is joined by Drs. Martin Clemis and Bill Nance in a very special episode where they talk to three Vietnam War veterans about their experiences in that conflict. Guests LTC Jack Burkett, BG William West, and COL Thomas Dials (Retired) all served in Vietnam between 1966 and 1972 in a variety of capacities. They detail their backgrou…

1
Episode 31 - Jennings and Nance on Cavalry 1:04:30

2+ y ago1:04:30

1:04:30

Dr. Jonathan Abel is joined by LTC Nate Jennings, PhD, and DR. Bill Nance to discuss the history and evolution of cavalry. They begin in the earliest recorded periods, discussing what the mounted arm brought to ancient warfare. They then trace its development through the early-modern and Napoleonic eras before explaining the effects on cavalry of m…

1
Episode 30 - Dutch Army Historians 56:23

2+ y ago56:23

56:23

Dr. Jonathan Abel, joined by Dr. Bill Nance, hosts a very special episode with two historians from the Royal Dutch Army, Marco Middelwijk and Jaus Müller. They discuss the importance of history in professional military education and how the Dutch Army makes use of it. They also talk about how the Dutch, and the Dutch Army, approach their own histor…

1
Episode 29 - Riotto on US Civil War POWs 1:01:54

2+ y ago1:01:54

1:01:54

Dr. Jonathan Abel, joined by Dr. Bill Nance, discuss US Civil War POWs with Dr. Angela Riotto. She explains how a soldier might become a POW and what the differences in kinds of POWs were. She details how POWs thought about themselves during and after their captivity. She discusses the conditions of the camps, which worsened throughout the war, esp…

1
Episode 28 - On the Road at the 2023 SMH 2:10:15

2+ y ago2:10:15

2:10:15

Dr. Jonathan Abel is on the road at the 2023 meeting of the Society for Military History in San Diego, California, speaking with a variety of military historians on topics ranging from the late seventeenth century to Vietnam. Lineup: Eighteenth-century grand strategy and Corsica with Dr. Joshua Meeks, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Policy at t…

1
Episode 27 - Jennings on the US Army and History 55:35

2+ y ago55:35

55:35

Dr. Jonathan Abel is joined by Dr. Bill Nance to examine with LTC Nate Jennings, PhD, how the US Army uses history. They discuss the role of history in professional military education within the Army, including how it shapes officers' education and training. They interrogate the utility of history, especially military history, in the Army. They con…

Command And General Staff College Podcasts