Wisdom from John Collins, (COL, US Army RET), AKA The Warlord Emeritus

Today John Collins spoke to graduate students in the Security Studies Program  at Georgetown University.  The topic was National Security Career Choices.  Below are some links to the text of his talk as well as some other valuable documents he provided for students and national security practitioners alike.  

1. Text: National Security Career Choices: https://db.tt/07kfd3kY

2. Advice for writing and publishing:  Sharp Pens Sharpened Swords: https://db.tt/TK2rVw8S

3. The A-B-C's  of Military Intervention: A checklist of Key Considerations: https://db.tt/NHMF1TVp

4.  US Special Operations: Personal Opinions: https://db.tt/87rZ2Ue3

5.  Original Five SOF Truths: https://db.tt/aQVmdDiJ

As soon as we have the podcast complete we will post it on the Georgetown Center for Security Studies web site and I will provide the link.

A short summary of his biography:

John Collins enlisted as an Army private, May 1942 and retired as a colonel, May 1972. He served as a IX Air Force aircraft controller in Europe during World War II; arrived in Korea only a few days before that war ended; and was Chief of General Westmoreland's Campaign Planning Group in Vietnam. His culminating assignment was at the National War College as Director of Military Strategy Studies, 1968-71 and as Chief, Strategic Research Group, 1971-72. Awards for 30 years of active and reserve Army service included two Legions of Merit, a Bronze Star, and a Master Parachutist Badge.
 
Following his Army career, Colonel Collins worked in the Congressional Research Service (CRS) from June 1972 until January 1996 as a Senior Specialist in National Defense. Upon his retirement, he was awarded the Award for Distinguished Service to the Congress of the United States. In September 2003, he received a Public Service Award from the Secretary of the Army for his contributions to public understanding of national security affairs in general and of the Army in particular.
 
In addition to Colonel Collins' extensive output under the aegis of CRS, he is the author of numerous additional publications, including Grand Strategy: Principles and Practices (1973), U.S. Defense Planning: A Critique (1982), Green Berets, SEALs, and Spetsnaz (1987), America's Small Wars (1991), and Military Geography (1998). His memoirs, From Nowhere to Somewhere, were published by Vanity Press in 2012.
 
Colonel Collins is the founder and operator of the Warlord Loop, a by-invitation-only email forum whose influential members have covered the full national security spectrum and engaged in voluminous, freewheeling, unclassified exchanges since 1998.