Admin Notes & We’re Officially Published

Been a bit busy this past week – daytime job primary among the reasons.  New organizations are interesting and engaging entities, but their demands can be nearly all consuming at times and when added to a three hour commute, well, the grey matter was more interested in vegetating than cogitating – or something like that.

Anyway, we have some news – actually a couple of items to relate:

Hot off the presses: Securing Freedom in the Global Commons ($24 paperback/$65 hardcover) is now available for purchase.  This was the culmination of a year and one-half long effort of a collection of experts and specialists in international security affairs.  Together, we examined the current and projected international security climate with a particular focus on what will be necessary to secure the commons from conflict.  We looked at all aspects of power and capabilities – from decision-making, to sea control, missile defense and cyber warfare.  While our lead (Scott Jasper — who really should be applauded for both the original concept AND masterfully herding our group of cats)  was from the Naval Postgraduate School, Stanford University picked up the book and will be using it as the lead volume of its new graduate security studies program.  The reviews have been good thus far — a couple of examples:

“The prosperity and stability of our global community depends increasingly on the open access to air space, outer space, oceans and more recently cyberspace as media for the continual transport of goods, capital, and information. Scott Jasper and his team have assembled the first comprehensive description of the multidimensional task of securing the global commons and the critical role our defense forces will play. …A must read for serious analysts and educators in the national security field.”—Stuart E. Johnson, Senior Research Analyst, RAND Corporation

“This is the first book-length examination of the stark implications of current and future challenges to America’s reach and influence in the global commons. Its breadth is matched only by its high degree of scholarship and its relevance. The authors offer invaluable insights into the scale of the problem we face, and are to be commended for their innovative strategic thinking about solutions. Securing Freedom in the Global Commons is highly recommended to policy makers and students of national security and international relations.”—Frank Hoffman, U.S. National Analyst, Author of From Preponderance to Partnership, American Maritime Power in the 21st Century and The Contested Maritime Commons

Read selected pages from Securing Freedom in the Global Commons here.

This was a challenging project – the level of writing, intended audience and guidance from the publisher was quite different from what I’ve experienced for the odd periodical I’ve been fortunate enough to have been published in.  It was also amply rewarding and sets the stage for the next round, Conflict and Cooperation in the Commons.  My portfolio has been expanded to cover a wider circle of proliferation issues and will be a panelist at an upcoming conference for the same.  That same conference, and next iteration of the project, will see a significant expansion of participants from around DoD as well.

And of course, since this is in addition to my day job, it means my free time, such as it was, will be further proscribed.  Still, while the quantity may suffer, my intent is to continue to post here, over at USNI and the Naval History site as well.  Speaking of this site, there will be some changes coming down the pike.  The biggest is that in support of the project discussed above, I’ve formed my own company, Steeljaw Enterprise, LLC and this website’s ownership will be picked up by the corporation.  That process was a pretty involved one in its own right, from filing of papers with the federal and Commonwealth agencies, bringing an accountant onboard and all the in-house requirements to support same.  Big time paperwork drill — but I think in the long-run it will be worth it.  Down the road the corporation will support a couple of other projects for which I’m in the planning phase.

Apropos the website — I’m looking at some changes that will feature more content (still centered on the posts themselves), easier access and a more robust backside (read: hosting support) and doing it without a bunch of distracting ads.  I’m entertaining ideas/suggestions/recommendations  (except from spammers), so drop a line, eh?

So — my thanks for your patience and indulgence; as the saying goes, “It’s All For the Greater Good”

w/r, SJS

UPDATE: Here’s the info on the upcoming conference mentioned above:

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