With the calendar turned to 2017, we’re looking back to our most read pieces of original MWI commentary and analysis of the past year. From strategy to weaponized concrete to innovation on the battlefield, these are the articles you read, shared, and talked about most. Special congratulations to John Spencer and ML Cavanaugh for each writing multiple articles that made the list. Only original articles that we published during 2016 are included on the list, and it doesn’t include entries from our popular War Books series or videos of our events. Stick around and read through to the end of the list for a special bonus!
1. The Most Effective Weapon on the Modern Battlefield is Concrete
2. Ranger School is Not a Leadership School
3. The Challenges of Ranger School and How to Overcome Them
4. Winter is Coming: Sociology and the Next Great War
5. Follow the Yellow Brick Wall: The Reasons Why Military Officers Do Not Write
6. Grenade Launchers and Bed Sheets: An Invisibility Kit for Urban Combat
8. Real Strategists Don’t Use Smartphones
10. Yes, Sergeant, Actually That West Point Cadet Does Outrank You
12. Fifty-One Strategic Debates Worth Having
13. The Coming Robot War—And It’s Not With Robots
14. Soldier-Driven Bullet Innovation, Lighter and More Punch
15. Special Forces as Military Observers in Modern Combat
16. The Exoskeleton Will Change Future Combat
And as a special bonus, here’s our most downloaded podcast episode of 2016!
Zombies and Global Security, with MWI Non-Resident Fellow Max Brooks
Thanks to all of you who care deeply about modern war and how best to plan and prepare for new and emerging challenges on the battlefield for reading our commentary and analysis. Check back every day as we scale up our digital publishing and look for the big things we have planned for 2017!