#8--William Woods

In this episode, we discuss: -Woods’ definition of professional military education (PME) -The need for all leaders in a unit to emphasize PME -The purpose of PME -How PME in the Marine Corps changed from the early 1970s to the early 1980s -What good PME programs look like -The lack of emphasis of PME in the Marine Corps in the immediate years following Vietnam -Woods’ exposure to maneuver warfare and interactions with then-Lieutenant Colonel (LtCol) Mike Wyly at Amphibious Warfare School (AWS) -How LtCol Wyly stood out from the other staff at AWS -Woods’ experience with decision games at AWS -How Woods got into hobby wargaming as a lieutenant -How wargaming predisposed Woods to embracing Wyly’s teaching and maneuver warfare -How well the Marine Corps taught decision-making during Woods’ time as a company-grade officer -A deep dive on the free-play force on force exercises that the 2ndMarine Division held while then-Major General Al Gray was its commanding general -How free play exercises terrified some senior unit leaders -Woods’ role in planning the Ft Pickett exercises -The role of umpires and observers in these exercises -How the 2ndMarine Division led free play exercise critiques -How observers helped with the “I shot you.” “No, I shot you.” problem of free play exercises -How to avoid public shaming in a free play after-action review -How Al Gray created an atmosphere where free play could thrive in the 2ndMarine Division -How Gray attempted to build a consensus on maneuver warfare in the division The genesis of the 2ndMarine Division Maneuver Warfare Board and the famous “ambush” of Al Gray at the Camp Lejeune officers club -Woods’ views on Bill Lind -Woods’ experiences with Colonel John Boyd -How Woods’ involvement with the maneuver warfare movement affected his career -Woods’ experience serving as the aide-de-camp to Al Gray -Why Al Gray’s attention shifted away from promoting maneuver warfare toward creating MEU (SOCs) -The insights that Woods gained about general officers as an aide -What made Al Gray a standout among senior leaders -Woods’ thoughts on the prospects of another intellectual renaissance in the Marine Corps -The likelihood of a future US-China war -What future warfare may look like -Woods’ thoughts on the maneuver vs attrition dichotomy