Hinote Strategy LLC

#WhatIWouldDoDifferently My heart goes out to United States Marine Corps Commandant Eric Smith today. There is not a finer human being walking the planet. He has been an essential encourager to me and many, many others. I don't know exactly what Eric is dealing with, but I dealt with something similar. After about 6 months back in the Pentagon, I developed a fever that would not go away...then vomiting...then extreme dehydration & delirium. When I went to the emergency room (way too late), my doctors ordered an ambulance and had me taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Why? My kidneys were failing. For 12 hours, a US Navy Officer Nurse stayed with me and injected six full V bags (he later said he had never done that). He flushed my system and saved my life that night. Despite more tests than I can count--and some of them were pretty unpleasant--we never figured out a root cause. My gut feeling: it was #workplace stress, and it almost killed me. I was in an experimental unit made up of people pulled from the Headquarters staff and Major Commands. They hated giving up these people, and they all wanted to see us fail. In meeting after meeting, we were on the defensive. But all the while, our United States Air Force was losing ground to #china, & our senior leaders looked to us to turn that around. The pressure was high, & I was reacting to it. That takes a toll. More than I realized. I had never experienced anything like it. I wish I could say that it changed my approach, but it didn't. I eventually had to leave, because I had hard data that I was killing myself. A major consideration for me: I learned that #airforce 5-star General Henry "Hap" Arnold (my personal role model) had four heart attacks in office. He died of the fifth one, less than four years after retirement. Stress is real. It wears us down without us realizing it, then we suddenly get waylaid with something big. Even then, few of us recognize it for what it is. I am praying for Eric and his family. His leadership load is more than I could bear. I pray for a full recovery. When that happens, I'm praying for a sustainable rucksack for him to carry forward...

Join Clint Hinote at the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum (#DEF2023) Conference and connect with like-minded disruptors in national security innovation. We believe in expanding support networks and generating collective capacity to push beyond the status quo, emphasizing the importance of informal relationships and networks in the NatSec community. Meet a diverse group of practitioners at our event, ranging from crisis response professionals to warfighters and senior leaders, all committed to reimagining outdated approaches to readiness and deterrence. With hands-on experiences and relationship-building opportunities, #DEF2023 is the perfect place to explore evolved approaches to NatSec challenges. Request an invite today! www.def.org/def-2023 Common Mission Project, Globally, Truman National Security Project, +More Perfect Union, Stand Together, Building Momentum, Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), BMNT, Ltd., Ground Truth Design, Jen Sovada, Meagan Metzger, Ian Eishen, Michael Pecota, Dina Spivy, Jamaal "Jay" Sampson 🎯 Paul ☁️ Puckett, Whitney McNamara, Jay Long, Daniel Hulter, Ryan Connell, Jer McKoy, Jon Margolick, Joshua Marcuse, Aubrey Cox Ottenstein #DEF2023 #team #people #power #nationalsecurity #innovation #humandesign #tech

#FutureFocusedLeadership I cannot say more about Major General Jeannie Leavitt (I know her as "Tally") than what so many others have said. But I cannot help myself... She was in my year group. I met her at the Weapons School, where we worked together to revolutionize the Air Force's top school. I remember the days when I heard her voice on the radio and knew it was her, because there was no other women who was operating that that level of competence. I watched her help Lt Gen Moseley as he ran the air war for Iraq (and she fell in love with my friend & leader "Yogi" Craig Leavitt). She progressed to higher levels of leadership and excelled. She and Yogi started an exceptional family. Every step of the way, she served and led with the highest character and competence. She deserves every accolade that has been given...and more. Believe me, I was an eyewitness. One quick story: My family is currently hosting a refugee family from #Ukraine in our house. There are three children, including one young woman who just started 9th grade in N. Virginia. A few months ago, Tally came over to check out our new garden (I think she is a green thumb at heart). During that time, I had the opportunity to introduce our Ukrainian teenager to Tally--the real 'Captain Marvel.' Our adopted family member didn't show it, but she was in total awe. That young Ukrainian woman has been absolutely thriving in the United States since that day. She is acing her classes, making friends, and thinking about a limitless future. This young woman can do incredible things, whether she chooses to return to Ukraine or become a citizen of the United States (I'm selfishly rooting for the latter). When young women meet Tally, they see possibilities that they would not otherwise see. I know that is both a joy and a burden to Tally, but it has been a huge blessing to so many women...and men. I want to say publicly that I have been inspired by her. She did it right, every step of the way. Our nation, and our United States Air Force could not have asked for a better officer and leader to be our first female #fighterpilot. She has--in her humble way--influenced countless lives for the better. And I believe she has a lot more to give...MTF. Dave Allvin JoAnne (Jo) Bass Marvel Entertainment

#PMC11 is on 🔥 this morning! A heartfelt thank you to Lt Gen (ret) Clint Hinote for kicking off our jumpstart week with words of motivation and encouragement! Followed by Jeff DeGraff James Dryjanski Johnny Barnes and the one and only W. Ethan Eagle #PMalumni at #AirUniversity we have an open door here at the #KressonDexter...stop on by!

#ThingsIWouldDoDifferently I would reject the subtle lie: "If you can just (make the next rank, get that dream job, etc) then you will be happier, more fulfilled, and have more influence." In the military, we wear our rank on our uniform for all to see. You are always aware of where you are in the hierarchical structure. It it normal and natural to want to rise in rank and position. There is, however, a subtle but dark message that constantly says: "your rank/position indicates your value." That is a lie. Learn from my error. You will not be happier or more fulfilled at that next rank, or when you get that dream position. You will be happiest--and have the most positive influence--when you are present in the moment, working alongside people to accomplish things as a team while connecting with your co-workers in a genuine way. You don't control a lot of things, but you control how you approach work and choose to engage with others. Take that control. I spent way too much time being concerned about the top awards, the next rank, and the next job. And I was able to attain those things. I finished first in my class at the United States Air Force Academy, in pilot training, and at Command & Staff College. I was frocked to Lt Colonel at 35 and Colonel at 39. I was a 42-year old Wing Commander, a 45-year old Brigadier General, and a 49-year old three-star and the Air Force's "futurist." I'm pretty sure I was the youngest Lt Gen in all the military at that point. None of these things made me happier. I wasn't more fulfilled, and I wasn't more valuable as a human. In some cases, I was a lot less happy, like when I had to give up command of a small squadron with a great mission and great people in order to hurry to the next job. I was always happiest when I was part of a great team, engaging in the work in front of us, and connecting with my teammates. I miss those days. The hierarchy will always beckon you, and in a way that is healthy for the institution, as it harnesses our natural ambition and keeps us working hard and trying to advance. Recognize that for what it is. There is nothing wrong with assuming command, or getting the next job, or making the next rank. When that takes away from who you are in the present, however, it is toxic and life-stealing. Do not miss out on the people, the mission, and the experiences in front of you. #genuineconnections #mindfulleadership #wellbeing #teambonding

#ConnectingTech Want a summary of last week's #AIforDefense Summit? Here is my (humble) attempt: - Large Language Models - #LLMs (e.g. #ChatGPT or #llama2) & similarly trained models are not magic. These are 'trained' on large amounts of data, such as articles, papers & books. The training involves breaking language down into "tokens" (you might think of these as common pairs of characters--like 'qu'--or common syllables in English like "er"). Using these tokens, they establish patterns in language & catalog these patterns. This allows them to use math to predict the most likely next word/phrase in response to a prompt, like "who is the better singer, Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift?" Try it. - For a long time, LLMs were very clunky & responded in gibberish. Developers, however, stuck with their core thesis: with enough data plus enough computing power to establish mathematical linkages throughout language, it is possible for a model to construct responses in human language that are useful. That thesis is now proven. - The majority of experts now believe the next evolution in LLMs is to move from general language models to more specific applications that are trained on specialized datasets & able to provide very good answers within a narrow field. These will be bad at answering who is the best singer, but they would be excellent with "identify publicly traded companies whose stock price and PE ratios rose during periods of high inflation (CPI > 5%)?" That's a good question for #BloombergGPT - These models are not human. When we ascribe human conditions to them - like "hallucinations" - we obscure what is really going on. - Since these models are probabilistic, not deterministic, we may never be able to test them using techniques developed for deterministic systems. Establishing trust will require other approaches, probably testing how they work in interactions with humans of different skill levels. - It's clear that major productivity gains are possible when these models are used by humans. This is especially true when someone with general knowledge uses the model to do very specialized things. - There is wide agreement that LLMs are useful in govt & military applications, but the govt doesn't know what to ask for, & companies don't know what govt wants. In many cases, these are talking past one another. Added to this, established requirements & acquisition processes don't appear to be well-suited in getting this tech to the field. Govt-sponsored experiments can help, but many companies with advanced tech feel like they are on the outside looking in. What I think I think: We will see rapid development of specialized language models. The results will be compelling. Govt adoption will be slow unless something changes in requirements/acquisition. A DoD hedge or disruption portfolio can help. For my fellow summit participants, what did I miss? Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Defense Entrepreneurs Forum Hanna Price Luis Hernandez Joe Chapa

#ConnectingTech (I'm starting a new series about emerging tech and how it will change how we fight; follow me to get all the installments) The #virtuousinsurgency is winning. We are witnessing positive change. Our leaders have created a major opportunity for the right type of change. I hope you are tracking DSD Hicks' speech at NDIA yesterday. While I respect the media outlets that covered it, I would encourage you to read the actual speech here: https://lnkd.in/gxpmPvy3 I will have A LOT MORE to say about 'Replicator' in the next few weeks. I can help you connect the dots. If you are a company considering this opportunity, I will have some "free" advice for competing. You may want to listen. For now, let me highlight one aspect of the speech: "Since we need to break through barriers and catalyze change with urgency, we’ve set a big goal for Replicator: to field attritable autonomous systems at scale of multiple thousands, in multiple domains, within the next 18-to-24 months." THIS IS A REQUIREMENT. Don't miss this. I know requirements...I used to have a 3-star title with "requirements" in it. With one sentence, the DSD changed the entire conversation. NO ONE CAN STOP THE CONVERSATION with quips like, "where is the requirement for that?" From this point forward, naysayers have to argue against the position of the US Department of Defense. To those ready to wield soft vetoes, good luck. Being the Deputy Secretary of Defense is hard. I worked for one. I saw his struggle from the inside. He and every other Deputy will always have my respect. As will those who serve on their teams. Congratulations to Secretary Hicks and her team. This is a courageous step. Thank you for confronting the challenge of change. And thank you for willing to be accountable for outcomes. Few people venture into the arena. Those who do deserve our respect. You have mine. National Defense Industrial Association - (NDIA) Thank you for providing the platform. This speech sets up the entire Fall season. #nationalsecurity #defenseindustry #futureinnovators #replicator Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Robert Work David Norquist Eric Fanning Christine Fox Ylli Bajraktari Defense Entrepreneurs Forum

Congratulations to John Barrett for this article in War on the Rocks. It identifies a key challenge for national security: how to create incentives across the defense industry now to support a long war. Doing so will make it less likely that we have to fight, and believe me, we do not want to fight a long war with the PRC. There are no winners in that war, and the world loses. We've gamed that one out many times. JB offers some practical things we can do now to make a difference later. I have one critique of the article, and it doesn't change the thesis or main conclusions. As a planner and strategist, I'm "guilty" of spending a lot of time focusing on stopping a Chinese attack on #Taiwan. We did this in order to build a concept of fighting that works. I think we found this concept, and we identified the capabilities needed. Importantly, it's critical in that first battle to keep Taiwan from being overrun and subjugated. That is the cost of entry if we want to compete for influence in Asia. Put another way, the key to winning over the long run is not losing. Every day that Taiwan resists is a good day for freedom. Every day we help them defend themselves is a good day for Asia. If Taiwan falls quickly, I do not believe we will (or should) continue fighting. This doesn't mean running away. We would absolutely shore up defenses and reinforce our allies. But continuing to kill each other after Taiwan falls is not good strategy, for either side. So I think it is important that we be of two minds when we consider a long war with China. First, we need to help Taiwan defend itself. This will require the Offset X capabilities and a revamped defense plan led by Taiwan. Second, as JB points out, we need to prepare to mobilize and scale capabilities for a protracted conflict. I think that these capabilities will mainly consist of relatively cheap autonomous systems/weapons made more effective with rapid software updates. Check out https://lnkd.in/gXWcX2HM for a preview of this type of system that is being developed and fielded for the defense of Ukraine. https://lnkd.in/gFMraezr