Eric M. Murphy
@ericmmurphy.bsky.social
Birds, Math, Literature, & Airpower. BoD Member @Strategy_Bridge, #Strategy, #Development, #NationalSecurity, #MilitaryAffairs. Repost is not endorsement. Nothing interesting to say.
Pinned
Eric M. Murphy
@ericmmurphy.bsky.social
· Aug 19
I’m led back to this: “Of all sins, the greatest is certainty.”
And, for the record and to head off the inevitable cleverness from the peanut gallery, of this and other things I am not certain.
And, for the record and to head off the inevitable cleverness from the peanut gallery, of this and other things I am not certain.
Reposted by Eric M. Murphy
The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5
December 23, 2025 at 1:28 AM
The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5
It’s perhaps worth noting that probably half of IG complaints in the history of IG complaints filed against USAF squadron commanders should be overturned based on the logic Senator Wicker suggests as exculpatory.
I look forward to seeing those careers restored.
www.politico.com/live-updates...
I look forward to seeing those careers restored.
www.politico.com/live-updates...
'No evidence of war crimes' in boat strike, Senate Armed Services chair concludes
Roger Wicker says he is satisfied with the information his panel has received.
www.politico.com
December 18, 2025 at 11:03 PM
It’s perhaps worth noting that probably half of IG complaints in the history of IG complaints filed against USAF squadron commanders should be overturned based on the logic Senator Wicker suggests as exculpatory.
I look forward to seeing those careers restored.
www.politico.com/live-updates...
I look forward to seeing those careers restored.
www.politico.com/live-updates...
Reposted by Eric M. Murphy
This weekend, I'm going to start publishing short videos on military history and related topics. First up will be a seven-part series on the history of Fort McNair, Washington D.C., where my office is located. Keep an eye out! :] www.patreon.com/posts/videos...
Videos coming soon! | The Digital Military Historian
Get more from The Digital Military Historian on Patreon
www.patreon.com
December 18, 2025 at 10:29 PM
This weekend, I'm going to start publishing short videos on military history and related topics. First up will be a seven-part series on the history of Fort McNair, Washington D.C., where my office is located. Keep an eye out! :] www.patreon.com/posts/videos...
Reposted by Eric M. Murphy
If you're suddenly interested in learning more about the history of the chaplain corps (or have someone in your life who might find this fascinating), I've got a great holiday gift for you (or ask at your local library): www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
Enlisting Faith — Harvard University Press
A century ago, as the United States prepared to enter World War I, the military chaplaincy included only mainline Protestants and Catholics. Today it counts Jews, Mormons, Muslims, Christian Scientist...
www.hup.harvard.edu
December 18, 2025 at 10:11 PM
If you're suddenly interested in learning more about the history of the chaplain corps (or have someone in your life who might find this fascinating), I've got a great holiday gift for you (or ask at your local library): www.hup.harvard.edu/books/978067...
Was doing some math to plan for my replacement, and I discovered that (if all goes to plan) I am exactly 404 days from terminal leave.
Very strange feeling. 🤣
Very strange feeling. 🤣
homer simpson from the simpsons is standing in front of a grassy field .
ALT: homer simpson from the simpsons is standing in front of a grassy field .
media.tenor.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Was doing some math to plan for my replacement, and I discovered that (if all goes to plan) I am exactly 404 days from terminal leave.
Very strange feeling. 🤣
Very strange feeling. 🤣
Money, money, money.
I like this recipe with lamb rather than beef…but this is lovely and easy.
I like this recipe with lamb rather than beef…but this is lovely and easy.
🧵 inbound.
Gimme a school circle, take a knee, take off your helmets, & drink water.
#CookingForLieutenants is in session.
Gimme a school circle, take a knee, take off your helmets, & drink water.
#CookingForLieutenants is in session.
Still have about an hour left, and I’m serving this with egg noodles instead of mashed potatoes, but it looks like we’re gonna have an impromptu #CookingForLieutenants segment featuring Guinness beef stew. Follow this space.
December 15, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Money, money, money.
I like this recipe with lamb rather than beef…but this is lovely and easy.
I like this recipe with lamb rather than beef…but this is lovely and easy.
The best kind of “dad jokes,” provided you’re a bit of a bird nerd.
Egrets? I've had a few,
But then again, too few to mention.
Waddaya mean, that's herroneous? I'm bitternly disappointed.
But then again, too few to mention.
Waddaya mean, that's herroneous? I'm bitternly disappointed.
December 15, 2025 at 1:19 AM
The best kind of “dad jokes,” provided you’re a bit of a bird nerd.
Must wait for nightfall to verify, but I’m confident one can now, if one we’re inclined, see our house from space.
a person is standing in front of a fire with a hose in their hands .
ALT: a person is standing in front of a fire with a hose in their hands .
media.tenor.com
December 14, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Must wait for nightfall to verify, but I’m confident one can now, if one we’re inclined, see our house from space.
Hey @boiler40.bsky.social. Package was delivered by @tyrellmayfield.bsky.social. I deserve none of your largesse…but I’m transported back to my old D&D days by the Lich King. Thank you, sir!
December 13, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Hey @boiler40.bsky.social. Package was delivered by @tyrellmayfield.bsky.social. I deserve none of your largesse…but I’m transported back to my old D&D days by the Lich King. Thank you, sir!
It’s funny to me that when we talk about civics education, we rarely talk about simple economics and one of the most important institutions in any government.
This explainer is pretty darn solid.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
This explainer is pretty darn solid.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
Lender of Last Resort
Podcast Episode · Against the Rules: The Big Short Companion · S6 E4 · 46m
podcasts.apple.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:03 AM
It’s funny to me that when we talk about civics education, we rarely talk about simple economics and one of the most important institutions in any government.
This explainer is pretty darn solid.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
This explainer is pretty darn solid.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...
This is what professionals think about and wrestle with. I know not what Peter Mitchell has done otherwise, but at least his execrable essay gave us this response.
My latest this AM with @warontherocks.bsky.social. Of note: "[Military officers] will be active participants with choices to make about the degree to which they continue to serve civilians intent on undermining the liberal values enshrined in the Constitution."
1/
warontherocks.com/2025/12/the-...
1/
warontherocks.com/2025/12/the-...
The Soldier in the Illiberal State is a Professional Dead End
The American political system today is indeed in crisis. Government function is in doubt, the administration has politicized and weaponized a previously
warontherocks.com
December 12, 2025 at 2:10 AM
This is what professionals think about and wrestle with. I know not what Peter Mitchell has done otherwise, but at least his execrable essay gave us this response.
I’m in a strange place.
I LOST 8+ weeks.,I’m now stressed out of my mind trying to build a course that starts on 5 Jan.
But I’m excited. I get to experiment radically—curriculum, assessment, etc.—and INTEGRATE gaming heuristics across the entire course.
Hell yes!
I LOST 8+ weeks.,I’m now stressed out of my mind trying to build a course that starts on 5 Jan.
But I’m excited. I get to experiment radically—curriculum, assessment, etc.—and INTEGRATE gaming heuristics across the entire course.
Hell yes!
a baby is screaming in a crowd of people while sitting in a stadium .
ALT: a baby is screaming in a crowd of people while sitting in a stadium .
media.tenor.com
December 11, 2025 at 2:48 AM
I’m in a strange place.
I LOST 8+ weeks.,I’m now stressed out of my mind trying to build a course that starts on 5 Jan.
But I’m excited. I get to experiment radically—curriculum, assessment, etc.—and INTEGRATE gaming heuristics across the entire course.
Hell yes!
I LOST 8+ weeks.,I’m now stressed out of my mind trying to build a course that starts on 5 Jan.
But I’m excited. I get to experiment radically—curriculum, assessment, etc.—and INTEGRATE gaming heuristics across the entire course.
Hell yes!
Fascinating bit of math (albeit described in an almost entirely non-mathematical way).
www.scientificamerican.com/article/math...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/math...
Mathematicians Crack a Fractal Conjecture on Chaos
A type of chaos found in everything from prime numbers to turbulence can unify a pair of unrelated ideas, revealing a mysterious, deep connection that disappears without randomness
www.scientificamerican.com
December 10, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Fascinating bit of math (albeit described in an almost entirely non-mathematical way).
www.scientificamerican.com/article/math...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/math...
Hehe. Love it
mahan's basic argument in THE INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER UPON HISTORY was that command of the seas gave you options for strategic engagement (scm paine backreads into mahan a kind of proto-liberal-internationalism that just isn't there imo)
anways--
anways--
December 8, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Hehe. Love it
Lost a friend today. Hit hard for a minute, & I’ve only just realized how much it was with me all day. I suspect it will be with me in some ways forever.
Smile. Hide a rainbow in every slide. Shake hands like you mean it & won’t ever let go. Say “Poop!” with humor and conviction. Love & be loved.
Smile. Hide a rainbow in every slide. Shake hands like you mean it & won’t ever let go. Say “Poop!” with humor and conviction. Love & be loved.
December 5, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Lost a friend today. Hit hard for a minute, & I’ve only just realized how much it was with me all day. I suspect it will be with me in some ways forever.
Smile. Hide a rainbow in every slide. Shake hands like you mean it & won’t ever let go. Say “Poop!” with humor and conviction. Love & be loved.
Smile. Hide a rainbow in every slide. Shake hands like you mean it & won’t ever let go. Say “Poop!” with humor and conviction. Love & be loved.
When @queenofthinair.bsky.social writes, I read. I’m going to have to read this again and again—ethics work is hard work, or you’re not doing it right—but it matters, so I’ll do it.
www.usmcu.edu/Outreach/Mar...
www.usmcu.edu/Outreach/Mar...
www.usmcu.edu
December 5, 2025 at 2:18 AM
When @queenofthinair.bsky.social writes, I read. I’m going to have to read this again and again—ethics work is hard work, or you’re not doing it right—but it matters, so I’ll do it.
www.usmcu.edu/Outreach/Mar...
www.usmcu.edu/Outreach/Mar...
This podcast, one of my favorites of the last few years, has been on a long hiatus…and then @harvilla.bsky.social canes back with a bonus banger covering a song that never fails to punch me in the gut. Lovely.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/6...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/6...
“Hallelujah” — Jeff Buckley
Podcast Episode · 60 Songs That Explain the '90s · 12/03/2025 · 1h 43m
podcasts.apple.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:48 PM
This podcast, one of my favorites of the last few years, has been on a long hiatus…and then @harvilla.bsky.social canes back with a bonus banger covering a song that never fails to punch me in the gut. Lovely.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/6...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/6...
I don’t often have really hot takes, but here’s a candidate:
The playing of national anthems at sporting events not involving national teams (e.g., Olympics or World Cup) is profoundly stupid, jingoistic, performative nonsense.
Just. Fucking. Stop.
The playing of national anthems at sporting events not involving national teams (e.g., Olympics or World Cup) is profoundly stupid, jingoistic, performative nonsense.
Just. Fucking. Stop.
a man is holding a stop sign on a highway
ALT: a man is holding a stop sign on a highway
media.tenor.com
December 3, 2025 at 12:31 AM
I don’t often have really hot takes, but here’s a candidate:
The playing of national anthems at sporting events not involving national teams (e.g., Olympics or World Cup) is profoundly stupid, jingoistic, performative nonsense.
Just. Fucking. Stop.
The playing of national anthems at sporting events not involving national teams (e.g., Olympics or World Cup) is profoundly stupid, jingoistic, performative nonsense.
Just. Fucking. Stop.
I just realized...I've been at this for over a year. I wonder what I'll put on the shelf in 2026? Maybe some spice from home--fiction, poetry, math, etc.? Maybe more conflict-specific stuff? Maybe more regional studies or domain-specific content?
It's funny how much fun I have with this each month.
It's funny how much fun I have with this each month.
I think I’ll change the titles on this little shelf each month.
Here are a few IR favorites from my shelves at work.
Here are a few IR favorites from my shelves at work.
December 2, 2025 at 1:29 AM
I just realized...I've been at this for over a year. I wonder what I'll put on the shelf in 2026? Maybe some spice from home--fiction, poetry, math, etc.? Maybe more conflict-specific stuff? Maybe more regional studies or domain-specific content?
It's funny how much fun I have with this each month.
It's funny how much fun I have with this each month.
Reposted by Eric M. Murphy
Realists: The Melian Dialogue demonstrates the logic of realism.
December 1, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Realists: The Melian Dialogue demonstrates the logic of realism.
I get the feeling that people who should have read Thucydides did not, so they summarize him with one line from the middle of the book, and know nothing about the war and what Athens did to itself.
Of course these are the clowns “reforming” PME.
Of course these are the clowns “reforming” PME.
Of Course Jim Carrey GIF
ALT: Of Course Jim Carrey GIF
media.tenor.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:43 AM
I get the feeling that people who should have read Thucydides did not, so they summarize him with one line from the middle of the book, and know nothing about the war and what Athens did to itself.
Of course these are the clowns “reforming” PME.
Of course these are the clowns “reforming” PME.
This. It’s possible to be skeptical and critical without being a whack jobbing illiterate asshat bent on murdering millions.
Science is about skepticism at some level, but that’s not an “I believe what I believe…cuz Google” get-out-of-jail-free card.
RFK Jr: Stupid, illiterate, AND mendacious.
Science is about skepticism at some level, but that’s not an “I believe what I believe…cuz Google” get-out-of-jail-free card.
RFK Jr: Stupid, illiterate, AND mendacious.
I really wish we'd stop calling them climate "skeptics" or "vaccine skeptics", if you jump off a cliff we don't call you a "gravity skeptic"
November 25, 2025 at 10:57 PM
This. It’s possible to be skeptical and critical without being a whack jobbing illiterate asshat bent on murdering millions.
Science is about skepticism at some level, but that’s not an “I believe what I believe…cuz Google” get-out-of-jail-free card.
RFK Jr: Stupid, illiterate, AND mendacious.
Science is about skepticism at some level, but that’s not an “I believe what I believe…cuz Google” get-out-of-jail-free card.
RFK Jr: Stupid, illiterate, AND mendacious.
Another rollicking Friday night.
November 22, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Another rollicking Friday night.
Remiss have I been, as ever, I’m making sure the people for whom I care know that I do. I think maybe I’m just a bad person.
@queenofthinair.bsky.social & @tyrellmayfield.bsky.social…
“Splash, over.”
#GreatPostcardWar2025 #GPW25
@queenofthinair.bsky.social & @tyrellmayfield.bsky.social…
“Splash, over.”
#GreatPostcardWar2025 #GPW25
November 20, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Remiss have I been, as ever, I’m making sure the people for whom I care know that I do. I think maybe I’m just a bad person.
@queenofthinair.bsky.social & @tyrellmayfield.bsky.social…
“Splash, over.”
#GreatPostcardWar2025 #GPW25
@queenofthinair.bsky.social & @tyrellmayfield.bsky.social…
“Splash, over.”
#GreatPostcardWar2025 #GPW25