In this episode Mick has a chat with Phil Walter about Force Structure vs Force Utility. They explore the concept of DIME (Diplomatic, Informational, Military, Economic) as a means of framing the levers of national power. Phil is able to summarise complex foreign policy issues as easily as he discusses the training program for a marine platoon. Mick just tries to keep up and throws in some history here and there.

Phil Walter has served in the military, the intelligence community, and the inter-agency. The views expressed here are those of the author alone and do not contain information of an official nature. He tweets @philwalter1058 and blogs at http://www.philwalter1058.com .