Quito with el Pinchincha and el Panecillo in the background
Person in dimly lit restaurant sitting at a table with a cup and a dish.

Selected Defense & Strategic Writing

  • A person in military camo gear inside a helicopter, observing a 3D printer secured to the floor.

    Seapower Magazine

    Article: How Marines are 3D Printing Lethality Behind Enemy Lines

    Co-authored with Col. Paul Gillikin and CWO3 Matthew Pine, USMC

    Read
  • Agile Acquisition Now: Lessons from Ukraine

    Proceedings

    Article: Agile Acquisition Now: Lessons from Ukraine


    Read
  • Three men standing in front of a Panama Canal building. One is wearing a suit, another is in casual clothes with a cap, and the third is in military uniform. The background features a sign with "Canal de Panamá" and a star logo.

    The Hill

    Op-ed: A Monroe Doctrine for the 21st century 


    Read
  • Rolled U.S. hundred-dollar bill on a world map background.

    RealClearWorld

    Op-ed: To Beat China, Latin America Should Consider Dollarization

    Read
  • Article: Force Design 2030: Acquisition for the Future Battlefield

    Seapower Magazine

    Article: Force Design 2030: Acquisition for the Future Battlefield

    Read

  • Seapower Magazine

    Article: Reimagining the Monroe Doctrine Amid Great Power Competition

    Read
  • Cover of SEAPOWER magazine with a silhouette of a soldier using binoculars on a ship, sunset in the background. The headline reads 'Is a New Monroe Doctrine Needed?' with additional articles mentioned. Issue number 24, February/March 2025 edition.
  • Magazine page discussing the Monroe Doctrine with an article by Johannes Schmidt, including a photo of two military personnel in combat gear. The text addresses geopolitical challenges posed by countries like Russia, Iran, and China in Latin America, emphasizing U.S. strategic interests. The image caption relates to a U.S. Marine during an exercise in Chile, September 2024.
  • Magazine article page discussing Russia and China's influence in Latin America and the Caribbean. The article highlights Russia’s military involvement with Venezuela and other countries, while detailing China's economic strategies and military ties in the region. A quote at the bottom emphasizes growing concern over U.S. influence loss. Published in SeaPower Magazine, February/March 2025.
  • Magazine article discussing Iran's involvement in Latin America and the impact on U.S. interests, featuring the 21st-century Monroe Doctrine and NATO operations in the Americas. Includes a photo caption referencing Chilean and U.S. naval officers.
  • Military personnel and exercises in Chile with related article text in Seapower magazine, Feb/Mar 2025 edition.

“Lo último”

A Cooperative Monroe Doctrine?

“The era of capitulating to coercion by the Communist Chinese is over.

Their growing and adversarial control of strategic land and critical infrastructure in this hemisphere cannot and will not stand. To accomplish this, our countries cannot face these shared threats alone. We have to face them together. America will confront, will deter and, if necessary, defeat these threats alongside all of you, our close and valued partners. To put America first, we will put the Americas first.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, opening remarks at the 2025 Central American Security Conference, Panama City, April 9, 2025.

The Dollar Under Siege

“The trade in local currencies is already underway, for example, between Brazil and China.” - Tatiana Rosito, Secretary for International Affairs at Brazil's Ministry of Finance

In April 2025, Fundación Andrés Bello’s China–Latin America Research Center highlighted reports that Brazil and China will trade in local currencies to reduce dollar reliance. Amid China-U.S. tensions, Brazil backs the shift to boost trade, cut costs, and support BRICS goals via the New Development Bank. The move signals growing momentum in Latin America toward financial diversification. It also underscores BRICS efforts to reshape the global economic order.

Learn more.

Partial dollarization rolls out in Cuba

On January 18, 2025, the Cuban government announced a policy of partial dollarization, allowing the U.S. dollar to circulate in select sectors such as tourism and retail. The move is intended to address Cuba’s deepening economic crisis, but access to dollars is largely limited to those with relatives abroad sending remittances.

Learn more.

Caputo Pushes Argentines to Unstash Their Dollars

On May 5, 2025, Argentina’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo signaled plans to encourage Argentines to spend the dollars they’ve long kept hidden “under the mattress” out of fear of investigation, a legacy of the 2001 banking crisis. In an interview, Caputo said the country needs dollars to circulate to boost jobs and wages, especially since the government has stopped printing pesos. While he didn’t give details, he hinted at upcoming deregulations that would let people spend freely without scrutiny, aiming to spur loans, purchases, and economic activity without adding pesos to the money supply.

Ecuador Cements Dollar Supremacy

On March 18, 2025, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa issued an executive order reaffirming the U.S. dollar as the country’s sole currency, aiming to preserve the stability gained since dollarization began in 2000. The decree comes amid debate over new currency proposals like the “ecuadollar” and directs Congress to block the Central Bank from issuing alternative currencies.

According to the central bank of Ecuador, dollarization has “generated monetary and financial stability despite the external shocks that have affected the country over the last two decades,”

Learn more.

SecDef talks adversaries, acquisition reform at USNA commencement

“Today, we face serious threats—in China, Russia, and other nations—determined to beat us in every single domain. From the spectrum to low earth orbit, to our supply chains, and even our communications infrastructure, technology has lowered the cost of disruption. And so, all of us—not just some—must not only be smarter, but make sure that when we send our troops to war, we do it with the right tools.

We can no longer assume our engagements will come without cost. That’s why the Trump Administration is investing in innovation, rewarding risk-takers at the Department of Defense, and streamlining weapons acquisition for the new century. Investing in cutting-edge weaponry like hypersonics is important, but just as important are the low-cost, high-impact technologies already transforming the battlefield—like drones” Sec Def, May 23, 2025

Watch speech here.