Admiral Charles “Chas” Richard served as the 11th commander of US Strategic Command, from 2019 through 2022. “STRATCOM” is responsible for maintenance of the nation’s strategic nuclear deterrence and global strike capabilities. It also operates the Defense Department's Global Information Grid and supports its command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems. Admiral Richard offers a Peer Perspectives interview here in which he shares his experience managing operational risk in the ultimate high-stakes environment. [See the Peer Perspectives Article An Interview with Admiral Charles Richard]
The Admiral agrees that cultural “sedimentation” — the received wisdom residing within an organization — may offer some useful resources for managing risk and increasing resilience. But he also cautions that, while seeking these benefits, we must not lapse into relying on such institutional knowledge without constant testing and re-testing to assure that lessons of the past retain continuing relevance in the face of emerging future threats. Moreover, where past learnings do retain clear relevance, we must not fall into the dogmatic application of these lessons. “It is simply not possible to anticipate and plan for the actual events that will occur when in contact with a thinking opponent,” Admiral Richard warns.
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