The domestication of dogs has both improved society AND benefited human happiness. I have had the privilege of serving my country for seventeen years and I have witnessed first-hand the benefits of domesticated dogs. In the form of working dogs, both bomb sniffing and PTSD service animals. Throughout my service, I have been deployed three…
All posts by R.F.M. Williams
About R.F.M. Williams
Racial Caste and the Spanish in Latin America
The seeds of rebellion and eventual independence in Latin America were sewn by Spanish hypocrisy from the beginning of their occupation of the Americas. Race, and therefore racial hierarchy and racism, are a prevalent theme from the beginning of the Spanish conquest. Early ideas of a racial hierarchy brought to America by the Spanish would…
Economics and Warfare
Economics is the Sine Qua Non of Waging War In their three-volume Military Effectiveness set, Allan R. Millett and Williamson Murray argue that political effectiveness involves a nation’s ability to obtain and allocate resources for military activity. This might be the most critical factor in determining a nation’s ability to succeed in a great power war. Throughout…
Impiety in Ancient Greek Religion
What can we learn from this practice? Homer and Herodotus provide an excellent window into the ancient Greek view of impiety. The ancient Greeks believed pious behavior was essential to everyday life. Impiety is having a lack of reverence for the gods. In both Homer’s and Herodotus’ works, impiety is punished by the gods. In Herodotus, however, some…
The Assasination of Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was seemingly a “benevolent dictator,” wasn’t he? He was what Rome needed after nearly a century of strife. Despite Caesar’s pompous attitude, assassination is never justified. His compassion, expansion of the Senate, and strict adherence to elections for plebian office demonstrated a desire to serve the people of Rome and not merely…
The Sicilian Slave Revolts of Ancient Rome
What we can learn from the Servile Wars The slave revolts or First and Second Servile Wars in Sicily during the 130s BC and again in 104 BC were widespread and brutal. Sicily had become a vital agricultural colony for the Roman Republic following the Punic Wars. As such, many Romans and Italians owned property there and…
Is There a Distinctive American Way of War?
The United States has no Single Way of War This is a historiography for the masses article In his landmark book, The American Way of War, Russell Weigley argues that there is, in fact, a distinctly American method of waging war. Weigley examines American strategic thought and finds a strategic culture predicated on pursuing war through Hans…
Tips for Student Veterans on Campus
How to find success in a new environment Choosing the right school can be daunting for anyone, especially for those leaving the military. Why does it matter what you study and where you do it? Just get a degree and move out into the world, right? The military, in the enlisted ranks, tends to view…
Is the United States an Empire?
Lets see what these prominent historians think Despite national myth to the contrary, during the long 19th century the United States engaged in imperial expansion. American imperial ambitions manifest themselves in expanding across the North American continent, obtaining overseas holdings, and influencing other nation-states through economic or military action. From its earliest westward expansion shortly…
The Mad King Cleomenes
Well before the events that spawned the film 300, Cleomenes I reigned over Sparta. He is one of the most interesting characters in Spartan history. He reigned in Sparta from 524–490 BCE and was succeeded by the famous Leonidas I of Thermopylae fame. A rightful heir to the Spartan throne, he may have never been the best…