191: Ukraine's Military From Soviet Roots To A NATO Model with MG(Retired) John Harrel

Today, Preston and Sayre were fortunate to be joined by Major General (Retired) John Harrel to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine. MG Harrel spent over 50 years as a military officer—beginning as an Infantry Marine Second Lieutenant to becoming the Commanding General of the California National Guard. He has a master’s degree in history from California State University-Northridge and a law degree from SW University School of Law.

We discuss how over the last 30 years since the collapse of the USSR, the California National Guard has trained the Ukrainian military in American/NATO military doctrine resulting in decades long relationships forged between American military leaders such as MG Harrel and Ukrainian military officers and soldiers. We discuss the in-depth amount of training the Ukrainians have received over the years from its American and NATO allies, and how that compares to Russia’s preparation and disposition over the same time frame. We discuss how the American/NATO military philosophies of utilizing non-commissioned officers to take initiative and “get the job done” has been ingrained into the Ukrainian military, and how that compares to how little the Russian doctrine has changed—if at all—since the fall of the Soviet Union. We discuss how this lack of what we would call “fundamental training” related to small unit tactics has resulted in the current Russian ineffectiveness we are seeing—from their faulty intelligence received prior to the invasion, to their widespread corruption causing much of the logistical issues currently facing the Russian military. It was a pleasure to speak with MG Harrel as he provided much insight and context to the current conflict from the perspective of a General Officer.