An Excerpt Adapted From the New Book by Best-Selling Author John Antal

The clocks are “striking thirteen” and time is running out. In modern warfare, a failure of imagination will get you killed. Reinforce this failure with hubris, an attitude that you do not need to adapt since no enemy can match you, and the nation’s survival is at risk.

We often think of war as something that happens “over there,” to other people. The US is a superpower. We have failed in wars of choice but have never known defeat at the hands of a peer enemy. As a people, Americans cannot imagine losing. Yes, there were those long wars in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, but do those count? Who could defeat the US? After all, we have the best military in the world, right?

Warfare is changing and our military is not ready.

The purpose of America’s military power is to deter conflict and win the nation’s wars. Our opponents have studied our methods and failures. We cannot afford to be unprepared in a fight against a peer enemy. If we do not adapt our thinking and act in time, even wars against lesser powers could be disastrous. There is an urgent need to think differently.