WHY DIDN’T WE THINK OF THAT? You know all those stories about how military recruiting in the U.S. is in the tank? And how young men and women are staying away from enlistment offices in droves – with an enthusiasm matched only by the potential recruits in Russia? Well, rest assured, Pentagon officials are aware of this and are working on fixes. DOD officials told a Senate hearing last week that the military needs to “harness the power of social media and influencers” to make young people think more favorably about signing up. Stars and Stripes notes that some of the officials also blamed “negative news coverage” for too many youths marching away from military service. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Good news.
BE ALL YOU CAN BE, BRING ALL YOU CAN BRING: If U.S. military recruiters think they are having a hard time bringing in fresh recruits – their Russian counterparts would like to have a word. Talk about “negative news coverage” – Putin’s putative three-day war that is now in its seventh month has been a recruiters’ worst nightmare. The Kremlin’s partial mobilization order has called on many men of enlistment age (apparently ranging from the late teens to mid-60’s) to head for the borders. In Russia, protesters have taken to showering induction centers with Molotov Cocktails and social media and influencers have been circulating dispiriting messages – such as this one (via Russian Media Monitor Julia Davis) which appears to show a female official telling inductees to bring their own first aid equipment to the war and recommending that they raid their wives and girlfriends’ hygiene supply because apparently, some products make good replacements for tourniquets.
SNOWDEN JOB: What a coincidence! After being a resident of Russia since 2013, and gaining permanent resident status in 2020, this was the week that the Kremlin decided to award U.S. fugitive Edward Snowden Russian citizenship. Moments after the announcement was made – everyone on the internet came up with some variation of the same joke – about Snowden being called up for military service in Ukraine. According to AP, his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told the Interfax news agency that Snowden is not eligible to be mobilized because he never served in the Russian armed forces. Yeah, well Ed did serve in the U.S. Army for four months in 2004, but was discharged after breaking both legs in training. That may be a strategy he might want to employ again. It seems to be popular with some of his fellow Russians as seen in this video.
JAMES BOND – MAYBE A LITTLE SHAKEN: Times are changing in the UK – and not just at the palace. The producers of the James Bond movie series are searching for a new actor to play the iconic 007. They say they want someone who will stick with the role for at least a decade and they want someone who will be more in touch with his emotions as the character evolves from the old womanizing model. We were wondering if Bond (for the first time in the franchise history) will have to get new business cards – since he is now “In His Majesty’s Secret Service.”
GREAT TITLE: We hear Nicholas Wright, a neuroscientist and Pentagon advisor, has landed a book deal with St. Martin’s press. Using “cognitive neuroscience” he will attempt to explain why humans fight, win, and lose wars. The working title is Warhead: How The Brain Shapes War And War Shapes The Brain. No word on a publication date.
THE ART OF SPYING: Another book on the horizon that we’re look forward to is The Art Spy: The Untold Story of World War II Resistance Spy Rose Valland. Author and journalist Michell Young has reportedly landed a deal with HarperOne for a book about the sole female member of the famous "Monuments Men" who secretly tracked and saved art looted by Nazis in France.
ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, WOULD YOU RATHER BE IN PHILADELPHIA? That is a variation of the apocryphal W.C. Field epitaph. But we hear an outfit called Homecoming250.org is indeed happy to be in Philly and is planning some big bashes in the City of Brotherly Love for 2025, when the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps will celebrate their “semiquincentennials” (250th anniversaries.) We’d give you more details…but since it is 2.5 years away – we’ll hold off for a while.
POCKET LITTER: Dead Droplets and bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:
SEAL OF DISAPPROVAL: It seems that a component of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence – called the National Intelligence Manager for the Air Domain (AKA NIM-Aviation) may be in a little hot water for launching an unauthorized flying logo. Some eagle-eyed folks noticed that the seal NIM-Aviation used in some official postings included an image of an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (AKA UFO) and the outline of what could be a Turkish TB2 drone currently being used by Russia over Ukraine. But wait, there’s more. There is also the image of what might be a hypersonic weapon system used by Russia and China and the silhouette of what almost certainly is a Russian SU-57 fighter. As asked in Blazing Saddles, “What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here?” Well, we don’t know. We do know they weren’t hacked. It might be a joke that went a bit too far. Our guess is that some NIM-rod screwed up. Cyberscoop says a DNI spokesperson would only say that NIM-Aviation “posted an unofficial and incorrect logo.”
YOU GOT TO HAND IT TO THOSE BRITS: There is a weird conspiracy theory out there that a security guard recently seen on video protecting King Charles III was wielding fake arms. Not fake weapons – but illegitimate limbs. The New York Post says the guy, standing next to Major Johnny Thompson, the King’s “equerry,” is seen with clenched fists and arms that oddly don’t swing when he walks. So TikTok users have decided that his real hand is under his coat holding a gun. Sure, that makes sense. Either that or he just got his COVID booster shot and his arm is stiff.
WE WOULD LIKE TO PUT THE ARM ON YOU: For some genuine news tips that we could reveal in The Dead Drop. Got any hidden nuggets? Go out on a limb and send them to us at: TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.
Read more serious national security insights, perspective and analysis in The Cipher Brief
