Bring Back the War Department
In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman argues that renaming the Department of Defense as the Department of War would do more than revive an old title. It would...
Essays
The Atlantic
The Abandonment of Ukraine
Following a visit to Ukraine alongside bipartisan members of Congress, Elliot Ackerman and Karl Marlantes examine the realities of the battlefield, the rapid pace of military innovation, and the consequences...
Trump's Medal of Dishonor
In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman reflects on Donald Trump's comments comparing the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Medal of Honor. Drawing on his experience as a...
The Trump Campaign Has Peaked Too Soon
In this Atlantic essay, Elliot Ackerman uses military theory to analyze the 2024 presidential campaign. Drawing on the concept of the "culminating point" from Carl von Clausewitz, he argues that...
Lower the Volume
In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman draws on his experiences as a Marine officer in Iraq to examine political violence, democratic responsibility, and the dangers of allowing politics...
The Two Marys
Elliot Ackerman reflects on political legitimacy, passion, and instability through the intertwined stories of Marie Antoinette and Mary Queen of Scots.
War-Gaming for Democracy
In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman attends a political war game designed to simulate the first days of a second Trump administration. As participants explore scenarios involving militias,...
The One Element Keeping Ukraine From Total Defeat
In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman reviews Yaroslav Trofimov’s book Our Enemies Will Vanish, an account of Ukraine’s first year resisting Russia’s invasion. Ackerman examines the role of...
Meet the Super SPAC
In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman explores how the political organization No Labels has built a nationwide ballot-access infrastructure that could transform presidential elections. Drawing parallels to financial...
A Knife Fight in a Phone Booth
In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman draws on his experience leading Marines during the Second Battle of Fallujah to explain the brutal realities of urban warfare. Comparing the...
Prigozhin’s Loss Is Ukraine’s Gain
In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman examines the fallout from Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed rebellion and what the likely weakening of the Wagner Group means for Russia’s war in...
The Key to America’s Victory in the Second World War
In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman revisits the work of legendary war correspondent Ernie Pyle through the reissue of Brave Men. Ackerman argues that Pyle understood a fundamental...
Why Aren’t We Evacuating Americans From Sudan?
In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman argues that the United States is departing from a long-standing tradition of evacuating American civilians trapped in conflict zones. Drawing on his...
The Arsenal of Democracy Is Reopening for Business
In this essay for The Atlantic, Elliot Ackerman visits Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Arkansas to examine how America’s defense-industrial base is responding to the demands of the war in Ukraine....
The Two Stalingrads
Elliot Ackerman explores how the legacy of Stalingrad belongs to both Russia and Ukraine, drawing on the work of Soviet war correspondent Vasily Grossman to examine history, identity, and the...