The Horizon Never Disappears

It’s always a bit risky when you disagree publicly with the founder of the non-profit that you ‘work’ for. However, Vishal and I have a long-standing friendship centered on our years of service to the Marine Corps, service volunteering post-service, and of course, aviation. Plus, he’s not paying me, so here goes.

I thoroughly enjoyed Vishal’s piece on national security and geopolitics using our aviation experience to begin with a horizon analogy. His take is that at 40,000 feet there is a clear horizon that serves as a constant reference for your attitude, up or down, left or right, etc. His next take is that in our current environment, the horizon has disappeared.

Which is where I take umbrage.

The horizon never disappears. It simply isn’t visible. Whether because it’s too dark, too cloudy, or too obscured, the physics of flight in relation to the ground don’t change. Your perception does, because of imperfect or distorted information.

Flying in the Clouds

The idea behind the Spades Institute was that, for a variety of well-known reasons, our national security apparatus often operates in conditions of less-than-ideal visibility. Like aircraft in the clouds, things like contracts, intellectual property agreements, acquisition regulations, or political concerns obscure the horizon and prevent agencies and industry from fully collaborating.

Each stakeholder is reduced to operating in regulation-created silos that often prevent the open exchange of ideas where we contest and debate to arrive at the best possible solution in that given moment. In this aviation analogy, we’re all flying solo on our instruments and unaware of the wingman near us that might be able to offer the help we need at the exact moment we need it.

Enter Spades Institute

What if a non-partisan non-profit could enable communication, increase awareness of capabilities (and limitations), and thus enhance collaboration before national security crises occur?

Like a radio or a datalink, detailed communication sorts through the clouds and the darkness. It establishes connections beyond visual sight lines. By partnering with industry, academia, and government, the Institute offers opportunities to convene trusted conversations in an environment intended to reduce the typical barriers that prevent open and honest dialogue between stakeholders interested in solving our thorniest national security and defense problems.

There are a variety of programs being developed by the Institute to increase the connections between agencies and industries, between employers and employees, between veterans and government employees and commercial industry, with the overarching belief that the secret is in the conversations and not in requirements documents or statements of work.

Decision Vertigo

Back to my friendly disagreement with Vishal and his earlier article. The horizon doesn’t ever disappear, but when it is obscured, the crew lacks the most easily reliable reference to the world.

Vertigo is that uncomfortable, and sometimes dangerous, condition that occurs when the horizon is clouded and your brain and body can’t figure out which end is up. Like a government agency trying to find the solution to a problem, confusing and conflicting information leads to a decision vertigo - an uncomfortable feeling that you are not getting the solution that you need. Instead you’re getting the solution that an arcane system provides.

Sadly, if you had the right instruments and clear communication, one can pierce the fog and the darkness and re-orient themselves back to the horizon - even if it’s not 100% visible to the naked eye.

That’s our vision: creating a national 360-degree datalink that clears the clouds and brightens the night, producing decisions that serve the best interests of our defense and security environment.

---

Join us.