iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

If you’re in Chicago, come join us at Barbara's Bookstore. Looking forward to meeting you and introducing you to our niece, who will moderate!

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

What a unique opportunity to be with these three military veteran physicians talking about how leaders deal with crisis. At the 2026 Women in Medicine conference.

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 25/09/2026

"In theory, the idea of adding a written test or wargaming exercise to the promotion process for senior officers isn’t preposterous." Unfortunately, this isn't theoretical. @markhertling.bsky.social on Hegseth's new top officer test:

lnk.thebulwark.com

The Pentagon Has a New Test for Top Officers. It’s Not Clear Why.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s rationale was less than convincing.

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 23/09/2026

Whatever the reasons for the president’s change of mind, there remains a fundamental question: Why does Saudi Arabia need us to fight the Houthis in the first place? NEW from @markhertling.bsky.social:

lnk.thebulwark.com

Why Saudi Arabia’s Houthi Problem Is Our Problem, Too

The Yemeni extremist group is adaptable, aggressive, and more united than its opposition.

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

This week, I'll be doing 3 book signings in Chicago: -Thursday, 24 Sept w/ the "GI Partners of Illinois'" at the Chicago Union League Club -Friday, 25 Sept at the @WimedicineOrg conference at the Drake Hotel, -Saturday, 26 Sept at Barbara's Bookstore on State Street. Come join us!

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 17/09/2026

"Congress can appropriate money relatively quickly for today’s fight. It cannot appropriate military capability for tomorrow’s." @markhertling.bsky.social on the true costs of the Iran war:

lnk.thebulwark.com

The True Costs of the Iran War

The numbers don’t tell the whole story.

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The long term cost of the war in Iran, beyond the CBOs report. My latest in @thebulwark.com www.thebulwark.com/p/the-true-c...

thebulwark.com

The True Costs of the Iran War

The numbers don’t tell the whole story.

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

It’s National Women in Medicine Day, and I’m thankful for all women who serve as healthcare professionals! Selfless servant leaders.

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 16/09/2026

The important question is no longer whether the United States has the military capability to destroy. It is whether those tactical actions are moving the United States toward a defined political objective. NEW from @markhertling.bsky.social:

lnk.thebulwark.com

The Iran War Is Moving Too Fast for Washington to Keep Up

America’s friends, partners, and enemies are making decisions now without waiting for the Trump administration to respond.

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I've often said, "I'm not really a podcast listener." But that changed when I learned about @artofmanliness.bsky.social with @brettmckay.bsky.social. Podcast #1,132: “If I Don’t Return: A Father’s Wartime Journal” content.production.cdn.art19.com/validation=1...

content.production.cdn.art19.com

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 12/09/2026

"You're seeing a multifaceted approach that Iran is using to disrupt the world's economy based on oil." @markhertling.bsky.social breaks down Iran's coordinated squeeze on energy infrastructure across the Arabian Peninsula.

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Shana Tova, the best to all my Jewish friends on this Rosh Hashanah!

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Charlie Massey @charliecoffee.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Probably the best thing on 9/11 that I've read today.

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Adam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · 11/09/2026

A powerful read from our @markhertling.bsky.social: "Twenty-five years later, I know things that I could not possibly have known as I turned on the television just in time to see the second plane hit. This is the letter I would send to myself if I could, warning about what was to come."

thebulwark.com

A Letter to Myself on 9/11

No man—and no country—can live life in reverse.

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mabengry.bsky.social @mabengry.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

If you read nothing else today, read this. Thank you for your service, Lt. Gen. Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social

thebulwark.com

A Letter to Myself on 9/11

No man—and no country—can live life in reverse.

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Excited to be called up from the minors to join the veterans at the @thebulwark.com Atlanta event. Come join us!

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 08/09/2026

"You’ve learned in war college classrooms that military power is only one element of national power. You’re about to see that proven in real life." @markhertling.bsky.social on some of the many lessons of 9/11:

lnk.thebulwark.com

A Letter to Myself on 9/11

No man—and no country—can live life in reverse.

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The @thebulwark.com editors asked me to do a “letter to myself” imagining I could go back to 9/11 to tell myself what I would experience over the next 25 years. www.thebulwark.com/p/a-letter-t...

thebulwark.com

A Letter to Myself on 9/11

No man—and no country—can live life in reverse.

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I’ll be at the USF campus in Tampa on Wednesday doing a fireside chat and book signing. Come join us if you can.

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 02/09/2026

Lt. Gen. @markhertling.bsky.social on Howard Lutnick’s claim that there haven’t been any American deaths in the Iran War: “You might want to stay in your lane because there have been deaths, and this is not going to resonate well with those who are fighting this conflict.”

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 01/09/2026

"The Book exists to identify risks before they become vulnerabilities—and the secretary’s job is not merely to read those warnings, but to act on them." @markhertling.bsky.social on leaks, risk, and a secretary of defense who might not be considering it:

lnk.thebulwark.com

The Leaks from Hegseth’s ‘Book’ Are a Warning

After six months of war, our national security is at risk.

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Adam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · 28/08/2026

For years, the West asked what weapons it could afford to give Ukraine. Increasingly, Europe is asking what Ukraine can teach the West. The U.K.'s new missile-and-AI partnership shows how profoundly that relationship has changed. www.thebulwark.com/p/inside-ukr...

thebulwark.com

Inside Ukraine’s Breakthrough Missile Deal

The new defense cooperation agreement with the U.K. is less about the war now than about European security for the next generation.

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 29/08/2026

"For generations, Americans in uniform have carried Stars and Stripes wherever they were deployed. They trusted it because the journalists who produced it were free and willing to tell them things the Pentagon would rather they not hear." Keep it that way.

lnk.thebulwark.com

The Pentagon’s Uniquely Positioned Newspaper—and Why It Should Stay That Way

If ‘Stars and Stripes’ can’t report bad news, troops will look elsewhere.

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 25/08/2026

"The force Russia encountered when it launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022 was profoundly different from the one it had faced eight years earlier." And it's different from that one today. @markhertling.bsky.social on Ukrainian perseverance:

lnk.thebulwark.com

I Watched Ukraine Build the Army Putin Feared

Thirty-five years on, Ukrainians are still declaring their independence.

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Just received this clip from @andysymonds.bsky.social of @ballastbookco.bsky.social Feeling blessed & grateful to all those who submitted reviews!

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 20/08/2026

"It is difficult to imagine a more thorough misunderstanding of the purpose of a military exercise—or an alliance."

lnk.thebulwark.com

Canceling Military Exercises Hurts Us, Not Our Enemies

Will U.S. forces in South Korea still be ready to ‘fight tonight’?

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 19/08/2026

Lt. Gen. @markhertling.bsky.social reacts to Jared Kushner, saying there is “good dialogue” between Iran and the United States, even though Trump claims there has been no dialogue. “It is...stretching the credibility of this administration...around the world, which is harmful to our security.”

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

My friends at @thebulwark.com allowed me to take a break from military stuff to write about a passion…baseball and the Cardinals.

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

A very nice piece of news today from the Nonfiction Authors Association. My book “If I Don’t Return” was a Gold Winner in nonfiction book awards.

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 13/08/2026

The best way to address Americans' disenchantment with the political parties and Congress itself—and the best way to get a shot at enacting a different set of policies—would be to fix Congress’s internal plumbing and return it to working order.

lnk.thebulwark.com

To Fix Congress, Party Leadership Must Give Power Back to the Lawmakers

It’s not enough simply to replace congressional party leaders. Their power has to be reduced.

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Alan Frady @alanfrady.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Check out @markhertling.bsky.social's post in today's Morning Shots - "Two Stories About Air Force One", comparing trump's decoy op and Bush II Thanksgiving with the troops who "decided it was important enough to be there, and he limited the risk to others." www.thebulwark.com/p/trumps-sum...

thebulwark.com

Trump’s Summer of Lost Causes

Rather than starting new fights, Trump is fixating on ones he’s already lost.

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Adam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · 13/08/2026

"We tend to imagine major wars beginning when a leader consciously decides to launch one. History is often messier....Each individual decision appears rational while the cumulative result becomes catastrophic." —Always read @markhertling.bsky.social 👇

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 12/08/2026

Lt. Gen. @markhertling.bsky.social explains a recent statement from Iran and the five requirements for the U.S. to reopen the strait. “Okay, they're poking the bear. They know that the administration doesn't have a whole lot of options, and the options are getting even less and less by the day.”

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 11/08/2026

Lt. Gen. @markhertling.bsky.social: "The Iranians are attempting to use this situation to institutionalize something they've been seeking for decades, the de facto recognition of their authority over the strait...that's their new strength."

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 09/08/2026

How can you best judge leadership? Lt. Gen. @markhertling.bsky.social explains the four attributes that define a good leader and identifies what he considers the most important trait in an effective leader.

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Mark Hertling @markhertling.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

For those in the Tampa area, I’ll be doing a book signing and fireside chat hosted by AUSA on 9 September. See details in this flyer. www.eventbrite.com/e/fireside-c...

eventbrite.com

Fireside Chat with LT General Mark Hertling

Come hear the General speak about his professional lessons learned and walk away with a hardbound copy of his book.

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