National Security Strategy, CCA Developments, & Defense Predictions for ’26: The Rendezvous — Ep. 271

Episode Summary: In this episode, members of the Mitchell team share some of their most memorable experiences from their time in uniform. You normally hear us talking about policy and budget issues, but over the holiday season, we decided it was time to kick back and reflect upon the high adventures of past years. JV Venable almost ejects from an OV-10, Lt. Gen. David. A. Deptula, USAF (Ret.) juggles a serious inflight emergency over enemy territory, Lt. Gen. Burton Field, USAF (Ret.) recalls a lesson learned from his early flying days in the Viper, and Heather Penney talks about air racing. These are some incredible stories you won’t want to miss Credits: Host: Heather "Lucky" Penney, Director of Research, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Producer: Shane Thin Executive Producer: Douglas Birkey Guest: Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Dean, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Guest: J. Michael Dahm, Senior Fellow for Aerospace and China Studies, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Guest: Mark Funzinger, Director of Future Concepts and Capability Assessments, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Guest: Kyle Pumroy, Senior Resident Fellow for Space Studies, MI-SPACE Guest: Douglas Birkey, Executive Director, The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies Guest: Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski, Principal, Cornerstone Government Affairs Links:

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National Security Strategy, CCA Developments, & Defense Predictions for ’26: The Rendezvous — Ep. 271 is an episode from The Aerospace Advantage by The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.

This episode is 60:58 long.

This episode was published on Jan 3, 2026.

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