The Watch Floor

In Episode 3 of The Watch Floor, we step away from today’s headlines and go deep into the personal journey behind the analysis. Former U.S. Navy intelligence officer Howard Hart walks us through his 30-year career - from a college graduate with no clear plan, to serving on watch floors around the world during some of the most consequential moments in modern history.We explore how someone actually gets into intelligence, what life is like aboard ships and aircraft carriers, how watch floors operate under real pressure, and how intelligence officers grow by rotating through wildly different missions - from submarines and missiles to NATO, the Pentagon, counter-narcotics, and combat deployments.Howard also shares the human side of service: leadership, mentorship, loss, family sacrifice, and why intelligence work ultimately comes down to disciplined research, clear thinking, and communicating truth under uncertainty.If you want to understand who sits on the Watch Floor - and why their perspective matters - this episode sets the foundation for everything that follows.Welcome back to The Watch Floor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Episode 2 of The Watch Floor, former U.S. Navy intelligence officer Howard Hart takes us inside how modern military and intelligence decisions are actually made—using Venezuela as a real-world case study.We break down the Joint Operations Planning Process step by step, explore how the intelligence cycle feeds commanders and policymakers, and examine how economic pressure, financial intelligence, and targeting decisions shape outcomes long before any shots are fired. From the rise of Hugo Chávez to the current rule of Nicolás Maduro, this episode traces how a once-wealthy nation became a narco-state—and why it matters to U.S. national security.Along the way, we connect doctrine to history, drawing lessons from Serbia, Desert Storm, and counterterror operations to show how intelligence drives real-world action.If you want to understand how strategy is built, options are weighed, and decisions move from analysis to execution—this is The Watch Floor at work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does the intelligence community actually do when the headlines stop? In the debut episode of The Watch Floor, former U.S. Navy intelligence officer Howard Hart takes you inside the real nerve center of global decision-making.We break down how intelligence officers think, why major events like October 7th and 9/11 are sometimes missed, and how assumptions, bias, and human limitations shape outcomes as much as technology does. From Gaza and Israel to shifting Middle East alliances, U.S. influence, and the realities behind conspiracy theories, this episode demystifies intelligence as both an art and a science.If you want to understand geopolitics, national security, and world events through the lens of foresight, pattern recognition, and strategic thinking—this is where it begins.Welcome to The Watch Floor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.