| S. Clinton Hinote (Official Biography) |
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U.S. Air Force (af.mil) |
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2023-06-01 |
Official Air Force biography listing role as Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy, Integration and Requirements. Details career from USAFA commissioning in 1992, Harvard MPP, F-16 pilot, Weapons School graduate, squadron/wing commander, and key Pentagon assignments. |
| The U.S. Is Not Yet Ready for the Era of 'Great Power' Conflict |
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The Wall Street Journal |
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2023-03-06 |
Extensive WSJ feature profiling Hinote's discovery of wargaming failures against China. Describes how he returned from Baghdad in 2018 to learn a classified wargame simulated a Chinese push for control, with U.S. forces devastated. Contains iconic quote and details about yellow sticky notes in his Pentagon office. Arguably the single most important profile of Hinote, reaching the widest audience. |
| A US Air Force war game shows what the service needs to hold off — or win against — China in 2030 |
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Defense News |
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2021-04-12 |
Key exclusive detailing the Air Force's 2020 classified wargame simulating a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Hinote extensively quoted; contains his famous F-35 statement: Every fighter that rolls off the line today is a fighter that we wouldn't even bother putting into these scenarios. |
| Replicator: An inside look at the Pentagon's ambitious drone program |
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Defense News |
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2023-12-19 |
Post-retirement, Hinote quoted about meeting with Deputy SecDef Kathleen Hicks discussing the valley of death in defense innovation. Quote: If you're going to disrupt from top down as a leader it's going to cost you something. |
| Days from Retirement Hinote Warns That Air Force Modernization Could Come Off the Rails |
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Air & Space Forces Magazine |
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2023-04-26 |
Coverage of Hinote's final SASC testimony before retirement; warned transformation could come off the rails. Sen. Tom Cotton asked what he wanted to get off his chest. |
| Today's F-35As Not Worth Including In High-End War Games According To Air Force General |
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The War Zone |
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2021-04-01 |
Follow-up analysis to Defense News wargame story; focuses on Hinote's provocative statement that current F-35As aren't worth including in high-end wargames. Generated significant discussion in defense circles. |
| Joint Chiefs Seek A New Warfighting Paradigm After Devastating Losses In Classified Wargames |
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The War Zone |
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2021-07-01 |
Broader piece quoting Hinote: we should never play this war game scenario again because we know what is going to happen...we're going to lose fast. Connects his statements to Gen. Hyten's Expanded Maneuver concept. |
| US Air Force to start new experiments with Boeing's MQ-28 Ghost Bat drone |
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Breaking Defense |
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2022-10-01 |
Hinote as Air Force Futures leader announces service getting ready to take delivery of an MQ-28 Ghost Bat prototype. Candid quote: The first one sucks. Just always keep that in mind. |
| Air Force Weaponizing Cargo Planes For All-Domain Ops: Bomb Bay In A Box |
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Breaking Defense |
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2020-05-27 |
Then-Maj. Gen. Hinote discusses the Air Force's Rapid Dragon palletized munitions concept. Key quote: It's all about capacity and you've got to create enough capacity so that long-range punch is really a punch. |
| Not messing around: China's rapid military advances stoke fear catch Pentagon by surprise |
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The Washington Times |
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2021-11-01 |
Hinote quoted on China's military acceleration: China has done a good job of taking their economic power...and applying that to acceleration of military capability. |
| Lt. Gen. Clinton Hinote Outlines Ways to Facilitate Defense Innovation |
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Executive Gov |
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2023-02-01 |
Coverage of Hinote's call to the Defense Innovation Board to facilitate adoption of innovative technologies. Quote: If we're not incentivized to fight better so that we can save lives and defend the country better then I don't know what we have to do. |
| Airpower After Ukraine: The Future of Air Warfare (Today in DoD listing) |
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Department of Defense (defense.gov) |
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2022-09-06 |
DoD promoted Hinote's Atlantic Council fireside chat on airpower after Ukraine. |
| Can four big commands prepare the Air Force to win wars? |
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Air Force Times |
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2024-06-27 |
Hinote quoted as expert commentator on the Air Force's reorganization into four major commands, having worked on the reorganization before retiring. |
| NFTF: Insights from Brig. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote USAF Deputy Chief Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq |
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U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (CALL) |
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2018-06-01 |
End-of-tour interview from his time as Deputy Chief for the Office of Security Cooperation-Iraq; includes white paper Iraq What Now? Consolidating Coalition Gains with Smart Limited Investments. |
| Col. Clint Hinote — Author/Contributor Page |
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Defense One |
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2015-01-01 |
Profile as Council on Foreign Relations Military Fellow; notes PhD in military strategy and recent return from commanding a U.S. air base in Korea. |
| Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Clinton Hinote Joins Pallas Advisors |
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Pallas Advisors (via LinkedIn) |
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2023-10-01 |
Announced Hinote joining as Principal. Sally Donnelly: Clint's experience pushing for disruptive changes in the Air Force and wider Department writ large is exactly the type of leader we are looking for. |
| If we don't change we're going to lose — Air Force strategy chief Hinote |
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Breaking Defense |
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2021-09-20 |
Coverage of Hinote's AFA conference remarks where he warned we're going to lose fast in wargame scenarios against China. One of the most widely cited defense quotes of 2021. |
| Hinote Urges Defense Innovation Board to Find Incentives for Faster Technology Development |
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Air & Space Forces Magazine |
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2022-12-02 |
Hinote's briefing to the Defense Innovation Board on barriers to technology adoption; urges incentives for faster development. |
| Wargame Ends Better With Trans-Domain Moves Hinote Says |
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Air & Space Forces Magazine |
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2022-09-27 |
Coverage of Hinote's explanation of how wargame outcomes improve with trans-domain operations at AFA conference. |
| Weakened by War, Iran Hits Back by Strangling a Vital Waterway |
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The New York Times |
Anton Troianovski,Julian E. Barnes,Greg Jaffe,Peter Eavis |
2026-03-12 |
“The Strait of Hormuz is a difficult, almost impossible, problem to solve through military means alone,” said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. S. Clinton Hinote, who served as a senior air strategist in the Middle East in the 2000s.
At the time, General Hinote was asked to study military approaches to Iranian aggression, including a scenario in which Iran attacked shipping in the strait. His team concluded that while the United States could use advanced sensors and precision strikes to mitigate Iranian attacks, they could not stop them completely. The shipping lanes are too narrow, and the vessels are too vulnerable to a mix of rockets, missiles and swarms of small craft.
The only way militarily to guarantee the waterway is open — to move from mitigation to control — would be to take and hold the Iranian territory bordering the strait, he said.
“It would require large numbers of ground forces to seize the coast,” General Hinote said. “Short of that, the only lasting solution to the strait is a diplomatic one.” |
| Iran Must Only Succeed Once to Trigger a Catastrophe |
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Spiegel International |
Claus Hecking |
2026-03-19 |
How can Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz be broken? Retired General S. Clinton Hinote has addressed precisely that question as the former Air Force chief strategist. His conclusion? Difficult. |
| A Predictable Problem |
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The New York Times |
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2026-03-16 |
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| Hegseth says Iran showing "sheer desperation" in Strait of Hormuz as oil tankers remain stuck |
Interview |
CBS Evening News |
Tony Dokoupil |
2026-03-13 |
Hegseth says Iran showing "sheer desperation" in Strait of Hormuz as oil tankers remain stuck |
| How AI is changing warfare |
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The Economist |
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2024-06-20 |
How AI is changing warfare: An AI-assisted general staff may be more important than killer robots |
