After the year 2020 ground wars will be more intense and concentrated in the world’s crowded coastal cities. That’s the consensus from a panel of experts including current and retired Army officers and professional analysts. Over the past decade, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps have adapted to the low-intensity wars in Iraq and Afghanistan… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: As the election campaign heats up, so does the debate over guns and butter. Defense Secretary Panetta and his crew, joined by the GOP, say we must fund the Pentagon. Our security is at stake in a highly uncertain world. Jobs — good paying, high-tech jobs — are at risk, they say. Some Democrats… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The Air Force is turning to its allies for help as it looks to maintain a viable global presence in the face of coming budget cuts, a top Air Force general said today. The service expects to get much smaller as the Pentagon’s struggles to meet the White House deficit reduction goals and possible… Keep reading →

Before designing and articulating a new defense strategy, DoD officials must answer an important question: Will the most dangerous twenty-first century threats emerge more from unfavorable order or unacceptable disorder? Unfavorable order is rooted in military competition with rising powers like China or Iran and conforms well to emerging concepts like Air-Sea Battle. Unacceptable disorder… Keep reading →

Escalating cyber threats, a struggling economy, the rise of China, and the unpredictable impact of the Arab Spring will dominate the next decade. At least, that’s the best collective guess of a conclave of academic experts, government officials, and military officers from the U.S. and abroad, convened by the United States Army. Their objective: This… Keep reading →

WHITE SANDS, NM: After weeks of testing at the Army’s vast facility here a private summed up the service’s newest iteration of the so-called Nett Warrior communication system in one phrase: “It ain’t ready.” Soldiers with the 2nd Heavy Combat Brigade, 1st Armored Division (2/1 Armored) spent several weeks at the Army’s latest network integration… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Congress’ failure to enact Super Committee cuts is likely to lead to serious reductions in funding for Pentagon weapon systems, according to one of the most respected defense budget analysts. Todd Harrison, the budget analyst at the respected Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, told a group of reporters eager to go home for… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: NATO is wasting no time in taking the painful lessons learned from its peacekeeping mission in Libya and folding them into a new strategy for future operations, the NATO general overseeing that effort said today. The resistance from forces loyal to recently deceased Libyan strongman Col. Muammar Gaddafi was a “strategic surprise” to NATO,… Keep reading →

The value of the European defense giant Finmeccanica has plunged by about one-third in the last week as senior company officials face corruption allegations. The Financial Times reports that “a widening corruption investigation” helped push the value of the company “down to new 13-year lows on Monday.” The company told investors last week that it… Keep reading →

This commentary was penned late last week, when it looked likely the Super Committee would fail in its appointed task of cutting $1.2 trillion from the federal budget. Well, it has failed. All signs are that Congress has taken the easy way out and will let this stew until after the election. Theoretically, the Defense… Keep reading →