Washington: The American battle plan executed in Libya will not be the blueprint for how the U.S. military wages war in the future, the Army general who was in charge of that effort said today. There were key lessons that U.S. forces did pick up during the Libyan mission that DoD can use in future… Keep reading →

Capitol Hill: The Senate’s top defense appropriators have killed the Army and Marines Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program and frozen F-35 production levels until the next budget year. Those were among the most visible of $26 billion in additional cuts to the fiscal 2012 budget the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee made to comply with the… Keep reading →

Let’s face it: The debt ceiling debate that consumed Washington D.C. this summer may not have been policymaking at its finest, but at least it focused attention on the nation’s problem with runaway government spending. Americans realize there’s a problem with government spending and expect the nation’s leaders to take real action. Unfortunately, some in… Keep reading →

Washington: Defense hawks and defense industry supporters are ramping up the rhetoric as they prepare to battle for defense dollars on Capitol Hill. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta plans to meet tomorrow with top defense industry leaders as Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee prepares to weigh in on defense spending levels for fiscal year 2012. “The Secretary… Keep reading →

Washington: The Marine Corps says it needs more amphibious ships. Now, thanks to a new working group, they will finally have the numbers to prove it. The working group, started today by Marine Corps Combat Development Command, will take information from upcoming amphibious exercises and use that data to as it presents the service’s arguments… Keep reading →

America’s soldiers have learned a lot over the last 10 years, most of it the hard way, but that irreplaceable expertise could walk out the door in the coming drawdown if the Army doesn’t figure out how to manage its people better. Despite everything else that’s changed since September 2001, the ugly reality of 2011… Keep reading →

Early on the morning of September 11th, I had an appointment in the Pentagon with a senior Pentagon official. I got there a bit early, and parked just outside the Defense Secretary’s office. As I was sitting in the office, the TV was showing the story of an airliner plowing into the World Trade Center.… Keep reading →

On Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. military possessed just handful of robot aircraft. Today, the Air Force alone operates more than 50 drone “orbits,” each composed of four Predator or Reaper aircraft plus their ground-based control systems and human operators. Smaller Navy, Marine and Army drones number in the thousands. Since they do not need… Keep reading →

The elimination of al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden from the world stage only months before the tenth anniversary of the 9-11 attacks was a major tactical success for America’s global campaign against the terrorist organization. However, the fact that it took the world’s most capable intelligence community nearly a decade to find the tallest… Keep reading →

Washington: One of the key figures in the battle to lower America’s federal debt told a conservative gathering today that he would quit the so-called Super Committee if it tried to make cuts to the Pentagon’s budget beyond those already promised by the Obama administration. Sen. Jon Kyl, one of the fiercest Republican lawmakers, said… Keep reading →