The Navy’s Force Structure Assessment (FSA) calls for a 355-ship fleet, ultimately growing to a force of 653 ships. However, the Navy knows that a 653-ship fleet, outfitted with the proper weapon systems, is simply financially unattainable. But the world has become more dangerous in the last eight years and a credible U.S. naval deterrence remains… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The chairman of the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee, Rep. Rob Wittman, is strikingly optimistic about the chances for consummating the so-called grand bargain and ending the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration. When I buttonholed him after a Tuesday Defense Writers’ Group breakfast, Wittman went so far as to say that “I think there’s… Keep reading →

CAPITOL HILL: With half a million soldiers on active duty, you’d think the Army would be hard to overlook. When the House Armed Services Committee organized a hearing on the hot interservice concept known as “Air-Sea Battle,” though, they kind of forgot to invite the Army. But the largest service elbowed its way onto the… Keep reading →