Pentagon: It’s official: the Pentagon will get roughly halfway to the Obama administration’s goal of cutting up to $500 billion in defense spending over the next five years. Department officials will finalize details of the $260 billion in cuts “in the coming weeks,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said today. Those will be part of the… Keep reading →

Washington: We may be leaving Iraq, but American troops stationed on the Korean peninsula aren’t going anywhere as the Pentagon sets its sights on the Pacific. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is expected to tell his South Korean counterparts the United States will maintain its 28,000-man force in the country for the foreseeable future, according to… Keep reading →

Washington: The White House’s decision to send U.S. troops to help the Ugandan military curb a violent separatist group had Washington buzzing last week. Many inside the Beltway feared the mission, in which American special forces would support Ugandan forces in their war against the Lord’s Resistance Army, could be a first step into a… Keep reading →

Washington: Just as the Navy is planning to take on a larger strategic role in regional hot spots around the world, the service is considering massive fleet reductions — including a two-year delay on its new aircraft carrier — as part of its upcoming budget plan. The Navy may cut nine cruisers and three amphibious… Keep reading →

Washington: Army acquisition is facing the largest financial crunch since the infamous defense drawdown of the 1990s. To meet that challenge, service officials today rolled out a list of seven “commandments” it will follow to get the Army through these tough times. The problem is these “commandments” — increased focus on cost and schedule, increased… Keep reading →

Washington: A number of sophisticated shoulder-fired missiles looted from Libyan armories have already been smuggled out of the North African country and we don’t know where they’ve gone, a top U.S. general said today. Africa Command chief Gen. Carter Ham said his organization picked up “worrying indicators” that some of the unaccounted for Libyan stockpiles… Keep reading →

Washington: The outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pulled no punches during his last week on the job, saying today that the across-the-board defense cuts under the so-called “doomsday” scenario will break the military. For the first time, Adm. Mike Mullen said this afternoon that if the Super Committee set up by the… Keep reading →

Washington: The United States must help secure caches of Libyan military hardware, including chemical and biological weapons, so they do not fall into terrorist hands, the head of the House intelligence committee said today. “There are things that should still be done” by American forces in Libya, despite the fact that the U.S. handed over… Keep reading →

Washington: There will be hell to pay on Capitol Hill if the White House decides against selling F-16 fighters to Taiwan, the senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said today. The small Asian nation off the coast of China is looking to buy over 60 F-16 fighters to revamp its aging Air Force.… Keep reading →

We all know the White House has issued guidance to the federal agencies, including the Defense Department, to start planning for the “doomsday” budget scenario where Congress stalls on debt reduction requirements and triggers a set of automatic spending cuts. The challenge facing senior military officials is whether planning for those cuts is the right… Keep reading →