DefenceTalkSenior Army and Air Force leaders for the Reserve and National Guard were on Capitol Hill to testify March 19 and answer questions about updating and replacing their combat-worn equipment. Chairman Michael Turner, R-Ohio, and Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., led the hearing at the House Armed Services Committee’s Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. They […]https://www.defencetalk.com/congress-reviews-reserve-forces-equipment-needs-47264/

DefenceTalkThe Army learned the art of adaptation throughout the last 12 years of war, but is now moving into a period of innovation that will require critical investments for the force of the future. “Adaptation is driven by some emergency and arguably what we’ve done for the last dozen years at war,” said Lt. Gen. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/army-entering-period-of-innovation-critical-investments-47260/

DefenceTalkBudget pressures at the Pentagon have renewed a debate about the value of the US Navy’s giant aircraft carriers, with critics arguing the warships are fast becoming costly relics in a new era of warfare. With the Pentagon facing $500 billion in cuts over the next decade, a Navy officer has dared to question the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/are-us-navys-super-carriers-a-relic-of-wars-past-47254/

DefenceTalkPentagon officials have put off sending furlough notices to civilian employees until they’ve had a chance to analyze how pending legislation that would fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year will affect the Defense Department. Officials now estimate that furlough notices will go out on or about April 5, Navy Cmdr. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-delays-sending-furlough-notices-to-civilian-workforce-47222/

DefenceTalkArmy planners are rethinking how their service will acquire 700 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters over the next 14 years in light of declining procurement budgets. InsideDefense reported on March 6 that the Army’s fiscal 2014 budget request will defer any new production of the service’s airborne tank-killer until 2018 at the earliest, relying entirely on […]https://www.defencetalk.com/budget-cuts-force-army-to-delay-production-of-new-apache-helicopters-47156/

DefenceTalkAerial demonstrations have been halted. Army band performances and the Army Birthday Ball are canceled. Communities across America are seeing less of the United States Army because of sequestration. The across-the-board budget cuts are drastically impacting a very visible mission of the Army, engaging and interacting with the American people. The Army has a wide […]https://www.defencetalk.com/army-outreach-cut-by-sequestration-47166/

DefenceTalkIn the wake of sequestration, the Air Force officially suspended military tuition assistance March 11. Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley announced the Air Force has officially suspended military TA for the remainder of fiscal 2013. The program will continue to be evaluated to determine the way ahead in fiscal 2014. The Defense Department’s […]https://www.defencetalk.com/air-force-suspends-military-tuition-assistance-47138/

DefenceTalkIt is generally agreed that the additional cuts to the defense budget required by sequestration will do more than just hurt the military; they will require significant force posture changes and, according to senior Department of Defense (DoD) officials, a new defense strategy. This should come as no surprise. The first round of cuts imposed […]https://www.defencetalk.com/defense-budget-cuts-demand-smart-downsizing-47111/

DefenceTalkAir Force senior leaders issued updated guidance to leaders of Air Force major commands and addressed the service’s Airmen last week on how the service will operate under sequestration and a continuing resolution for the remainder of the fiscal year. Acting Under Secretary of the Air Force Dr. Jamie Morin and Air Force Vice Chief […]https://www.defencetalk.com/sequestration-impacts-ripple-across-air-force-47095/

DefenceTalkChina will increase its defense budget by 10 percent this year. The country’s growing military spending is a trend that has many of its neighbors worried. Beijing sees the increase as natural. China has planned a defense budget for the year 2013 that will total around 90 billion euros. That is an increase of 10.7 […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-defends-military-expansion-47079/