DefenceTalkThe military service chiefs today unanimously named budget uncertainty and reduced funding levels leading to gaps in readiness as their most critical long-term budgetary challenges. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee were Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John M. Richardson, Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-military-chiefs-budget-uncertainty-funding-levels-are-biggest-challenges-68176/

DefenceTalkUS military leaders painted an overly optimistic picture of American efforts to fight the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, a damning government report released Thursday found. The interim report stems from a congressional task force investigating whistleblower allegations that intel bosses cherry-picked information that soft-pedaled the risk of IS while overstating US efforts […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-military-manipulated-intel-in-is-fight-68001/

DefenceTalkFailure to properly handle sensitive issues between the US and China could “very likely disturb and undermine” their military-to-military relations, a top Chinese official told US National Security Advisor Susan Rice Monday. Rice is the highest-level US official to visit the capital since an international tribunal this month rejected China’s vast territorial claims in the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-says-sensitive-issues-could-damage-ties-with-us-military-67911/

DefenceTalkU.S. military aircraft based in America and Europe were on display during this year’s Berlin air and trade show from June 1-4. The International Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) is one of the oldest air shows around dating back more than 100 years. ILA hosts a trade exhibition for aviation and military organizations, as well as an […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-military-showcases-aircraft-at-berlin-air-show-67619/

DefenceTalkA massive exercise involving many, if not all, of nine US combatant commands will target an array of strategic threats facing the United States and its allies, the Department of Defense’s US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) announced in a press release on Friday. Beginning Saturday, the drill entitled “Global Lightning 2016” will integrate “nearly every conceivable […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-military-to-conduct-large-scale-drills-to-counter-strategic-threats-67339/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon will submit proposals to President Barack Obama for strengthening military support to Iraqi forces in the near future, a top US military official said Friday. “We have a series of recommendations that we will discuss with the president in the coming weeks to further enable our support for the Iraqi security forces,” said […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-to-propose-boosting-us-military-presence-in-iraq-67181/

DefenceTalkUS military personnel involved in a devastating air strike on a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders in Afghanistan have been or will be punished, officials said Thursday. The bombing last October of the MSF hospital in Kunduz — which came as NATO-backed Afghan forces clashed with insurgents for control of the northern provincial capital […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-military-personnel-punished-over-afghan-hospital-attack-67087/

DefenceTalkThe US military will inevitably have to lower its physical requirements so more women can fill infantry and commando roles, a top general said Friday. The comments from John Kelly, a four-star Marine general who is retiring from the head of the military’s Southern Command, came just over a month after Defense Secretary Ashton Carter […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-general-fears-military-will-lower-standards-for-women-66323/

DefenceTalkU.S. military forces are facing demands that were not anticipated in the development of current strategy and budgets, according to a new RAND Corporation report. As a result, the posture and capability of U.S. forces are not keeping pace with the challenges posed by America’s most-capable adversaries, researchers say. If policymakers wish to maintain the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-boost-defense-funding-or-limit-military-commitments-65666/

DefenceTalkThe US Navy plans to open its famed SEAL fighting units to women, provided they can pass the notoriously difficult training course, Defense News reported Tuesday (Aug 18). The move comes as the military announced that two American women will on Friday become the first female soldiers to graduate from the elite Ranger School combat […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-military-to-let-women-try-out-for-navy-seals-report-65039/