One of the intriguing things about recently-departed defense secretary Robert Gates — pretty much a lifetime spy — was his concern that the U.S. toolkit was out of whack when it comes to weapons v. diplomacy. He’d frequently mention how there were more sailors on an aircraft carrier, or musicians in the Pentagon’s bands, as …
Afghan Sitrep II: Another Grunt Sounds Off
We’re Here Because We’re Here Because We’re Here …
Beaulieu Sur Mer, France
The old German army had a term of art for describing the US strategy in Afghanistan: nicht schwerpunckt, meaning there is no center of effort or unifying idea around which to shape and coordinate the ever-changing kaleidoscope of supporting efforts as well …
“Does the U.S. Military Have Too Many Air Forces?”
As the Defense Department looks to the future, how many of its pieces — redundant air forces and duplicate armies among them — are really needed for the nation’s security? How many fall into the nice-to-have basket that might no longer be affordable? The topic gets kicked around by John Nagl of the Center for a New American …
Ethereal Defense Cuts – A Phony War
It’s the home stretch on the current round of wrangling over the nation’s deficits and debt. And as we reach the home stretch, the dialogue has begun to detach more and more from reality.
This is especially true for defense. The guardians at the gate, led by HASC Chair Buck McKeon, are fighting in the last trench to keep defense from …
Dear Hackers…
The Pentagon has announced a new Cyber Strategy Website. Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III said about the site, “The centrality of information technology to our military operations and our society virtually guarantees that future adversaries will target our dependence on it.”
Bets on how long it’ll be till this puppy …
The Good News about Endless War?
I’ve written more than most about the cost in blood and treasure of the seemingly endless wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. We’ve also heard a lot about the well-founded concern about the endless grind creating a “hollow Army,” drained of talent like the post-Vietnam era.
These are all valid concerns, of course. But there …
No Longer Only a Young Man’s Game
I wanted to comment briefly on Mark Benjamin’s piece about casualty announcements being a painful as ever. Mark noted that three soldiers killed on July 18th in Afghanistan were all from a Pennsylvania National Guard unit, and that one of them, Sgt Brian K. Mowery, at age 49 could easily have been a grandfather. Lots of Guard and …
Take a Chance
Last week was pretty hectic for me, so I’m just catching up on some housekeeping. I wanted to comment on my colleague Mark Thompson’s post about the suicide of Marine Sergeant Ian McConnell. Mark commented that that “Ian’s blood is on our hands,” and that “home, for many of our veterans, is a theater of war.”
These are …
U.S. Aid to Afghans Not Just “Vulnerable” to Diversion to the Insurgency
Last week I wrote a post about an inspector general report that suggested Afghan VIPs were flying out of Kabul with U.S. aid money stuffed in their suitcases at the rate of about $10 million bucks a day. What was perhaps more disturbing about that July 27 report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction was the …
Navy Grounds Cutting Call Signs
The Navy has punished a pair of officers who commanded an outfit that joked about assigning call signs like “Romo’s Bitch” and “Fagmeister” to their administrative officer during a 2009 call sign review board. It’s a sign of changing times in the Navy, which for decades has struggled with letting women into its inner sanctums, how …
“How Tough Is Cutting $400 Billion?”
Just how tough is it going to be for the Pentagon and other national-security agencies to cut $400 billion from their spending between now and 2023? Those are the marching orders President Obama has given his tea, led by budget-cutting expert Leon Panetta, who has just moved from the CIA to the Pentagon. John Nagl of the Center …
TDY
I’m going TDY for a coupla weeks. For those of you not up on military lingo, it means “temporary duty” in official Pentagon parlance. What it means here at Battleland is that I’m taking some time off. I’ve got some Command Post videos in the on-deck circle, and I’ll be checking in once in awhile, but I’m leaving the heavy lifting to Mark …
General John Shalikashvili, 1936-2011
When Army General John Shalikashvili’s became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993, even his staff didn’t know how to say his name. “I’m saying it the way the other people on my staff are saying it: shah-lee-KASH-villy, with the emphasis on the KASH,” said Maj. Nino Fabiano, a spokesman for the Joint Chiefs. “But let me …
