Charlie Moskos, the nation’s most pre-eminent military sociologist and the architect of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” is dead. So is Les Aspin, who as a defensive defense secretary battling the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” official Pentagon policy in 1994. Friday, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will join those two men – …
More National Security-Related Deficit Cut Proposals
The prospect of deeper cuts at the Defense Department and other parts of the national security-related budget is getting closer to reality. On Monday, Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma proposed $1 trillion in cuts at the Defense Department over ten years. The so-called ‘Gang of Six’ bipartisan group of Senators have recommended …
Afghan VIPs Steal $10 Million From You Every Day, in Cash
Afghan government VIPs stuff your tax dollars into suitcases and fly the money out of the Kabul airport to parts unknown, possibly at the rate of about $10 million bucks a day. That’s one of the startling conclusions in the latest report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction released on Wednesday.
It says …
How Crazy are North Korea’s Leaders?
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..apparently deranged enough to airlift McDonald’s hamburgers from China to the elite in Pyongyang.
Afghanistan: “Can Do!” or “Can We Do?”
Marine Lieut. General John Allen told the Senate Armed Services Committee three weeks ago that he was “cautiously optimistic” about the future of Afghanistan as he readied to take over for Army General Dave Petraeus (the change of command happened Monday).
A new State Department inspector general’s report — Sensitive But …
Batten Down the Hatches!
The Washington Post chimes in Thursday morning with the news — well, not to Battleland readers, mind you — that the big ax in the sky is getting ready to fall on the Pentagon.
Fully-Loaded Magazine
TIME published its report on Osama bin Laden’s death three days after it happened. It has taken bin Laden’s allies nearly three months. The latest issue of Inspire, the English-language jihadist magazine allegedly published by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, hails his sacrifice:
While we lament the loss of a great leader, we also
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Firsts, and Nexts
As the first woman to command a commissioned Navy vessel in 1990, I have been asked to comment on many other firsts. I recently was asked by CBS News to comment on the assignment of Brigadier General Loretta Reynolds as the first female commanding general of the Marine Recruiting Depot at Parris Island, N.C. Simultaneously, I also …
Not Born on the 4th of July
Just because you haven’t read something like this in awhile doesn’t mean it’s no longer happening:
It’s common that when a person dies with most of his or her life seemingly ahead of them, friends and family create online memorials. Ian is no different. His sister, Meg, posted one on Facebook over the weekend, and it has
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The (Increasingly Loud) Sound of Freedom
The U.S. military has been facing complaints from folks living near its air bases that its planes are just too darn loud. Now, low and behold, comes this interesting chart buried deep inside a new Air Force document. The service’s 578-page environmental impact statement on basing its new F-35 fighter at Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base …
Casualty Announcements Every Bit as Painful as Ever
Some of the Defense Department’s short casualty announcements cause me to stop and think more than others, though they are all equally tragic, of course. I try to read them all, and they don’t seem to be getting less painful with time.
But even in those brief announcements — the age, rank, unit, and a general description of the cause …
And You Thought Reuniting East and West Germany Was Hard
South Korea is buzzing about plans — including taxes — to pay for the reunification of North and South Korea. Reports the Korea Times:
Despite the lingering tension, President Lee Myung-bak cited the need to map out a blueprint and use taxpayers’ money to prepare for the unification. “It is necessary to use the taxpayers’
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Reporters Want Petraeus to Be President Real Bad
The most dangerous place in Washington is between (insert name of politician here) and a camera. That’s the tired joke about politicians trying to keep themselves in the news.
The same could be said about Gen. David Petraeus. He is on the cover of Newsweek this week, in yet another profile that couldn’t be more glowing if Petraeus …