BattlelandAfghanistan
Who Do You Think Is Right?
There are growing doubts about the chances of success for the U.S.-initiated war in Afghanistan. Rarely are opposing views crystallized as sharply as they were over the weekend: Marine General John Allen, the top U.S. commander …
BattlelandCyber
Winning Cyber Battles Without Fighting
In military operations, good leaders never make a move without the best available intelligence and a strong sense of situational awareness. To do otherwise is tantamount to flying blind, something a good pilot or business leader …
A Chart Is Worth 1,000 Words
Todd Harrison, the defense-budget whiz over at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, has a new report out on how the prospect of sequestration might affect the Pentagon. Lots of interesting data.
But it was a …
BattlelandPacific
Japan To South Korea: Lay Off The Emperor
TOKYO –It’s not clear if South Korean President Lee Myung-bak intended to infuriate Japan, worsen a couple of territorial disputes and complicate U.S. security plans in Asia by picking on a kindly, 78-year-old emperor. But he …
Hurricane Isaac Takes Aim on New Orleans
Isaac has claimed at least two dozen lives in Haiti alone, and made landfall in New Orleans as a category 1 hurricane. Its arrival falls on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
The Most Destructive U.S. Hurricanes of All Time
Hurricanes have been menacing the U.S. as long as anyone can remember, but the monetary damages the storms have caused has increased in recent years, as this TIME photo collection shows. The devastation from Hurricane Sandy — …
Shooting Outside Empire State Building in New York City
Two are dead and nine injured after what appears to be a reported workplace dispute escalated into gunfire at one of New York City’s most iconic landmarks.
(Full Story: Disgruntled Worker Opens Fire Near Empire State Building, …
BattlelandSpecial Operations
Army Special Forces’ How-To Manual
Want to know how to set up camp in hostile territory? The Army’s Field Manual (FM) 3-05.230, Special Forces Tactical Facilities, is now on-line. It goes into a fair amount of detail about how the Special Forces troops establish outposts, and makes for fascinating reading. It deals with everything from calling in close air support, to …
BattlelandAir Force
Death in 11 Seconds: When Headlights Become Stars
You can fly the nation’s hottest warplanes flawlessly for 1,462.6 hours. But modern warfare is unforgiving. So in your final 11 seconds of flight, and life – when night and dust storms blind you, turn headlights into stars, and …
ACT Scores Show High School Students Are Not Ready for College
BattlelandMilitary Spending
A Smarter Way to Trim the Pentagon Budget
As the U.S. economy struggles to recover from the Great Recession, most American families have had to make tough decisions about their current needs and future spending.
Similarly, one year ago, Congress passed the Budget …
BattlelandMilitary
WHAM* (*winning hearts and minds)
“Winning hearts and minds” has been a key to recent U.S. wars ranging from Vietnam, to Iraq, and now in Afghanistan.
But Thomas H. Henriksen says that such costly ventures may have outlived their usefulness. “In …