A pair of Air Force F-22 pilots from Virginia’s Langley Air Force Base is swapping the air for the airwaves Sunday night, explaining to CBS’ 60 Minutes why they’ve opted not to continue flying the F-22, the Air Force’s hottest …
Letters from Abbottabad: Bin Laden’s Bleak Final Days
The latest batch of Osama bin Laden documents shows what you’d expect from a one-time terror mastermind whose best years were behind him. He’d spent six years confined to a house with several of his wives, and where the only way he could get outside was to walk inside the walled compound, or atop the walled rooftop.
Nearly 200 …
Highway (of Death) Robbery
You may recall the infamous “Highway of Death,” that stretch of six-lane Highway 80 from Kuwait City into Iraq and on toward Basra. The U.S. military rained firepower down on retreating Iraqi troops there in the late stages …
The Army and Special Forces: The Fantasy Continues
The Army, it would appear, and, perhaps the nation, has learned nothing from its unhappy experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. This morning’s New York Times reports that Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno is setting off to restructure large pieces of his ground force to do in other regions, especially Africa, what they have done …
Falklands Fallout…
Hard to believe for those of us who remember it, but it has been 30 years since Britain and Argentina went to war over the Falkland islands in the South Atlantic. Or the Malvinas, if you prefer. It was a small war, as these …
Up-Armored Marine, Un-Armored Best Friend
North Korea’s “Peculiar Means”?
The South Koreans believe their friendly neighbors to the north have jammed the Global Positioning Systems on hundreds of airliners flying in and out of South Korea’s major airports in recent days. It could be a typical North Korean tactic: come up with a low-cost way to cause trouble, especially one that’s difficult to trace. Luckily, …
“If you give us force structure back, give us the money, too. Because the quickest way I know to a hollow force is to give us structure without money. Simple as that.”
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Countdown to Sequestration: Eight Months to Go
We began Battleland’s countdown to sequestration a month ago. As of Wednesday, we’re 11% closer to the end of the Pentagon as we know it. That’s slated to happen, according to this provision of the so-called Budget Control Act:
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Drone Pilots: We Don’t Get No Respect
At least that’s the word from Air Force Major Dave Blair – himself an MQ-1 Predator instructor pilot – in the latest issue of Air & Space Power Journal. As technology changes warfare, he argues, the military needs to …