BERLIN — On March 1, the German Parliament will debate sending 80 soldiers to Mali to provide medical care and help French soldiers train Malian government troops to clear mines and build bridges.
That may not seem like a big …
What Happens When the Fed Really Does Run Out of Ammunition?
The Fed has no good choices. If easy-money ends, the economy will slow even more. But continuing the policy risks inflation.
“Mind the Gap”
Army Sgt. Curtis Smith provides security at Nawa Pass, Kunar province, Feb. 10.
“What I see Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney doing today is behaving as if they are getting ready to sell me the very last F-35 and the very last engine and are trying to squeeze every nickel out of that last F-35 and that last engine…I want them to take on some of the risk of this program, I want them to invest in cost reductions, I want them to do the things that will build a better relationship. I'm not getting all that love yet.”
— U.S. Air Force Lieut. General Christopher Bogdan speaking in Australia on Wednesday, where he is trying to convince the Australian government to stick to its plan to buy 100 F-35s despite the $396 billion program’s troubles. Lockheed builds the plane, and Pratt & Whitney supplies its engines.
BattlelandSpecial Operations
SEAL, Lost At Sea
For every SEAL who achieves a degree of fame, or infamy, for blabbing about what it was like to kill Osama bin Laden, there are hundreds who keep their mouths shut and train hard for missions. Unfortunately, sometimes that leads …
Congress Looks Past the Sequester Deadline and Braces for Long Fight
On their first full day back from a leisurely recess, Congress was in no hurry to beat the looming sequestration deadline.
BattlelandPentagon
So Just How Wounded is Hagel?
So did Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s lengthy and painful confirmation ordeal mortally wound him, even before as he takes the oath of office Wednesday morning to become the nation’s 24th defense secretary?
Of course …
What’s Wrong with the Violence Against Women Act?
The political fight on Capitol Hill over the Violence Against Women Act has little to do with the central debate feminists and academics are having about whether better policing is the best way to stopping domestic violence
PHOTOS: Midwest Digs Out from Two Snowstorms in a Week
Talk about a one-two punch. A storm last week blanketed the Midwest with many inches of snow, and a second system swooped in Tuesday, dropping up to a foot more of heavy snow. The storm toppled power lines and cut electricity to …
“There seems to be a belief in some quarters that when it comes to negative impact that sequester will have on our national defense and military readiness, the Department of Defense is crying wolf. Nothing could be further from the truth. What you've heard from DOD leaders over the past few weeks is not hype. It's the blunt truth.”
— Pentagon press secretary George Little, responding Tuesday to claims that some in the Defense Department are exaggerating the impact looming budget cuts will have on the U.S. military.
A Matter of Mindset: Iraq, Sequestration and the U.S. Army
Fear-mongering is a common practice inside the Beltway.
Sequestration is simply making things worse.
Twenty-two years ago, a chorus of political pundits and generals engaged in fear-mongering, warning the American people …
BattlelandWar Story
The Funniest Logistician in the U.S. Army (So Far)
Army Major Joel Huft is that rare officer who since 9/11 has served in Uzbekistan/Afghanistan (2003), Djibouti (2007) and Iraq (2009). In this December 2012, interview with the Combat Studies Institute at Fort Leavenworth, …
$20 Million
— The value of duffel bags, body armor, helmets, chem-bio masks, safety glasses and sleeping bags issued by the Pentagon to contractors and civilians headed to war zones between 2006 and 2012 that was never returned to the government as required, according to a just-issued Pentagon inspector general’s report.