BattlelandThe U.S. Navy: Troubled Waters
Last of three articles
The prevailing wisdom holds that America’s smaller fleet is more capable than the U.S. Navy of yore because of higher capability per individual ship. It is a dangerous assumption.
To its credit, in …
BattlelandThe U.S. Navy: Troubled Waters
Second of three articles
The shrinking size of the fleet is just one variable in considering its adequacy: the ability to perform assigned missions, especially after withstanding whatever threats may exist, is a far better …
BattlelandThe U.S. Navy: Troubled Waters
First of three articles
During the third debate of the presidential campaign, President Obama hammered Mitt Romney with a clever retort when Romney pointed out—accurately—that the U.S. Navy had become “the smallest since …
BattlelandMilitary Spending
BattlelandMilitary Spending
First of two articles (second one here)
Imposing itself only infrequently on the consciousness of the noise-makers who dominate presidential campaign coverage on TV and in the newspapers, the defense budget has been a …
BattlelandMilitary Spending
Many have predicted that the January 2, 2013 “sequester” of $55 billion out of the $620+ billion Pentagon budget for 2013 would cause a lot of noise, even hysteria, during the presidential and congressional elections.
How right they were. But as usual, the politicians, the advocates and the pundits are paying attention to themselves, …
BattlelandCongress
Senator John McCain (R.-Ariz.) and the Lockheed Martin Corp. have been behaving in ways that parallel one another.
That could be explained by their common political objectives, or by a separate action by McCain — the rehiring …
BattlelandProcurement
On June 14 — Flag Day, of all days — the Government Accountability Office released a new oversight report on the F-35: Joint Strike Fighter: DOD Actions Needed to Further Enhance Restructuring and Address Affordability Risks. …
BattlelandMilitary Spending
Two of Washington D.C.’s most prestigious and well-funded think tanks recently published reports advising Congress and the Defense Department on how — and how much — to cut from the Pentagon’s coffers after November’s …
BattlelandMilitary Spending
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee (sometimes called the HAC-D) have reported their separate defense bills to the House of Representatives (both bills purport to address both spending and policy). The House has already debated and passed the HASC’s …
BattlelandAir Force
You may have noticed that the Air Force’s prized F-22 fighter — the crown jewel of American air dominance — has had some negative press lately. The bad news peaked Tuesday when Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered flight …
BattlelandProcurement
The Pentagon’s new, high-flying 30-year aircraft-buying blueprint – the Annual Aviation Inventory and Funding Plan Fiscal Years (FY) 2013-2042 – makes for depressing reading.
No, not because it predicts the loss of U.S. …
BattlelandProcurement
There’s a pair of must-reads just out for anyone paying attention to the Pentagon’s acquisition nightmare: one is a routinely scheduled, but important, report from the Defense Department; the other comes from one of the very …
