Welcome back!
Spent the downtime trying to figure out what the military slice of national security is supposed to look like. It’s pretty simple, actually: ensuring there are enough troops, transport and tanks to defend the …
National
Being Overweight Is Linked to Lower Risk of Mortality
According to new research this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers say that being overweight may lead to a longer life
$247,000
— The cost to the Pentagon for a float honoring veterans of the Korean War in Tuesday's Rose Bowl parade in Pasedena, Calif. The float, a replica of the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., was the Defense Department's first in the parade's 123-year history. More than 33,000 U.S. troops died in the conflict.
Countdown to Sequestration: (Never Mind)
January 2 – that’s today – was supposed to be the day Congress and President Obama either got their act together to come up with $1.2 trillion in spending cuts – including half from Pentagon accounts – or it would happen …
The Emancipation Proclamation, 150 Years Later: Hear the Many Voices That Cried Freedom
One hundred and fifty years ago today, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, an Executive decree that freed slaves then still subjugated in the rebellious South. The proclamation, enacted by a President wielding war powers, is seen as the defining act that ended the scourge of slavery and is forever pinned to …
‘Stormin’ Norman,’ 1934–2012
For those who came of age during World War II, or post-9/11, the death Thursday of retired Army general H. Norman Schwarzkopf may not be of great moment. But for those of us who came of age during Vietnam, when that war veered …
The Winter Storm That Ruined Christmas (Travel): New Photos of the Fallout
Tornadoes. Snow. Ice. Downpours. Only hours after opening Christmas presents, Americans were confronting, and coping with, severe weather across a wide swath of the country.
Sandy Hook: After the Shooting, a Stricken Town Struggles On
The last of the burials are over, but memorials to the 20 children and 7 adults killed in the Dec. 14 rampage are still growing as Newtown, Conn. ponders how to move past a senseless tragedy
Happy Holidays! (and Battleland Hiatus)
Like most of you, Battleland is headed off to Santa’s SCIF (sensitive compartmented information facility, pronounced “skiff”) for a bit. Absent breaking news, we don’t plan on returning until Wednesday, January 2, which just …
Just How Intelligent is the National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends 2030?
Every half-decade, the National Intelligence Council’s “Global Trends” series produces a roughly 20-year predictive analysis of the world’s evolution – an analysis considered to be the best long-range geopolitical …
Fulghum Finally Finishes
Point of personal privilege. It has come to Battleland’s attention that David Fulghum, who has been churning out finely-machined pieces on defense aerospace at Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine for nearly a quarter-century, is hanging up his G-suit next week. Fulghum is heading back to the west Texas town of San Angelo, where …
Never Mind…
C’mon Ladies! Let’s Get With the Program!
I wrote about a lawsuit being filed on behalf of four female military personnel by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) nearly a month ago.
I also noted that the Marine Corps has …