More than a million Americans have security clearances to access classified information. Here’s what the government does–and doesn’t–do when deciding who’s trustworthy
National
“I want to be able to deal with an unexpected problem in a [U.S. nuclear] warhead. And the traditional way we've done is if we got 400 ICBMs and two [kinds of] warheads, we keep at least 400 of each, so that if one of those warheads fails, we can still over time field the other one.”
— Linton Brooks, former director of the National Nuclear Security Administration, and senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, speaking June 13. This policy, he acknowledged, "runs contrary to the broad trend under all of the last four Administrations to reduce the total stockpile."
Happy Father’s Day, Lieutenant Colonel
You may recall several months ago the news that an F-16 pilot’s court-martial conviction on charges of sexual assault in Italy were tossed out by his commander, an Air Force three-star general. The unilateral reversal – a rarely-used, but jealously-guarded, prerogative of command that appears (largely due to this case) in a fatal …
“A Town Without Dads”
Flag Day, on the cusp of Father’s Day weekend, makes this the perfect day to read Stephen Rodrick’s paean to his Navy EA-6B-pilot-father, over on Slate.
As someone who grew up in a non-military family close to Quonset …
Black Hawk Up
I was one of two MH-60L Black Hawk pilots, call sign Super Six-Four, shot down over Mogadishu in October 1993.
It happened in the midst of perhaps the most infamous U.S. battle since the Vietnam War. It ended up being told in …
Famous Dads Reflect on Joys of Fatherhood
In honor of Father’s Day, Aaron Sorkin, Ethan Hawke and other leading dads wax poetic about their daughters
Brain Scans
Improvised explosive devices are the curse that keeps on giving.
The Pentagon announced Thursday that it has established the Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine Brain Tissue Repository for Traumatic Brain …
By the Chem Stick’s Early Light
Airmen use chemical lights to help a UH-60 land at Kandahar Airfield, June 1.
Zut Alors! Stop That Plane!
Many Air Force jets have tailhooks, just like the Navy’s. But they’re used only when something is wrong aboard the plane – no brakes, for example – that keeps it from landing safely.
The service was looking for a second …
Weighing the Wisdom of Women in Combat
CLERMONT-FERRAND, France — The debate on whether women should be allowed in front-line combat has, if anything, one enlightening quality: it says a lot about the so-called civilian-military divide.
A number of combat-arms …
Second-Guessing Benghazi (Cont.)
Despite the challenges of Syria, National Security Agency leaks, sexual assaults in the ranks and the fiscal vise of sequestration, the death of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya, last Sept. 11 continues to preoccupy some …
“Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Conn., was awarded a $244,863,014 modification...to a previously awarded, firm-fixed-price, multi-year contract...for the procurement of UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters.”
— From the Pentagon's Thursday contract announcements. Apparently the contradiction inherent in "firm-fixed-price" and a quarter-billion-dollar hike (although "modification" could be a reduction, we suppose) doesn't warrant further explanation.
“If That Does Not Suit You, Then Get Out.”
The Australian army has its own sex scandal unfolding, and Lieut. General David Morrison, the army chief, let his troops know he is not pleased.
Not sure if it’s his words, his accent, his anger, his laser-like stare – or …