Pentagon
Training the Afghan Military
Army Major Christopher Miller was in Afghanistan in 2006-2007 helping to train up its security forces. An infantryman, he was there as part of a four-man embedded tactical trainer – ETT – with the 41st Brigade Combat Team, …
Training Troops for the Gore of War
Louis H. Smith IV has been an Army combat medic for a decade, and currently is serving in Afghanistan as the medical officer for the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment. He argues, in a recent post on Small Wars Journal, that …
Who Do You Think Is Right?
There are growing doubts about the chances of success for the U.S.-initiated war in Afghanistan. Rarely are opposing views crystallized as sharply as they were over the weekend: Marine General John Allen, the top U.S. commander …
A Chart Is Worth 1,000 Words
Todd Harrison, the defense-budget whiz over at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, has a new report out on how the prospect of sequestration might affect the Pentagon. Lots of interesting data.
But it was a …
Death in 11 Seconds: When Headlights Become Stars
You can fly the nation’s hottest warplanes flawlessly for 1,462.6 hours. But modern warfare is unforgiving. So in your final 11 seconds of flight, and life – when night and dust storms blind you, turn headlights into stars, and …
A Smarter Way to Trim the Pentagon Budget
As the U.S. economy struggles to recover from the Great Recession, most American families have had to make tough decisions about their current needs and future spending.
Similarly, one year ago, Congress passed the Budget …
WHAM* (*winning hearts and minds)
“Winning hearts and minds” has been a key to recent U.S. wars ranging from Vietnam, to Iraq, and now in Afghanistan.
But Thomas H. Henriksen says that such costly ventures may have outlived their usefulness. “In …
Of Blowouts and Beards…
Probably makes sense that the military judge overseeing the court proceedings against five alleged terrorists – including purported 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed – put them on hold Thursday as tropical storm – and …
The Country Whose Name Dare Not Be Spoken
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spoke to the sailors of the carrier USS John C. Stennis on Wednesday in Bremerton, Wash. He lauded their their service, but warned of the threats still out there:
We have threats of nuclear
…
By the Dawn’s Early Smite
An Iraq Vet Commanding In Afghanistan?
A new general’s name emerges in the Afghanistan context. Julian Barnes of the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.) that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has forwarded Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford’s name to the White …
Navy SEAL Reportedly Set To Tell All About bin Laden Raid In New Book
We’ve been hearing rumbles for months that a SEAL involved in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden was working on a book. The New York Times is now reporting it’s coming out September 11 and will be called No Easy Day: The …