Author Archive
Tech
The U.S. Military Has a New Tool to Connect Its Far-Flung African Bases
A medium-earth-orbit satellite contract hints at AFRICOM’s data and connectivity needs.
Defense
What the Long, Corruption-Enabling, Mostly Failed Afghanistan-Stabilization Effort Tells Us
It’s about managing expectations: ours about the timeline, the foreign population’s about governance.
Defense
Mattis: Leaving the Nuclear Deal Will Help the U.S. Negotiate with Iran
Withdrawal will help the U.S. develop a ‘more compelling’ deal on a range of issues, SecDef told lawmakers.
Defense
Pentagon’s Focus on Sexual Assault Has Spurred Reporting, But Also Created ‘Training Fatigue’
Prevention-and-reporting leaders want the U.S. military to be a “bit more strategic” in how it talks to troops about sexual assault.
Defense
House Lawmakers Close Pentagon Budget Hearing to the Public
Mattis and Dunford have open hearings at the Armed Services Committees, but will talk over their $686.1 billion request with House appropriators in private.
Management
The Navy Wants a Better Way to Keep China’s Nose Out of Its Contracts
A subcontract with a Huawei partner has the secretary looking for an ‘institutional algorithm’ for spotting dicey partnerships.
Oversight
Lawmakers Ask: Where’s the Broader Syria Strategy?
No surprise that Democrats questioned Friday’s retaliatory strike, but even a few GOP defense hawks wondered aloud.
Defense
Mattis Confirms Chemical Weapons Attack in Syria, But No Trump Decision to Strike Yet
The National Security Council discussed options with the president for responding to the attack, but the administration was still syncing up with allies Thursday evening.
Defense
Special Operators Are Getting a Bit More Much-Needed Rest
At least two SOF components are on a ‘glide path’ to the Pentagon’s desired optempo.
Defense
Is It Time for AFRICOM to Get Its Own Troops?
A key Republican senator thinks so, and is pushing to send one of the U.S. Army’s new advising brigades there.
Tech
Army Eyes Faster Weapons Development with a New Collaboration Hub
Super-strong materials, cyber defenses are on the agenda as the Army Research Lab launches new partnerships.
Defense
Trump Reverses, Says He’ll Keep U.S. Troops in Syria
The president officially walked back last week’s off-the-cuff remark that the U.S. would leave Syria ‘very soon,’ leaving even more questions about the mission.
Defense
Denied Wall Funding, Trump Sends National Guard to Southern Border
Details are still being hashed out, but previous presidents’ decisions to do the same offer clues about what’s to come.
Defense
Where’s the New Transgender Troops Ban Headed? Look at the Travel Ban Fight
Like Trump’s effort to bar visitors from several Mideast countries, a long legal battle awaits the newest limits on who can serve in uniform.
Defense
Senators Signal Resistance to Proposed Low-Yield Nukes
Several Democratic lawmakers on a key committee are pushing back on the given rationale for a new warhead and cruise missile.
Tech
Trump Calls for a Space Force, a Concept His Pentagon Opposes
The president’s words could reanimate a legislative proposal that the defense secretary and others thought they had killed.
Defense
Here’s What the Services Want from Congress This Year
After lawmakers pass the budget promised by February’s bipartisan deal, the three secretaries have other priorities for legislative action.
Tech
Space Corps Is At Least ‘Three to Five Years Away,’ Its Congressional Champion Says
A bipartisan team of House lawmakers slams the Air Force for pushing back on the idea of a separate service for space operations.
Defense
Russia ‘Incredibly Destabilizing’ as Syrian Conflict Threatens Region, Top U.S. General Warns
Weeks after Tillerson said the U.S. and Russia share a postwar vision, Votel says Moscow is playing both “arsonist and firefighter.”
Defense
New Report Notes Erosion of Pentagon’s Technological Advantage
The evidence ranges from a new long-range Chinese missile to ramped-up European defense spending, an annual assessment of the world’s militaries finds.
