DoD Plans for Default: But It’s All Up To Treasury
Posted on
Washington: The Defense Department is busy planning on how to cope with our nation defaulting on its debt, should Congress abdicate its responsibility to the country. The good news is the Pentagon has money obligated and appropriated so it could pay its bills. The bad news is that Treasury and the White House’s Office of… Keep reading →
Services On Empty, Can’t Take More Cuts: Vice Chiefs
Posted on
Washington: The armed services are tired, broke and running near empty. And if Capitol Hill looks to the Pentagon to shoulder any more of the debt burden, those forces will break, according to the vice chiefs of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and the Air Force. During today’s hearing of the House Armed Services Readiness… Keep reading →
Dempsey Bumps Deficit From Top Of DoD Threat List
Posted on
Washington: The Pentagon faces a lot of threats, but according to the incoming Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the national deficit isn’t the biggest one. White House nominee Gen. Martin Dempsey told members of Senate Armed Services Committee today that the growing fiscal hole in the nation’s economy was not the biggest national security threat… Keep reading →
Industry Concerns Keeping STRATCOM Up At Night
Posted on
Washington: When you oversee the U.S. nuclear weapons enterprise, there are a lot of things that can keep you up at night. But figuring out how to sustain the industrial base that supports the U.S. nuclear arsenal, particularly as the Pentagon prepares to shrink that arsenal by thousands of weapons, is what has Strategic Command… Keep reading →
Carter Approves Army’s Ground Combat Vehicle
Posted on
The Army’s Ground Combat Vehicle program may be running aground before it can even sign a development contract. And that’s a tragedy. A decade of casualties from improvised roadside bombs – simple weapons easily replicated by any future enemy – has shown that what the U.S. military needs most is the very thing the Ground… Keep reading →
DoD Puts Army Vehicles Under Microscope, Again
Posted on
Washington: The Army’s ground combat vehicles are back in the Pentagon’s cross hairs, with a large-scale program review scheduled for August. The DoD-led review, known in the Pentagon as a materiel development decision, will scrutinize most of the big-ticket programs in the service’s ground combat systems portfolio, except for ongoing efforts to recapitalize the Humvee.… Keep reading →
Boeing Makes A Play For JSF Partner Nations
Posted on
Washington: Boeing, trying to press its case and boost F-18 sales, said today that F-35 partner nations are searching for a plan B for the next-generation fighter, but are waiting until program’s total costs top out before acting. The nine F-35 countries are watching closely to see if costs will continue to grow past the… Keep reading →
Defense IT Stuck In The Stone Age: Cartwright
Posted on
A long-standing reliance on proprietary technology solutions and antiquated acquisition rules have left the Defense Department “pretty much in the stone age as far as IT is concerned,” the nation’s second highest ranking military officer said today. Marine Gen. James Cartwright, outgoing vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said speeding up acquisition cycles is essential… Keep reading →
Cutting Navy Carrier: Maybe, Maybe Not
Posted on
Washington: Last week was a tough one for backers of the Navy’s aircraft carriers. During last Tuesday’s hearing of the House Armed Services readiness subcommittee, Chairman Randy Forbes (R-VA) asked point blank whether or not the sea service was looking to kill off parts of its carrier fleet. The official response from the heads of… Keep reading →
Obama Cautions on DoD Cuts; AIA Calls for ‘Sobriety’
Posted on
Washington: President Obama cautioned today against steep cuts to the defense budget during a White House press conference. “I think we need to cut defense, but as Commander-in-Chief, I’ve got to make sure that we’re cutting it in a way that recognizes we’re still in the middle of a war, we’re winding down another war,… Keep reading →