What a Difference Two Wars Make: No Battles Between Army, Guard And Reserve
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WASHINGTON: As the Army has been handed its largest manpower cuts since the end of the first Persian Gulf War and its acquisition accounts are being squeezed dry trying to find room for programs like Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles in its base budget, the atmosphere among the active, Guard and Reserve components is – surprisingly… Keep reading →
Storm Clouds: The Coming Turf Wars Over Cloud Computing
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There’s lots of happy-happy hype about “the cloud.” If you press the experts, though, they’ll admit that the savings from adopting cloud computing will come in the long run, not the near term, and only after a lot of hard work – including, when it comes to government, some all-out turf wars. With budgets getting… Keep reading →
Cameron And Obama Must Shore Up NATO For Age of Austerity
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When British Prime Minister David Cameron meets with President Obama this week, their discussions about Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran will dominate headlines. Also important, though less high profile, is the two allies’ preparations for NATO‘s May Chicago Summit, which will seek to bolster the alliance’s strained mission in Afghanistan and develop plans to maintain essential… Keep reading →
How To Avoid Defense Sequestration: A Democrat’s Answer
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WASHINGTON: One Adam Smith was a master of rational behavior in the economic world, the man who taught how making pins really mattered. Capitol Hill boasts another Adam Smith, perhaps not as august a personage, but one who appears to approach defense issues with an emphasis on fact and rational decision making, and more than… Keep reading →
DoD Turns Up Sequestration Heat On Capitol Hill
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THE PENTAGON: DoD turned up the heat on lawmakers, restating that it has no plan for addressing another $500 billion-plus in additional defense cuts forced by the congressional Super Committee’s failure. Furthermore, DoD will not formulate a plan to deal with the defense cuts prompted by the Obama administration’s sequestration plan, Pentagon comptroller Bob Hale… Keep reading →
The Pentagon’s Budget Sky Isn’t Falling
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The weeping and gnashing of teeth – that so descriptive phrase from the New Testament — is the end-of-days tone that grips the Congress, Defense Department and defense industry every time there is a change in strategic direction. Coffee mugs with program names on them are being considered for endangered species status. You can take… Keep reading →
Real Cuts, Real Jobs, Real Danger: The Defense Budget Crisis
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With the Supercommittee’s wreckage still smoldering in Congress, the prospect of an additional half trillion dollars in cuts to our national defense budget isn’t hypothetical anymore. For an overstretched military needing to reset after a decade of war and the 13 million Americans already looking for work, it’s a disaster. But amazingly, even as expert… Keep reading →
Whack Old Weapons, Rebuild the Army Or Fade From View
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In the new year, America’s power projection forces must be restructured and we must pursue a ruthless retirement of old weapons in favor of the new. Much of this can be paid for and modernized because of our withdrawal from Afghanistan, which costs $2 billion a week. Logistics costs in Afghanistan alone have diverted money… Keep reading →
Wake Up: America Can’t Afford Its Military
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Through the last year the defense industries and their supporters in Congress worked overtime to ensure the federal government kept the armed forces in a perpetual procurement cycle. Inside the Pentagon, the generals and admirals who lead thedefense bureaucracies worked to minimize procurement costs. This was not altruistic behavior. It’s the only way to protect… Keep reading →
Facing Big Cuts, Army Reshapes Reserves To Keep Key Troops
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With the regular Army shedding personnel to fit in ever-tighter budgets, the U.S. Army Reserve is positioning itself as a low-cost way to keep skilled, experienced veterans associated with the military. The plan, in a nutshell: If you can’t keep ’em in the regular Army, keep ’em in the Reserves. Today, only 9 percent of… Keep reading →