Gen. Hoss Cartwright Talks Immigration, Cyber, China & Afghans With iPhones
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WASHINGTON: The cheerfully controversial James “Hoss” Cartwright, retired vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke Friday in an intimate and academic setting that allowed the retired Marine Corps fighter pilot to muse aloud about subjects from the Civil War to quantum computing, from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (he’s a skeptic) to aircraft carriers… Keep reading →
Sky News Arabia Interviews AOL D On Chinese Hacking
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OK — before anyone gets grumpy because they can’t understand the Arabic, this is just a bit of shameless promotion on a Friday about a skein of very serious subjects — hacking, cyber espionage and cyber warfare. Sky News Arabia interviewed me recently after reading my piece on how China recruits hackers to cast the… Keep reading →
Army Issues RFP For $6 Billion M113 Replacement: Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle Program
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WASHINGTON: After 53 years in service, the Army’s M113 armored transport might finally get replaced. Last night, the Michigan-based Tank-Automotive Command (TACOM) issued a draft Request For Proposals for a new Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle. The final RFP is expected in June and the contract award in mid-2014. Variants of the General Dynamics Stryker and the… Keep reading →
Transformation Resurfaces As Pentagon Gropes For Strategic Answers
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WASHINGTON: Transformation is back! Sort of. The pursuit of transformation, affiliated with the concept known as a Revolution in Military Affairs, became associated with the failed tenure of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and was publicly dropped as a central organizing concept of the military for that reason. The decade-long pursuit of counter-insurgency warfare didn’t… Keep reading →
How To Cut The Defense Budget Without Killing The Force
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The House passed the second Continuing Resolution of the year today, avoiding the direst scenario that had haunted many in American defense circles. But the CR’s passage does not mean anyone has avoided sequestration, as the mandatory budget cuts are known. And cutting $50 billion a year from the Pentagon budget for the next 10… Keep reading →
House Passes CR; On To Sequestration
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House passes CR. Now that’s out of the way, on to sequestration. Sigh. http://bit.ly/Xszyvi colinclarkaol
Senate Passes CR; Back to House
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CR for rest of year heads back to House. Senate passed it. http://1.usa.gov/X3ZvBp colinclarkaol
Gen. McMaster: Raiders, Advisors And The Wrong Lessons From Iraq
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WASHINGTON: On the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, one of the Army’s leading thinkers warned Washington not to learn the wrong lessons. [Click here from top Army generals on Iraq: Shock and Awe? Never again!] Army Maj. Gen. H.R. McMaster, now chief of the tank and infantry school at Fort Benning, singled out… Keep reading →
Sequestration Whacks National Space Symposium: NASA Drops Out, Some Air Force Cancel
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WASHINGTON: For those who aren’t part of the insular space community, you need to know that the National Space Symposium is the most important conference on space issues in the world. Everyone goes: the intelligence community; the Air Force; Army; Navy; industry; allies; even senior Chinese officials show up fairly regularly these days. Some 9,000… Keep reading →
Aircraft Carriers: How Budget Cuts Delay Overhauls And Trim The Fleet
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With all the services reining in spending to cope with the current budget crisis, the second and third-order effects of cutbacks will ripple through the force for years. While the Army “has it worst” by the Pentagon comptroller’s own assessment, the most complicated impacts are on the Navy, whose carefully planned maintenance schedule is falling… Keep reading →