Fights Over DoD Bureauracy, Space Force Makes Tensions Flare on HASC
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House Armed Services Committee pushes through most of the Trump administration’s budget requests, absent some of the usual fights. But the return of sequester looms large in 2020.
HASC Kicks Around Trump’s Nuclear Plan, Approves It Along Party Lines
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The Pentagon’s Nuclear Posture Review remains the topic of debate on Capitol Hill, with Democrats and Republicans sparring over nuclear deterrence.
HASC Budget Adds Hypersonic Weapons, A-10s, Strykers, But Fewer Bureaucrats
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The budget battles have begun, with Republicans and Democrats already sparring over Rep. Mac Thornberry’s call to slash DoD civilians by 20 percent.
Rep. Bacon Offers Electronic Warfare Bill: ‘We’re Behind’
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“We had the dominant electronic warfare capability in the world and we let it atrophy. Now we’re behind,” general turned congressman Don Bacon told me. “I want us to be dominant again. I don’t want us to be second or third best after Russia and China.”
Build Missile Defense Space Sensors Now
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Faced with an improving Russian threat, the United States should deploy a serious space sensor layer to provide persistent birth-to-death tracking of missiles, including against the kind that rip through the air at low altitudes 20 times the speed of sound (hypersonics).
Senate Budget Deal Will Pass; $26B More Than Trump’s ’18 Request
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WASHINGTON: After Defense Secretary Jim Mattis took the extraordinary step today of appearing at the White House to praise the just-announced Senate budget deal, the first thought that came to mind was — can this pass the House? Mattis was asked if he knew whether the House Republican leadership was enthusiastic about Senate deal. He… Keep reading →
Mattis’ Defense Strategy Raises China To Top Threat; Allies Feature Prominently
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UPDATED: Adds Text Of SecDef Mattis’ Speech At SAIS WASHINGTON: The Trump Administration’s first National Defense Strategy is a vigorously and well written document that marks a major shift from the policies of the Obama and Bush Administrations, calling China and Russia the “central challenge” to the United States. The strategy, a late draft of… Keep reading →
HASC Chair Thornberry To SecDef Mattis: Share Readiness Info
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WASHINGTON: The Pentagon was urged today by one of its best friends on Capitol Hill to share more information about how ready American forces are for war, after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson urged more restraint in releasing information. “I think we need to talk more,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman… Keep reading →
Defense Hawks Fight DoD Budget Stopgaps As Shutdown Looms
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UPDATED: Adds SecDef Spox Comment That CRs Are “Damaging” & Mattis Supports Spending Bill CAPITOL HILL: To prevent a government shutdown Dec. 8th, Congress looks likely to pass a stopgap spending bill called a Continuing Resolution. But yet another CR, rather than a proper budget, would do unacceptable damage to the military, defense hawks say. So… Keep reading →
Readiness Crisis? What Crisis, Ask Top NCOs
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WASHINGTON: Congress and pundits have raised the cry of a readiness crisis, but the military’s top enlisted men want America to know there’s no such thing. In a rare press briefing today by the most senior non-commissioned officers of all five services (including Coast Guard), plus the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the… Keep reading →