Thank You
Robert Serge
VVA 17 Member
Blog Master
To all my fellow veterans friends and family my we all remember
From: no-reply@navytimes.com
To: rserge1@outlook.com
Subject: Navy Times Early Bird Brief
Date: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 05:29:25 -0600
COMPILED BY THE EDITORS OF DEFENSE NEWS & MILITARY TIMES
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TODAY'S TOP 51. Lockheed says has plan to catch up on F-35 deliveries by year-end(Reuters) Lockheed Martin Corp on Monday confirmed that it had delivered just 22 of 36 F-35 fighter jets promised to the U.S. government this year, but had a plan to complete work on the remaining 14 warplanes over the next two months. 2. U.S., South Korea to Detail Wartime Military Command Plans (Wall Street Journal) South Korea and the U.S. will this week set out conditions for Seoul to take control of its military in the event of war on the Korean peninsula, South Korea's vice defense minister said. 3. How About Some Unconventional Warfare? Thoughts On Countering ISIL (Clint Watts in War on the Rocks) The past month's media cycle has certainly articulated the strengths of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) as it has expanded control and governance across eastern Syria and western Iraq. ISIL's rise this past spring and its resilience during the ongoing air campaign targeting its members can be attributed to ISIL's internal lines of communication, strong physical networks, veteran cadres, and steady foreign fighter recruitment. 4. Agencies Paid Hundreds of Employees to Not Work for at Least One Year (Government Executive) Federal agencies from fiscal 2011 to fiscal 2013 paid 263 employees at least one full year's salary to sit on the sidelines and not work, and paid an additional 57,000 federal workers at least one month's salary to stay home. 5. Aquino rejects call to annul U.S.-Philippines forces agreement over murder case (Reuters) Philippine President Benigno Aquino rejected on Monday calls to tear up the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States after an American serviceman was charged with the murder of a transgender Filipino outside a former U.S Navy base. EBOLAFinancial help possible for families of troops deployed on Ebola mission(Military Times) Families of troops deployed to West Africa on the Ebola mission are eligible for emergency financial assistance from the nonprofit Operation Homefront on the same basis as those of troops deployed to combat zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan, officials announced. More US troops arriving in West Africa for Ebola fight (Stars & Stripes) More U.S. troops are arriving in West Africa to help fight an Ebola outbreak that has claimed more than 4,500 lives, but the rainy season is causing a delay, the Pentagon announced Monday. Fort Sam to train an Ebola medical team (San Antonio Express-News) Troops assigned to a Pentagon Ebola medical team will begin arriving in San Antonio as early as Wednesday for training as the military prepares to support civilian hospitals dealing with the deadly virus. Pentagon orders Peterson team to prep for domestic Ebola fight (Colorado Springs Gazette) The Peterson Air Force Base Command was ordered by the Pentagon to come up with a 30-member Ebola fighting team that can be quickly flown to the site of an outbreak if civilian health authorities ask for Defense Department help. It is the latest step in a White House push to battle the virus, which claimed its first victims on U.S. soil this month. Ebola Facts: When Did Ebola Arrive and Spread at a Dallas Hospital? (New York Times) Nina Pham and Amber Joy Vinson contracted Ebola while treating Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man who traveled to Dallas. Both nurses were with him during what federal health officials have called the highest risk period, when he was vomiting and having diarrhea. CDC issues formal guidelines giving workers more protection against Ebola (Washington Post) Federal health officials Monday tightened infection-control guidelines for health-care workers caring for Ebola patients, explicitly recommending that no skin be exposed. Former ObamaCare adviser: Pentagon's Ebola team is 'overkill' (The Hill) Ezekiel Emanuel, a former White House adviser on ObamaCare, is calling the Pentagon's plans for an Ebola rapid-response team "overkill." The Ebola travel ban is really politically popular. Here's why it's not happening. (Washington Post) When White House press secretary Josh Earnest was asked about the possibility of an Ebola-related travel ban to the United States on Thursday, this was how he responded. Nigeria Is Free of Ebola, Health Agency Affirms (New York Times) The World Health Organization declared Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, officially free of Ebola infections on Monday, calling the outcome the triumphal result of "world-class epidemiological detective work." As Ebola patients vanish in Liberia's health system, survivors go on a desperate search (Washington Post) For the 29th day, Linda Wilson came to the gates of the Ebola treatment center looking for her best friend, the woman whose picture she carried in her purse, so she could show it to guards or nurses or anyone else who might be able to help. ISLAMIC STATEState Department Clears Sale of 46,000 Tank Rounds for Iraq(Defense One) The U.S. State Department has cleared a $600 million sale of 46,000 120-millimeter armor-piercing tank rounds for the Iraqi Army's M1A1 Abrams tank fleet. US Airdrops in Syria May Strain US-Turkish Relations (Defense News) On Sunday night two US Air Force C-130s flew into Syria without fighter escort to deliver 27 bundles of weapons, ammunition and supplies to Kurdish fighters in the besieged town of Kobani, Syria, which has been holding out against fighters from the radical Islamic State (IS) group. U.S. Humanitarian Aid Going to ISIS (The Daily Beast) Not only are foodstuffs, medical supplies-even clinics-going to ISIS, the distribution networks are paying ISIS 'taxes' and putting ISIS people on their payrolls. U.S. advisory mission in Iraq remains limited in scope and impact (Military Times) More than one month after President Obama ordered U.S. troops to begin an advise-and-assist mission supporting the Iraqi military's fight against Islamic militants, that effort remains limited in its scope and effectiveness. Islamic State seizes two Yazidi villages as it advances on Mount Sinjar (Washington Post) Islamic State militants advanced on Mount Sinjar on Monday, seizing two villages and blocking roads as besieged fighters from the minority Yazidi sect pleaded for U.S.-led airstrikes to save them. Kurdish Fighters Enter Syria as Turkey, US Continue Talks on Islamic State (Defense News) After weeks of negotiations on how best to fight radical Islamists in Syria and Iraq, NATO allies Turkey and the United States have given signs of a convergence of their differences. This Is Why You Can't Have Nice Guns (Foreign Policy) Syria's moderate rebels are brawling among themselves in the streets of Turkey. And these are the people the White House wants to arm? Ability to Punish Syria for Alleged Chlorine Weapons Use Limited, U.S. Says (Wall Street Journal) The ability of the U.S. to punish the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for allegedly launching chlorine weapons attacks may be limited despite "damning evidence," a U.S. official said Monday. Syria tribal revolt against Islamic State ignored, fueling resentment (Washington Post) The cost of turning against the Islamic State was made brutally apparent in the streets of a dusty backwater town in eastern Syria in early August. Over a three-day period, vengeful fighters shelled, beheaded, crucified and shot hundreds of members of the Shaitat tribe after they dared to rise up against the extremists. Kerry: 'Irresponsible' not to aid Kurds against IS (Associated Press) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday the Obama administration decided to airdrop weapons and ammunitions to "valiant" Kurds fighting Islamic State extremists in the Syrian border town of Kobani because it would be "irresponsible" and "morally very difficult" not to support them. Report: ISIS oil production worth $800M per year (The Hill) The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria's (ISIS) oil production is estimated to be worth $800 million per year, according to a new analysis. Executions Could Be Iraq's Real Challenge to Unity (The Atlantic) On Saturday, Iraq formed a new unity government: Parliament approved Mohammed Salem al-Ghabban, a Shiite, for the role of interior minister, and Khaled al-Obeidi, a Sunni, as defense minister. But one day later, the United Nations published a report saying that the extreme use of the death penalty and "irreversible miscarriages of justice" in the country are fueling sectarian conflict. Sunni Arabs feel sting of discrimination in northern Iraq (Los Angeles Times) Having fled encroaching Islamic State militants, Ali Hussein Abbas, his wife and two young children arrived at a checkpoint on the outskirts of the capital of the Kurdistan region, hoping to find refuge. 40 Are Killed in Attacks Targeting Shiites in Iraq (New York Times) Militants unleashed a flurry of deadly attacks against Shiite targets in Iraq on Monday, including a quadruple car bombing near two of the holiest shrines in Shiite Islam and a suicide attack inside a mosque, officials said. Islamic State's Sway Spreads to Lebanon (Wall Street Journal) Sheik Nabil Rahim is jolted by what he hears nowadays from angry teenagers in the poor neighborhoods of this city, the country's second-largest and the hub of its Sunni Muslim community. INDUSTRYMemo: Hull Based on San Antonio Design is Navy's Preferred Option for Next Generation Amphib(USNI News) Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has signed an internal memo recommending the service base its next generation amphibious warship (LX(R)) on the existing San Antonio-class (LPD-17) warship design, first reported by the Inside the Navy newsletter on Monday. Thales To Provide Qatar Military Satcom System (Defense News) Multinational defense giant Thales was awarded a contract Sunday to supply the Qatar armed forces with a military satellite communications system for their ground and naval forces. AUSA: New SNE technologies make it easier to start up the system (C4ISR & Networks) The U.S. Army is conducting a follow-on operational test of Increment 2 of General Dynamics Information Systems' Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) at the Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) 15.1, which kicked off on October 15 and is set to run until November 2, at Fort Bliss and the White Sands Missile Range, in New Mexico. 3D-Printing May Enable Troops to Make Drones on Demand (National Defense) In the future, it may be possible for military jet pilots to manufacture and deploy small 3D-printed drones to conduct surveillance or help perform search-and-rescue missions. Raytheon: NORAD could use missile-defense blimp (C4ISR & Networks) Raytheon says its missile-defense radar blimp could be integrated into NORAD's warning system. Orbital Sciences Beats Expectations, but Merger May Be Delayed (Wall Street Journal) Orbital Sciences Inc. ORB -1.51% on Thursday reported a 36% increase in third-quarter profit, beating expectations, and raised its full-year guidance, though it said its planned merger with Alliant Techsystems Inc. ATK -0.73% may not close until January. Players picked for first federally-funded RandD center for cybersecurity (C4ISR & Networks) With cyber attacks being volleyed at U.S. infrastructure daily, the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has awarded the first federally-funded research and development center (FFRDC) contract designed specifically to enhance the nation's cybersecurity. Laser Communications to Thwart Jamming, Interception (National Defense) Networks are said to be one of the U.S. military's Achilles' heels. Cutting off communications through jamming or the destruction of infrastructure could be devastating to battlefield commanders. Peer and near-peer competitors such as China, Russia and Iran are reportedly boosting their electronic warfare capabilities. Northrop Grumman gets green light for IED jammer (C4ISR & Networks) The Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (JCREW) system has been given the go-ahead to enter production. The jammer is designed to block devices used to trigger IEDs. Businesses, Government Not Taking Mobile Device Security Seriously (National Defense) While the use of mobile devices for work purposes is expected to grow, a survey of government and private industry personnel indicated that many organizations simply aren't taking security precautions. DARPA will help Aurora speed up UAV launch system develpment (C4ISR & Networks) Aurora Flight Sciences has received a DARPA contract for accelerated development its SideArm launch and recovery system. Motherships May Overwhelm Future Adversaries With Robot Hordes (National Defense) Military agencies and defense contractors have created design concepts and fledgling programs that embody Hydra's survivability and versatility - a huge fleet of small platforms that can be used to surprise and overwhelm an enemy that thought it had the advantage. Although the "mothership" concept isn't new, experts say it may grow increasingly relevant in future years. Target date for WIN-T en route mission planning coming soon (C4ISR & Networks) Communications en route to overseas objectives are due for an upgrade, courtesy of the Warfighter Information Network - Tactical program. November is the target date for initial operating capability for en route mission command capabilities. AWD programme now AUD800 million over budget (IHS Jane's 360) The projected cost of Australia's troubled Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) programme has risen to about AUD800 million (USD688 million) more than its AUD8.5 billion budget, informed sources have told IHS Jane's . South African company developing long-range UAV (C4ISR & Networks) South Africa's Paramount Advanced Technologies is developing a lightweight medium-altitude long-endurance UAV. MBDA begins MdCN cruise missile production (IHS Jane's 360) European missile house MBDA has commenced low-rate initial production (LRIP) of the French Navy's new Missile de Croisiere Naval (MdCN) cruise missile at its Selles-Saint-Denis plant in central France. VETERANSOverall Morale at VA Dips, Along With Faith in Leaders(Government Executive) Employees at the Veterans Affairs Department are less enchanted with their job and agency this year than they were in 2013. VA misled public, vets on health care backlog (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Senior VA officials pushed untrue and misleading information to veterans, the public and Congress to blunt a potential scandal involving a backlog of hundreds of thousands of applications for access to VA health care, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation has found. Accomplished World War II POW dies (Shreveport Times) Claude McCrocklin, a World War II B-24 crew member who survived captivity in the infamous German Luft Stalag I to become an acclaimed avocational archaeologist and painter, died Saturday after a lengthy illness. He was 93. CONGRESSFewer veterans running for congressional office(Military Times) The number of veterans in Congress has been steadily dropping in recent election cycles, but the legislative branch's meager military credentials could take a major hit this year. Congress Prepares to Offer More Money for Ebola Fight (Government Executive) With concern mounting over the possible spread of Ebola in the United States, members of Congress are preparing to offer additional funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and other federal agencies to help fight the disease within the U.S. and abroad. McCain, Graham applaud arming anti-ISIS Kurds (The Hill) A pair of the most hawkish Republican Senators are backing the White House's decision to arm Syrian Kurds, but they warn an "effective strategy" for defeating Islamic militants is not in place. DEFENSE DEPARTMENTTricare rules on compounded medicines should be reviewed, GAO says(Military Times) Tricare spends $259 million a year on medications it is not obligated to cover and should align its policies on compounded medications with existing regulations or change those rules, a federal watchdog agency says. Top 10 Disruptive Technologies for a New Era of Global Instability (National Defense) There is growing concern in the Pentagon that the U.S. military is in a technology rut. Even though American technology has been the gold standard for decades, countries like China intend to challenge that lead. Cloud emerges as essential component in defense, intel operations (Federal Times) Defense and intelligence agencies operating missions around the world increasingly are looking to the cloud to store, organize and process operational data critical to decision-making on the ground. Small Spy Drones to Expand Troops' Eyes and Ears on Battlefield (National Defense) Over the last 13 years of war, the military has collected a large arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles ranging from systems that weigh tens of thousands of pounds to ones that can fit in a soldier's backpack or pocket. ARMYAll three components 'critical' to facing global uncertainty(Army Times) All three Army components must be ready to respond to "the entire range of military operations" in an uncertain, volatile world, the commanding general of Forces Command said. Army seeks long-range UAV (C4ISR & Networks) The Army is preparing to design a long-range, hand-launched UAV. Fort Drum's 1st and 2nd Brigade Combat Teams formally realign, increase personnel (Watertown Daily Times) It's a new look, and a new set of tools for the 10th Mountain Division's 1st and 2nd Brigade Combat Teams as they added multiple units this week. Army tests new DCGS-A features (C4ISR & Networks) The Army is testing new features in software for the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS-A). NAVYAircraft carrier Bush to begin heading home to Norfolk(Virginian-Pilot) The Norfolk-based aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush has been relieved in the Arabian Gulf by the carrier Carl Vinson and should soon depart for home. Navy Receives First New Patrol Boat (National Defense) The Navy is moving forward with plans to refresh its patrol boat fleet, which hasn't been updated since the 1980s. Safe Boats International in August delivered the first of 10 new MK VI boats to the service. Navy takes different approach to painting vessels (Virginian-Pilot) They call it "haze gray," the war paint of the Navy's fleet, designed to make its vessels tougher to see. With Loads of New Electronics Coming Online, Navy Seeks Shipboard Power Management Solution (National Defense) The Navy is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in state-of-the art technologies such as lasers, rail guns and assorted radar and sensor suites. What it doesn't have, however, is a ship that can power all of those systems at once. Trial over Navy silencer contract opens (Washington Post) Three senior Navy civilian officials testified Monday that they never authorized $1.6 million for a secret operation to buy hundreds of rifle silencers for the Navy SEALs and were instead told the money would be used to pay for intelligence studies and consultants. AIR FORCEOklahoma Air National Guard fighter jets collide over southeast Kansas; no serious injuries(Wichita Eagle) The roar of at least one fighter jet overhead caught Elaine Julian's attention B-52s headed to Europe for second time this year (Air Force Times) U.S. Strategic Command will sendB-52 Stratofortress bombers to participate in Exercise Noble Justification this month in support of NATO allies and partners. Ellsworth dragged into Senate race (Rapid City Journal, S.D.) Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rounds published a Sunday full-page advertisement in the Rapid City Journal announcing that his Democratic opponent, Rick Weiland, is endorsed by a "radical anti-bomber group" that wants to "wipe out the B-1Bs at Ellsworth and other bases." Two deaths reported at Kadena over the weekend (Air Force Times) Two members assigned to Kadena Air Base, Japan, died Saturday in separate incidents. U.S. drone crashes on landing at airport in Niamey: Niger sources (Reuters) An unarmed U.S. Reaper drone crashed on landing at the main airport in the capital of Niger on Monday, damaging the runway but causing no injuries, airport sources in Niger and the U.S. Air Force said. MARINE CORPSMarines face off against South Korean troops in epic drum battle(Marine Corps Times) It's a gutsy move to go into battle against U.S. Marines - even if you're a band member and the weapon of choice is a snare drum. Phenix City resident recalls 1983 bombing of barracks in Beirut (Ledger-Enquirer; Columbus, Ga.) Almost 31 years after a suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives at the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, former Lance Cpl. Morris Dorsey remembers the gunshots and the searing blast that prevented him from opening his eyes. Corps develops motorcycle training course for new riders (Marine Corps Times) The Marine Corps is working to develop a new motorcycle safety training course that would target inexperienced riders. Marines leaving Australia after six-month rotation (Stars & Stripes) More than 1,100 Marines are headed home after a six-month training rotation in Australia's Northern Territory. AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTANThis map shows all the areas in Afghanistan where poppy production rose(Washington Post) The U.S. military is closing in on the end of its long war in Afghanistan, and Washington has spent $7.6 billion trying to reduce the production of poppy, the brilliantly blooming plant whose resin is made into heroin and other opioids. Hollywood film 'Lone Survivor' puts Afghan villager's life at risk (Khaama Press) An Afghan villager is facing death threats from Taliban militants following the release of Lone Survivor film which fictionalized the rescue of a US NAVY SEAL by him. A (fighting) season to remember in Afghanistan (Washington Post) With little fanfare, and even less Western media coverage, another April to October fighting season is now grinding to a bloody close in Afghanistan. This year's campaign offers an unusually revealing glimpse of the Government of Afghanistan's exposed position as the tides of foreign military assistance and aid recede. Marked by electoral paralysis, the continued retrograde of foreign forces, and a virtual moratorium on new aid programs, the 2014 fighting season posed the stiffest test yet for Kabul and its allies. TTP denies its spokesman defected to Islamic State (Long War Journal) The Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan (Tehreek-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP) released a statement denying that its spokesman, "Shahidullah Shahid," had defected to the Islamic State. Additionally, the group said that "Shahidullah Shahid" is merely a nom de guerre shared by its spokesmen, and that the person who defected in Shahidullah Shahid's name is no longer a member of the TTP. Pakistani Government Suspends License of ARY News (New York Times) The Pakistani government on Monday suspended the license of ARY News, a broadcast network that has been sharply critical of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in a move that was widely criticized by rights groups and journalists. EUROPESubmarine hunt sends Cold War chill across Baltic(Washington Post) Sweden's biggest submarine hunt since the dying days of the Soviet Union has put countries around the Baltic Sea on edge. Germany blames pro-Russian rebels for MH17 passenger plane crash: Spiegel (Reuters) Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency has concluded that pro-Russian rebels are to blame for the downing of Malaysia Airline MH17 in Ukraine in July, Der Spiegel weekly reported on Sunday, the first European agency to say so. Ukraine Used Cluster Bombs, Evidence Indicates (New York Times) The Ukrainian Army appears to have fired cluster munitions on several occasions into the heart of Donetsk, unleashing a weapon banned in much of the world into a rebel-held city with a peacetime population of more than one million, according to physical evidence and interviews with witnesses and victims. In Ukraine, executions - and propaganda about them (Washington Post) In the conflict between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian separatists, both sides have been accused of atrocities, including execution-style killings. But there's a propaganda war going on too, and it has led to not only exaggerations about the number of executions, but a culture in which deaths and injuries sustained in battle are kept off the books in hospitals and other official tallies, according to a new report by Amnesty International. Ukraine parliament says 100s died in battle (Associated Press) A report by Ukraine's parliament revealed Monday that more than 300 soldiers were killed during a weeks-long battle that marked a crushing setback in the military campaign to root out pro-Russian separatist forces in the east. Russia Frees Activist Who Was Investigating Soldiers' Deaths (New York Times) A Russian activist who sought to document the deaths of soldiers believed to have been sent covertly to fight in Ukraine was released from custody on Monday for health reasons, according to an advocacy group. HS Okeanos re-delivered to Hellenic Navy (IHS Jane's 360) Greece's Type 209/1200 submarine HS Okeanos (S-118) was redelivered back to the Hellenic Navy (HN) from Hellenic Shipyards at Skaramangason on 20 October, having completed its Neptune II mid-life upgrade programme. ASIA-PACIFICNorth Korea Challenges U.N. Report on Violations(New York Times) One of North Korea's most senior diplomats warned on Monday that if any effort was made to charge the country's leader, Kim Jong-un, with crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court, the North would take unspecified "countermeasures." Is the Chinese Government Hacking Every iPhone in the Country? (NextGov) China has an estimated 100 million iPhone users in China, and all of them could be vulnerable, GreatFire reports, thanks to a "man in the middle" attack that tricks users into believing they are logging into a secure connection, when they are actually logging into a Chinese government-controlled site instead. "The attack point is the Chinese internet backbone, and that it is nationwide, which would lead us to be 100 percent sure that this is again the work of the Chinese authorities," one of the GreatFire founders told the South China Morning Post. Why Hong Kong's leader fears the pro-democracy protests (Washington Post) The ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, which have waxed and waned over the past three weeks, face another critical point Tuesday when student leaders will attempt to hold talks once more with the government of Hong Kong's embattled leader Leung Chun-ying. US, Japan agree on access to bases following environmental incidents (Stars & Stripes) Japanese officials will have access to U.S. military bases in Japan following oil spills or other environmental accidents, according to a bilateral agreement struck as part of the ongoing realignment of U.S. forces in the Asia-Pacific region. Australian Tigers to receive tactical datalink (IHS Jane's 360) Approval for an interim tactical datalink for 21 of the Australian Army's 22 Airbus Helicopters Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters (ARHs) was announced on 20 October by Defence Minister David Johnston. COMMENTARY AND ANALYSISThe Case for Arming Rebels(Lionel Beehner in Cicero Magazine) It was reported that a CIA commission found that arming rebels in civil wars is ineffective. That might not strike many who remember the 1980s as a shocker, but do its findings stand up empirically? Destroy ISIL's Heavy Weapons and Vehicles: Level the Playing Field (David Shlapak and David Frelinger in War on the Rocks) President Obama has committed U.S. power and prestige to assist local Iraqi and Kurdish forces in their battle against the brutal terrorists. To succor the hard-pressed defenders, the U.S. military, along with its partners, must degrade ISIL's front-line forces and its support infrastructure using the coalition's selected means of air power. To date, and to all appearances, the coalition has done less than is needed to achieve these goals, despite having in hand all the necessary resources to do so. Editorial: Use More Airpower Against IS (Defense News) Since air strikes against so-called Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq started, critics have suggested that air power is ineffectual. The Reign of 'Terror' (Tomis Kapitan in The New York Times) When President Barack Obama spoke to the public in September about his decision to use American military force against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria he used familiar language. ISIS (or ISIL as the White House and others refer to the group), the president said, "is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way." The man picked to manage Obama's strategy, General John R. Allen, wrote in the publication Defense One that "the Islamic State is an entity beyond the pale of humanity and it must be eradicated." The Houthi coup in Yemen is a new political era that may end in ruin (Nasim al Sanani in Quartz) In September 2014, Yemen entered into a new political era. The Houthis, a Zaidi Shia revivalist group with a militant wing ended their month-long demonstrations in Sana'a after government forces killed nine peaceful protesters. Houthi fighters amassed in northern Sana'a, defending their positions and taking back that which was controlled by their rivals: the government and opposition tribes. After four days of fighting, the Houthis-once a small rag-tag group of rebels from the north-controlled the State TV, Ministry of Interior, and the infamous army Firqa Camp, commanded by their archrival Ali Mohsen al Ahmad. Commentary: Reserve Aviation Is Taxpayer's Best Deal (Army Lt. Col. Paul Darling in Defense News) The current wrangling over the future of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters in the US National Guard provides a case study in the deliberately flawed methodology used to regularly justify active component force structure and their budgets. The myth of American isolationism (Peter Beinart in National Journal) In an op-ed last year in The Washington Post, former Sens. Joe Lieberman and Jon Kyl warned of "the danger of repeating the cycle of American isolationism." That summer, Post columnist Charles Krauthammer heralded "the return of the most venerable strain of conservative foreign policy: isolationism." Partisan divide is undermining the U.S.'s security (Rekha Basu in The Des Moines Register) Many of us out here in the nation's midsection have already had enough of the intense political divisiveness showing up in campaign ads. But as a recent trip to the nation's capitol indicated, our angst is nothing compared to the frustration being felt on both sides of the political divide there. Editorial: VA health care system not the agency's only trouble spot (Topeka Capital-Journal) Problems within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs obviously are not limited to the agency's vast health care system designed to provide medical care to this country's military veterans. Defense Program Taps Into Small Business Innovation (Edward Lundquist in National Defense) A Defense Department program called the Rapid Innovation Fund (RIF) is designed to make that transition easier. It allows the military to collaborate with small businesses to provide innovative technologies that can be rapidly inserted into acquisition programs. Will DoD's tech-focused acquisition posture keep us ahead of our foes? (Lisa Koppel in C4ISR & Networks) In September, DoD acquisition practices turned in a new direction once again. Under Secretary for Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, Frank Kendall, introduced the draft Better Buying Power (BBP) 3.0 to support the much-needed shift toward innovation and results in defense acquisition. Army Seeks to Simplify, Create More Interoperability for Information Systems (Stephanie Meloni in National Defense) Common requirements and shared services will be used for cost savings, and this is reflected in a bold cut to the Army's proposed IT budget of $7.49 billion for fiscal year 2015. The request is more than $700 million lower than fiscal year 2014 for development, modernization and enhancement, which means the service will focus much less on new systems. Commentary: Growing Into World Markets (Martin Neill in Defense News) The US defense budget is at a precipice. Will the projected budget decline and sequestration continue? Will the new threat of the Islamic State and a resurgent Russia revitalize the defense budget? More bad numbers (Kevin G. Coleman in C4ISR & Networks) It should not be a shock to anyone involved in defense or intelligence that the frequency, sophistication and impact of cyberattacks are on the rise. What might shock you is the success rate of these attacks and the financial impact they bring with them. Another report has come out, and to say the numbers aren't good would be a huge understatement. Editorial: The Future of Net Assessment (Defense News) Andy Marshall plans to retire as the director of the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment on Jan. 2, after four decades as one of the most influential men in US national security. | |||||
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