| December 30, 2014 |
THE EARLY BIRD BRIEF |
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TODAY'S TOP 5
1. Pentagon discloses airstrike against senior Somali militant leader
(Los Angeles Times) The United States launched an airstrike against a senior Shabab militia leader in southwestern Somalia on Monday, a Pentagon spokesman disclosed.
2. U.S. allocates a whopping $65 million for new Guantanamo school
(Miami Herald) The base with the most expensive prison on earth is getting one of the world's priciest schools - a $65 million building with classroom space for, at most, 275 kindergarten through high school students.
3. Allen: Degrading and Defeating ISIL
(Retired Gen. John Allen in Defense News) In early June of this year, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters poured down the Tigris Valley. Multiple cities fell. The northern approaches to Baghdad were exposed to ISIL. Iraq was under siege, poorly governed and alone in the world.
4. Afghans are on their own in fight against Taliban
(USA Today) The Afghans are hearing "no" a lot these days as they take over the 13-year-old war against the Taliban militants this week. "They're going to have to stand on their own," says Army Maj. Gen. John Murray, the deputy commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
5. The Tragedy of the American Military
(The Atlantic) The American public and its political leadership will do anything for the military except take it seriously. The result is a chickenhawk nation in which careless spending and strategic folly combine to lure America into endless wars it can't win.
ISLAMIC STATE
US-led forces hammer ISIS with 18 airstrikes
(The Hill) A U.S.-led coalition on Monday carried out 18 airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), according to Defense Department officials.
Iraqi security forces recapture large sections of Dhuluiya town
(Reuters) Iraqi security forces and pro-government militias took control of large parts of the Tigris River town of Dhuluiya north of Baghdad on Monday from Islamic State fighters, police and army sources said.
Backlash in Berlin over NSA spying recedes as threat from Islamic State rises
(Washington Post) Over the past year, Germany has secretly provided detailed information to U.S. spy services on hundreds of German citizens and legal residents suspected of having joined insurgent groups in Syria and Iraq, U.S. and German officials said.
INDUSTRY
Eighth GPS IIF satellite operational
(C4ISR & Networks) Boeing has only four more launches to go.
Beretta wants to be U.S. Army's new gun. Again.
(CNNMoney) Beretta is not going to step aside without a fight. It is entering the competition with a new design -- the M9A3.
Rethinking The Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent
(Robert Spalding and Adam Lowther in Breaking Defense) The United States Air Force needs to replace the Minuteman III ICBM fleet at the three nuclear missile bases in Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota.
Radar testing for JLENS aerostat
(UPI) Raytheon is doing final testing of radars aboard a JLENS aerostat that will help protect the National Capital Region against cruise missiles, drones and other aircraft.
Battle info mobilizes with WIN-T, POP vehicles
(C4ISR & Networks) If the Network Integration Evaluation 15.1, held in October and November at Fort Bliss, Texas, showed anything, it is that Warfighter Information Network - Tactical Increment 2 will greatly expand the reach of information in harsh conditions.
Lockheed opens MUOS development facility
(C4ISR & Networks) Lockheed Martin offers MUOS terminal makers a collaborative development and testing environment.
Electric Boat gets biggest contract ever
(The Day) In April, the Navy awarded the largest single shipbuilding contract in its history to Electric Boat for the construction of 10 Virginia-class nuclear-attack submarines.
VETERANS
Wounded troops battle obstacles to sex and intimacy
(Military Times) Aaron Causey is among an unprecedented number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans - 1,291 - who received devastating injuries to their groins, genitalia, bowels, buttocks and urinary tracts and lived to endure the recovery, from ongoing struggles with the psychological impact of losing all or a portion of one's penis or testicles to sexual dysfunction, infertility and other medical concerns.
Veterans look back on Afghanistan, Iraq odyssey with strong emotions
(Stars and Stripes) With pride, weariness, nostalgia and some bitterness, veterans are looking back at a 13-year odyssey of war. Those deployed in Afghanistan have a front-row seat to a transition from a campaign that, along with Iraq, defined the post-9/11 military generation and permanently altered many veterans' lives, for better or worse.
Female veterans battling PTSD from sexual trauma fight for redress
(Washington Post) Thousands of female veterans are struggling to get health-care treatment and compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs on the grounds that they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder caused by sexual trauma in the military. The veterans and their advocates call it "the second battle" - with a bureaucracy they say is stuck in the past.
WWII vet, 102, gets replacements for medals he lost
(Tampa Tribune) No one is quite sure when Frank Bartlett lost the five medals he earned while serving in World War II, but Monday they were finally replaced.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Afghanistan War officially ends
(Military Times) Operation Enduring Freedom, the worldwide combat mission launched shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that eventually became synonymous with the 13-year war in Afghanistan, officially ended Sunday.
Military pay commission poised to issue recommendations
(The Hill) A congressionally appointed commission studying military pay and compensation reform is preparing to issue recommendations in the coming weeks, a spokesman for the panel said Monday.
Report: Payday lenders find loopholes in military loans
(Military Times) Payday lenders with new loan products are again preying on military families and creating headaches for the armed forces, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a new report Monday.
McCain: Obama should ditch 'calendar-driven' Afghan withdrawal
(The Hill) Fresh from spending Christmas Day in Afghanistan, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is urging the White House to abandon its strict schedule for the withdrawal of American troops from the country.
Keeping the Pentagon's Challenges in Perspective
(Time) Given that this debate has teeter-tottered since the end of the Cold War, a quarter-century ago, without resolution, perhaps it's time to ask a different question: is the U.S. military spending its money on the right stuff?
ARMY
Soldiers Relocate Wedding to Accommodate Obama's Golf Game
(Bloomberg) Natalie Heimel and her fiance, Edward Mallue Jr., a pair of captains in the Army, were walking from their wedding rehearsal on Saturday at the 16th tee box at Kaneohe Klipper Golf Course in Hawaii when they were informed they'd have to move their wedding, scheduled for the next day. President Barack Obama wanted to play through.
Army apps help spread sex-assault prevention message
(Army Times) Smartphone apps designed to put suicide and sex-assault prevention information at a soldier's fingertips have rolled out at 15 Army installations, and more are on the way.
Dredging makes room for 'Army's Navy' at Fort Eustis
(Daily Press) It's been more than 15 months since the 7th Transportation Expeditionary Brigade's largest ocean-going tugboat has been able to dock at Fort Eustis.
Army recruit overcomes small stature to be leader
(Montgomery Advertiser ) Twenty-year-old Marie Sabillo, an enlisted Army recruit and a BrewTech graduate, had a rough start in military basic training, but her sights are aimed at becoming the first female Army general to earn four stars.
NAVY
U.S. Destroyer Donald Cook Returns to Black Sea
(USNI News) The forward deployed U.S. destroyer that was buzzed by Russian fighters in April has returned to the Black Sea, according to photographs of the ship crossing through the Bosphorus.
2015 outlook: SEALs to unveil decision on women's roles
(Navy Times) Special warfare is the only Navy branch closed to women, but 2015 is the year in which officials hammer out whether they'll integrate female sailors into the elite SEAL and Special Warfare Combatant Crewman communities.
Navy destroyer joins search for missing AirAsia jet
(Associated Press) The Navy said Monday it is sending a ship to the general search area to support search operations. The Navy's 7th Fleet said it is sending the USS Sampson, a San Diego, California-based destroyer that was already deployed to the western Pacific.
Navy Advances Design for New Destroyer Radar
(DoDBuzz) The Navy is making progress developing a more sensitive, next-generation radar system engineered to integrate onto new Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers by 2023, service officials said.
Man still paying for wife's portrait bought in 1951
(Virginian-Pilot) Listen up, married fellas. Norman Hammond has a story for you.Hammond was a newlywed in the early 1950s when he learned a lesson about marriage and forgiveness and, well, knowing a thing or two about your wife.The 90-year-old and his wife, Doris, 86, can laugh about it now; the mistake made when he commissioned a portrait of her during a Navy deployment to the Mediterranean about 64 years ago.
AIR FORCE
Need to know, 2015: Bigger role for reserves
(Air Force Times) The Air Force has a Feb. 2 deadline to tell Congress how it will reshape itself.
Need to know, 2015: SAPR training
(Air Force Times) The Air Force's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, headed by Maj. Gen. Gina Grosso at the Pentagon, will not direct a stand-down day in 2015.
KC-46A Test Plane Completes First Flight
(Defense News) The KC-46A Pegasus tanker program hit an important milestone Sunday with the successful first flight of its engineering test plane.
Air Guard readies for busy year, fight to stay relevant
(The News Journal) It'll be the state Air Guard's busiest year since 2007, officials say.
MARINE CORPS
Need to know, 2015: A new sergeant major
(Marine Corps Times) Perhaps one of the most anticipated announcements early in the new year will be the selection of a new sergeant major of the Marine Corps
Family of murdered Marine suing military over alleged cover-up
(Fox News ) The family of murdered Marine Greg Buckley just wants answers.
Troubled Marine vet featured in story about songwriting vets found dead
(Associated Press) A New York man featured in an Associated Press account of veterans coping with trauma through songwriting was found dead Sunday, the same day the story was published.
The year ahead: What every Marine needs to know
(Marine Corps Times) Here's a closer look at what's tracking for the drawdown, changes in aviation, women in combat, marksmanship training, and more in 2015.
AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN
Taliban: U.S. Leaving Afghanistan in 'Defeat'
(Foreign Policy) A day after the U.S.-led International Security Assistance Force held a low-key ceremony in a heavily guarded military compound to mark the formal end of its combat mission in Afghanistan, Taliban insurgents on Monday mockingly accused the United States and its NATO allies of leaving the country in defeat after a long and costly 13-year military campaign.
Russia Drafts Agreement On Afghan Arms Supplies
(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Russia is drafting a framework agreement that would govern supplies of weapons to Afghanistan.
Afghans decry economic and security woes
(Al Jazeera) A day after a NATO-led coalition formally ended combat operations after 13 years of war, Afghanistan's government continues to struggle making basic governance decisions amid a worsening security and economic situation. Ordinary Afghans are increasingly becoming fed up.
Meet Operation Freedom's Sentinel, the Pentagon's new mission in Afghanistan
(Washington Post) There's another related mission also now underway: Operation Freedom's Sentinel. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a statement Sunday that will include two core components: working with allies and partners on Resolute Support, and continuing "counterterrorism operations against the remnants of Al-Qaeda to ensure that Afghanistan is never again used to stage attacks against our homeland."
MIDDLE EAST
The Cost of the U.S. Ban on Paying for Hostages
(New York Times) The challenge of dealing with hostages has grown more acute and complicated over the past year with the rise of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, which has beheaded hostages from nations that have refused to pay ransoms.
Palestinians to ask U.N. for recognition of statehood and demand end to occupation
(Washington Post) Arab nations on Monday endorsed a Palestinian proposal for the U.N. Security Council to set a 2017 deadline for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, a return to the borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and recognition of a Palestinian state, according to Jordanian and Palestinian officials.
This Oil Map Answers The First Question Everyone Asks When Turmoil Hits The Middle East
(Business Insider ) When turmoil hits the Middle East, one of the first questions everyone asks is: "How much oil is at risk?"
EUROPE
No military solution to Ukraine conflict, country's president concedes
(Los Angeles Times) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko conceded Monday that his forces are unable to militarily defeat separatists backed by Russian mercenaries and armaments, and he called for a new attempt at negotiating an end to the fighting at an international summit on Jan. 15.
Secret papers: UK studied chemical weapons buildup in 1980s
(Associated Press) Newly released official papers show that former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government considered rebuilding Britain's chemical weapons arsenal in the face of a Soviet threat in the early 1980s.
US Adds Four Russian Officials to Sanctions List
(Voice of America) The United States imposed sanctions Monday on four more Russian officials, including two in Chechnya, for alleged human rights violations.
ASIA-PACIFIC
U.S. Filled Okinawa With Bases And Japan Kept Them There: Okinawans Again Say No
(Doug Bandow in Forbes ) Washington is determined to preserve every base and deployment, no matter how archaic. Such as the many military facilities in Okinawa, which risks sinking under the plethora of American installations, runways, materiel, and personnel. No wonder the Okinawan people again voted against being conscripted as one of Washington's most important military hubs.
FBI briefed on alternate Sony hack theory
(Politico) FBI agents investigating the Sony Pictures hack were briefed Monday by a security firm that says its research points to laid-off Sony staff, not North Korea, as the perpetrator - another example of the continuing whodunit blame game around the devastating attack.
Monument unveiled in Korea for Medal of Honor recipient Emil Kapaun
(Stars & Stripes) A chaplain who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for refusing to abandon troops during combat finally has been recognized with a monument in the country where he died more than six decades ago.
AFRICA
Cameroon bombs Boko Haram positions
(Al Jazeera) Cameroon's air force has bombed Boko Haram positions in the Far North province of the country for the first time after the armed group from neighbouring Nigeria seized a military camp, the government has said
Liberia reports dozens of new Ebola cases on border
(Associated Press) Dozens of new Ebola cases have erupted in Liberia, near the border with Sierra Leone, Liberian health officials warned Monday, marking a setback amid recent improvements.
After Slow Ebola Response, WHO Seeks to Avoid Repeat
(Wall Street Journal) The tepid initial response to West Africa's Ebola outbreak exposed holes in the global health system so gaping it has prompted the World Health Organization to consider steps to prevent a repeat, including emergency-response teams and a fund for public-health crises.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
The South Will Rise Again
(Dafna H. Rand in Foreign Policy) Syria's civil war is heading toward a point of no return. Advances by the Islamic State (IS) in eastern and northern Syria and the resurgence of other jihadi organizations in northwestern Syria are pushing the remnants of the so-called "moderate" armed opposition squarely into the Syrian regime's line of fire. Any hope that a secular, nationalist movement can govern post-Assad Syria is rapidly waning.
Gun Trouble
(Retired Maj. Gen. Robert Scales in The Atlantic) The rifle that today's infantry uses is little changed since the 1960s-and it is badly flawed. Military lives depend on these cheap composites of metal and plastic. So why can't the richest country in the world give its soldiers better ones?
The Real Reason For The Poor State Of Military Morale
(Task & Purpose) Recently, the Military Times published an article about the declining morale of the armed forces. It hit a big nerve, and rightfully so. A military with poor morale is a military that fights poorly. This should be a huge wake-up call to the senior uniformed and civilian military leadership.
Suffering in Silence
(Medium.com ) I get why someone might be afraid to allow someone with "mental health" problems be in the military. As a leader, I can't be completely blind to the complexities.
Do buffer zones deter wars?
(Lionel Beehner in USA Today ) In terms of diffusing the crises in Syria and Ukraine, a buffer zone, while attractive, is at best a Band-Aid solution. If Russia gobbles up Ukraine's eastern flank, that might prevent a wider war tomorrow, but it could just postpone conflict for another day. Similarly in Syria, a no-fly zone might ease tensions with Turkey in the short term, but that does not arrest the violence or do anything to bring President Bashar Assad to the table.
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