News
This is where American Special Operations forces are helping advise U.S. allies –
While not secret, the missions — known often by some variation of “train, advise and assist” — have served as an extension of America’s larger wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Instead of large deployments of troops, U.S. Special Operations forces instead embed with local militaries to help bolster their capabilities and often accompany them on missions that serve both their government’s interests and those of the United States.
Race for latest class of nuclear arms threatens to revive Cold War –
The United States, Russia and China are now aggressively pursuing a new generation of smaller, less destructive nuclear weapons. The buildups threaten to revive a Cold War-era arms race and unsettle the balance of destructive force among nations that has kept the nuclear peace for more than a half-century.
Russia denies wrongdoing after jet barrel-rolls over U.S. aircraft –
A U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane was barrel-rolled by a Russian jet over the Baltic Sea during a routine flight in international airspace, U.S. European Command said April 16, but Russia disputed that account.
Business
GAO, JPO disagree on F-35 mods management –
Government auditors and the Pentagon’s program manager for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter disagree on how a follow-on modernization effort for the aircraft ought to be managed.
DSA 2016: Indonesia selects Type 730 CIWS for KCR-60M attack craft –
The Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Laut, or TNI-AL) has selected the Chinese-developed Type 730 close-in weapon system for the first two of three KCR-60M-class missile attack craft, an industry source told IHS Jane’s at the DSA 2016 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur April 18 and this was corroborated with TNI-AL contacts that are close to the matter.
Let industry buy ICBMs for space launch at fair price –
The U.S. government should allow aerospace companies to buy rocket motors from excess intercontinental ballistic missiles for commercial space launch, the chief of U.S. Air Force Space Command said April 14 — but the price must be right.
Defense
Pentagon to Congress: We need base closures –
Pentagon officials say the Defense Department is wasting money on excess facilities and needs Congress to step in and close them, but they face an uphill fight.
Senators concerned with shrinking missile defense research budget –
Several senators are concerned with the Missile Defense Agency’s disproportionately small research and development budget request in fiscal 2017 as the U.S. tries to stay ahead of the intercontinental ballistic missile threat posed by North Korea and Iran.
Army, Air Force most vulnerable in Pentagon’s new base closure plan –
The Pentagon is renewing its controversial push to close some military bases, and a new study suggests the Army could be impacted the most significantly.
South Korea gives same-sex U.S. military spouses legal protection –
South Korea has been added to the growing list of overseas duty assignments approved for same-sex military couples, a Pentagon official has confirmed.
The Navy’s $22 billion stealth destroyer delayed again –
General Dynamics’ stealth, electric-powered destroyer for the U.S. Navy will be delivered almost three years late, according to the Pentagon’s latest schedule.
Budget cuts leaving Marine Corps aircraft grounded –
Since 1775, the U.S. Marine Corps has prided itself on being “The Few” and “The Proud.” But while the Corps takes pride in doing more with less, senior Marine officers are warning that the Corps’ aviation service is being stretched to the breaking point.
Veterans
VA employees disciplined in health enrollment scandal –
Seven Veterans Affairs employees, including two senior executives, face disciplinary action for their involvement in a scandal surrounding the department’s health care enrollment system, which last year was found to contain the names of 300,000 deceased veterans.
Hundreds of veterans are winning elections – at the state level –
A veteran will likely be on your election ballot this fall, but maybe not in the race you expected.