News
US. service member dies on mission in Iraq-
A U.S. service member died Aug. 10 during a mission in Ninewah province, Iraq.
New ‘bombshell’ legal opinion says military retirees can’t be court-martialed-
A new legal opinion from the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals says court-martialing military retirees is unconstitutional — and the reason concerns the issue of retirement pay.
Afghanistan president rejects foreign interference as U.S.-Taliban talks advance-
Afghanistan¡¯s president on Aug. 11 rejected foreign interference as the United States and the Taliban appear to be closing in on a peace deal without the Afghan government at the table.
Business
Israeli IDF’s Kochavi Plans ‘Fast & Strong’ Weapons Department-
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) plan a new multi-disciplinary department charged with listening to commanders operational needs and getting them the weapons they want as quickly as possible.
Army to pick LTAMDS winner by September-
The Army will pick a new radar for the Patriot missile by the end of the year, said the three-star chief of Army Space & Missile Defense Command.
GEOINT singularity:’ There’ll be nowhere for DOD to hide-
America’s adversaries — and the general public — will soon be able to watch U.S. troop movements, top secret weapons development and testing facilities (think Area 51), missile launch sites and nuclear laboratories as radical transparency is enabled by the nexus of commercial remote sensing, Artificial Intelligence and 5G networks, a new study by the Aerospace Corporation concludes.
Lawmakers urge DOD to expand F-35 foreign military sales-
Several Republican senators are making the case that the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program should be expanded with additional foreign sales to create a stronger coalition of allies.
South Korea cleared to buy $800M worth of Seahawk helicopters-
The U.S. State Department has cleared a potential sale of 12 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters to South Korea, with an estimated cost of $800 million.
General Dynamics re-welcomes Mattis to board of directors-
Former U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is rejoining General Dynamics’ board of directors, the company announced Aug. 8 in a news release.
Defense
15-Marine rifle squad: An exclusive look inside the future infantry-
When Sgt. Cameron Brower heads out on his next deployment later this year, he¡¯ll operate in a kind of rifle squad that top Marine leaders see as the future of the Corps¡¯ core unit and a way to bring new technologies and capabilities to bear at the lowest tactical levels of warfighting.
Russia says its bombers escorted by U.S. jets over Bering Sea-
The Russian military says two of its nuclear-capable strategic bombers have flown a patrol mission over the Bering Sea, where they were escorted by U.S. fighter jets.
Air Force suppressed Space Force debate; Lt. Gen. Kwast spoke truth to power-
After the House of Representatives passed legislation calling for a Space Corps, the head of the Air Force, Secretary Heather Wilson, and the service¡¯s Chief of Staff, Gen. David Goldfein, rejected the idea. Completely.
Can robots make an Army platoon 10 times as effective?-
Are humans with robots an order of magnitude better than humans without robots?
Navy considering more advanced Burke destroyers as large surface combatant timeline slips-
The Navy is looking at “something beyond even a Flight III” combat capability for its new-build destroyers, as its plans for transitioning from building the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer to the future Large Surface Combatant continue to evolve and the LSC procurement date continues to slide.
Navy, Marine C-130s still flying after Air Force found ‘atypical cracks’-
The Navy and Marine Corps are assessing their C-130 aircraft after the Air Force grounded about a quarter of its cargo tankers due to the discovery of cracks near the wings during routine maintenance, officials said on Aug. 9.
Veterans
Progress made identifying remains returned from North Korea last year, defense agency says-
Several families have found closure after their long-missing loved ones were identified as being among remains that were returned by North Korea. More than 20 more identifications are expected soon, officials say.
Dorothy Olsen, a pioneering pilot in World War II, dies at 103-
As a teenager envisioning the vast world beyond her family’s small farm in Oregon, Dorothy Olsen was mesmerized by “The Red Knight of Germany,” Floyd Gibbons’s 1927 biography of Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the German World War I ace.
Remains of Vietnam War pilot flown home to Texas by son-
The remains of an Air Force pilot whose plane was shot down in 1967 during the Vietnam War have been returned to Texas by a commercial jet flown by his son.
After public crisis, fall from grace, Wounded Warrior Project quietly regains ground-
In 2015, Wounded Warrior Project seemed, in the world of veterans’ support organizations, to have it all: a compelling mission.