Archive for March, 2013

America has a can-do military, by tradition and inclination, and so when the combatant commanders ask for assets, the service chiefs and their forces provide. But more than a decade of war, …

Mobility, protection and precision firepower are a winning combination

Increasing fiscal constraints, perceived changes in the character and capabilities of future adversaries, and the national strategic shift to the Asian-Pacific lead some …

France’s Mali intervention could have been avoided

From most perspectives, France’s recent intervention in Mali has been wildly successful. Within days of their arrival in January, French forces turned back al-Qaida-led fighters …

To Leon Panetta for proposing a mini-BRAC.

Wisely is it said, “Let no crisis go to waste.” The defense secretary’s recent announcement that DoD’s 2014 budget proposal will include a new round …

To the Army for working to move the Rapid Equipping Force into the base budget.

Army acquisition has taken its lumps in recent years — among other things, for wasting more than …

Lessons and warnings from the post-Vietnam era

By 1973, when the last U.S. troops departed Vietnam, the Army was close to collapse. Widespread opposition to the war, indiscipline in the ranks and …

Today’s Air Force chaplains struggle to reach airmen

Once upon a time, our Air Force chaplains knew every face in their units and could call out many airmen by their first names. …

edicine is the only victor in war,” said Dr. William Mayo, and the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are no exceptions. It is time to view through a health-care perspective the …

To Leon Panetta, for going overboard in his anti-sequestration rhetoric.

No one in the armed forces wants the cuts that will follow if the nation falls off the fiscal cliff. Recent memos …

Irregular warfare is nothing new, and always difficult

As America enters what is now the 12th year of the “decade of war,” it is time to assess that experience and learn what …