British historian Michael Howard observed long ago that during extended eras of peace, military planners are like sailors. He meant true sailors, those who use sextants and abhor the Global Positioning System. …

The Pave Hawk helicopter has been a life-saver, but it’s no longer up to the job

The Air Force combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) force is reaching a critical juncture as the HH-60G Pave …

As part of the media fuss over the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), critics of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have taken the opportunity to once again snipe at the concept of transformation, as …

A loyal reader caught AFJ in a non-word red-handedness. In military use, rostered shows up from time to time as “battle-rostered”; that is, troops listed as ready for combat or assigned to …

Traditional amphibious warfare remains the focus of Marine Corps planning and drives its spending priorities. But the service is more likely to engage in stability operations, says Max Boot, and should re-embrace …

American strategists have, since the end of the Cold War, been a day late and a dollar short in appreciating the change in relations with the People’s Republic of China. The first …

Six reasons why the QDR wont matter

Considering how much effort went into its preparation, the Quadrennial Defense Review report sent to Capitol Hill on Feb. 6 is a surprisingly modest document. …

Special ops forces are misused as man-hunters, critics say

For the United States’ special operations forces, these should be the salad days. In late 2001, a relatively small number of Army Special …

For its 34-2 vote of “no confidence” in Connecticut’s Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman for his support of the war in Iraq, and in the Middle East more broadly. Referring to the senator …

Relying on single suppliers could cost in the long run

Besieged by spiraling weapons prices, mounting war costs and acquisition budgets that are unlikely to grow, the U.S. military is searching for …