Features

Ever-twisting tale of tanker replacement continues to surprise

All the Air Force wants is an airplane to replace the Boeing KC-135 aerial tanker, the last one of which was built in 1966. …

TO GEN. NORTON SCHWARTZ for a peculiar speech that implied the Air Force’s best chance of staying relevant is to ally with the Navy. In his keynote address at the Air Force …

The stakes on the Ground Combat Vehicle could not be higher

What is the role of a heavy, mechanized force in an era of “hybrid” war? The Army thinks it knows and, …

A better way to resource the future

In his May 8 speech at the Eisenhower Library, Defense Secretary Robert Gates struck a powerful historical note in recalling President Eisenhower’s dedication to economy …

10 myths America holds about China

The U.S. maritime strategy charges the naval services to develop “cultural, historical, and linguistic expertise … to nurture effective interaction with diverse international partners.” Unquestionably, no …

TO U.S. AEROSPACE, a previously little-known California-based aircraft components maker, for its dubious allegations against the Air Force regarding the KC-X tanker contract. U.S. Aerospace filed a protest with the Government Accountability …

TO THE ARMY for taking so long to uncover the serious operational problems at Arlington National Cemetery. The scale of the travesty — with hundreds, possibly thousands of graves mismarked or unmarked …

The unspoken argument over ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’

On May 26, the Senate Armed Services Committee passed an amendment to the 2011 defense appropriations bill to repeal Section 654, Title 10 of …

Critics of the Army’s COIN focus ignore world and war realities

As the violence in Afghanistan has intensified, a growing chorus of critics has argued against the strategy of counterinsurgency writ large. …

The Afghan president’s goal is survival, not victory over the Taliban

For all of the discussion in Washington of Afghanistan “endgame,” “exit” and “withdrawal” strategies, it is easy to lose sight of …