What do the Japanese Long Lance torpedo, the F-117 Nighthawk and the atom bomb have in common? They were developed in secrecy, concealed until their first combat deployment, and used, at least …

History shows the promise and limits of hidden capabilities

By Ravi Hichkad and Christopher Bowie

For most people, the phrase “secret weapon” usually brings to mind some state-of-the-art gadget that wowed them …

TO RETIRED GEN. PETER CHIARELLI for his battle to get America’s psychiatric community to rename a signature injury of the recent wars. Instead of post-traumatic stress disorder, Chiarelli wants to call it …

The danger of conflating military and civilian values

“Poor Ike,” President Harry Truman is reported to have mused in 1952, as he contemplated the prospect of Gen. Dwight Eisenhower succeeding him in …

Air power, special ops can deliver a punishing blow

The recent discussions in the defense and general media about stresses on our military personnel and the increasing calls among members of Congress …

A careful transition — not a hasty exit — will pay long-term dividends

The war in Afghanistan has hit a new low. Despite lots of measurable progress — in territory controlled, the …

To the Air Force for a drawdown plan that cuts too heavily into the Air National Guard and Reserve.

The 2013 budget proposal would cut 3,900 active-duty airmen but 6,000 guardsmen and …

To the Marine Corps for its four-pronged look at the feasibility of opening more ground combat jobs to women.

An effort to open more jobs to qualified people — that’s qualified, as …

DoD’s annual spending is coming down, but the share spent on military compensation is not. Thanks largely to policies set by Congress, the amount the Pentagon spends on pay, health care and …

Ordered to reduce spending by $487 billion over the next decade, the Defense Department responded with a 2013 budget proposal that would lower end strength, kill acquisition programs and adjust force postures. …