TODAY’S TOP 5
1. Grandfather current troops, retirees on COLA cuts, DoD urges
(Military Times) The Pentagon opposes the pending reductions in annual retirement pay increases and believes changes in the military retirement system should come not from Congress but from a commission convened to study benefits modernization, senior officials told lawmakers Tuesday.
2. Lawsuit: KBR transported soldiers' ice in unsanitized morgue trailers
(Army Times) The Justice Department is suing KBR and two foreign companies for allegedly defrauding the Army. The most shocking accusation: Workers used “refrigerated trailers to transport ice for consumption by the troops that had previously been used as temporary morgues without first sanitizing them.”
3. Karzai Gambles with the Taliban
(Bill Roggio in The Daily Beast) Karzai is sounding more like the Taliban in his public statements and recycling their propaganda in his criticisms of the U.S., but he’ll never make peace with the terrorist group.
4. More Implicated In Nuke Cheat Probe
(Associated Press) The cheating scandal inside the Air Force's nuclear missile corps is expanding, with the number of service members implicated by investigators now roughly double the 34 reported just a week ago, officials said Tuesday.
5. Pentagon investigations point to military system that promotes abusive leaders
(Washington Post) U.S. military commanders are not trained to be soft or touchy-feely. But over the past two years, the Pentagon has been forced to conduct a striking number of inspector-general investigations of generals and admirals accused of emotionally brutal behavior, according to military documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
STATE OF THE UNION
State of the Union: Obama emphasizes diplomacy to strengthen security
(Military Times) The country must maintain a strong military but “move off” a permanent war footing and look toward partnerships, diplomatic solutions and precision operations for dealing with world threats, President Obama said in his State of the Union speech Tuesday.
Obama: Troops may remain in Afghanistan beyond war
(Associated Press) President Barack Obama says a small U.S. military force may remain in Afghanistan next year, but he's promising to declare an end to the 12-year war there at the end of 2014.
In Obama's State of Union Address, a Warning on Iran
(Wall Street Journal) President Barack Obama acknowledged Tuesday that talks with Iran over its nuclear program will be difficult and "may not succeed," but said that for the sake of national security, the U.S. must try to negotiate a deal with Tehran.
State of the Union: Foreign Policy and Defense
(Real Clear Defense) The following is an excerpt of President Obama's State of the Union address (as prepared for delivery) focused on foreign and defense policy issues.
INDUSTRY
Report: Software Issues May Delay F-35 for US Marine Corps
(Defense News) The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is often touted as the most advanced fighter in the world, whose complex systems are held together by millions of lines of code. So when the Pentagon’s top weapons tester declares the current software “unacceptable,” it tends to make waves in the defense world.
Lockheed F-35 Develops Cracks in Test, Pentagon Tester Says
(Bloomberg) Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT:US)’s F-35 jet developed cracks in testing of the fighter’s durability and wasn’t sufficiently reliable in training flights last year, the Pentagon’s chief tester found.
South Korea To Finalize F-35 Jet Fighter Deal This Year
(Defense News) South Korea plans to finalize the purchase of 40 next-generation F-35 jet fighters from US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin later this year, Seoul’s military procurement agency said.
A-12 settlement won't extend Boeing's F/A-18 production line
(Reuters) A settlement of a dispute over the canceled A-12 aircraft calls for Boeing Co to build three more EA-18G electronic attack planes for the U.S. Navy, but those jets will not extend the F/A-18 production line in St. Louis, according to Navy officials and company executives.
Both Sides Optimistic Ahead of French-UK Summit
(Defense News) An upcoming Anglo-French summit could breathe fresh life into a bilateral defense relationship seen as faded, with industry waiting to hear if there is progress on an anti-ship missile and a future combat drone for the two nations.
India close to buying Japan-made military aircraft
(Reuters) India is set to become the first country since World War Two to buy a military aircraft from Japan, helping Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dismantle a ban on weapons exports that has kept his country's defence contractors out of foreign markets.
CONGRESS
Ayotte tweaks proposal to repeal military pension cuts
(The Hill) Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) is trying to win over Democrats to back her proposal repealing $6 billion in military pension cuts. Ayotte said Tuesday that she was tweaking her proposal to offset the $6 billion pension cuts, which does so by preventing illegal immigrants from claiming the additional child tax credit.
Hill Rises in Support of 11-Ship Carrier Fleet
(Defense News) Responding to this week’s Defense News story that the Pentagon is strongly considering moves to reduce the US aircraft carrier fleet, 11 congressmen, led by Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., sent a letter Tuesday to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in support of current fleet levels.
Senators give up on Karzai
(The Hill) Top senators are fed up with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and say the Obama administration should wait for the next Afghan president to finalize a deal to keep U.S. troops in the county.
What Is the Asia 'Pivot'? Depends on Who's Talking
(Defense News) The most striking aspect of the exchanges between senior Pentagon officials and lawmakers Tuesday was the rhetoric about the so-called “Asia pivot.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Internal memo alleges JPAC ethics violations, mishandling of military remains
(Stars and Stripes) Internal communications obtained by Stars and Stripes allege a troubling pattern of wrongdoing and violation of scientific ethics by JPAC’s Central Identification Laboratory, the section responsible for the lion’s share of efforts to search, recover and identify American personnel missing from past military conflicts.
Pentagon to review all military medals
(Stars and Stripes) With the politically dicey issue of how to recognize service by drone pilots and cyber warriors still awaiting an answer, the Pentagon announced Tuesday a broad-ranging review to settle not only that question, but examine the full range of medals and awards.
U.S. should consider re-design of missile defense system: report
(Reuters) The U.S. Missile Defense Agency should consider redesigning a key part of its ground-based missile defense system after a series of test failures in recent years, the Pentagon's chief arms tester said in a new report due to be released Wednesday.
Pentagon will review higher pensions for top officers
(USA Today) A Pentagon commission on military compensation will review a 2007 increase in pensions for three- and four-star officers that made the retirement pay of some officers higher than what they made on active duty, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told a Senate panel Tuesday.
US military bases feel the sting of the cold
(Stars and Stripes) U.S. military bases from Colorado to Florida are feeling the effects of the dreaded Polar Vortex.
ARMY
Injured Ranger Cory Remsburg gets SOTU spotlight
(Washington Post) President Obama has at times been described as a detached commander in chief. The warm words the president used to describe his relationship with a soldier in the audience, a guest of honor who sat next to first lady Michelle Obama, projected a far different image.
US Army Leaders Preview Lighter, Faster Service
(Defense News) In the future the Army will need to get to the battlefield more quickly, with fewer troops — some replaced by unmanned systems — and with lighter, more mobile equipment than available.
Source shares 'raunchy exchange' between Army officers about Republican congresswoman
(Army Times) A top commander with the 82nd Airborne Division was disciplined after he called a female lawmaker “smoking hot” and jokingly referred to masturbation in an email to two high-ranking officers.
Fatal helicopter crash prompts JBLM to complete radar picture with new censors
(The Tacoma News Tribune) The Army is spending $4.6 million to buy a low-altitude aircraft surveillance system that would improve safety in the Joint Base Lewis-McChord training areas where four helicopter pilots were killed in a December 2011 collision.
NAVY
Navy: Jet-crash pilot listed in good condition
(Navy Times) The F/A-18 pilot who ejected into the ocean 45 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, Va., on Jan. 15 has been upgraded to good condition, a Naval Air Force Atlantic spokesman said.
Kendall Pushes Back on Criticism of Navy’s P-8A Poseidon
(National Defense Magazine) The Defense Department’s chief acquisition executive Jan. 28 defended the Navy’s new P-8A Poseidon submarine-hunting aircraft in the wake of a report that said it had been deployed with major “deficiencies.”
Top admiral outlines future of at-sea information-sharing
(Navy Times) Nearly 200 warships will have brand-new computer networks in the next eight years, the Navy says. That means more bandwidth for missions, more security — and, possibly, more online access for sailors via Wi-Fi hotspots.
MV Cape Ray Deploys on Syrian Chemical Weapons Disposal Mission
(US Naval Institute) MV Cape Ray (T-AKR-9679) — the U.S. ship equipped to chemical weapons turned over by the Syrian regime — left Virginia Monday bound for the Mediterranean, according to the Pentagon.
AIR FORCE
US Air Force Commission Readies Report to Congress
(Defense News) The National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force will deliver its recommendations to Congress this Thursday, putting an end-note on one of the most tumultuous periods in US Air Force history.
Airman pleads guilty to toddler son's murder
(Air Force Times) A senior airman accused of discarding his 14-month-old son in a ravine after finding him dead a year ago in their Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., home has pleaded guilty to murder, child endangerment, making a false official statement and obstructing justice.
New soil tests ordered for Kadena school in wake of dioxin fears
(Stars and Stripes) The Air Force said Tuesday an independent U.S. lab will conduct a second round of soil tests at Kadena Air Base schools amid continuing public fear over the discovery of dioxin- and herbicide-laced drums nearby.
RIF-eligible captains, majors can apply for voluntary exit Feb. 6
(Air Force Times) Some captains and majors who are eligible for a reduction-in-force board can apply for voluntary separation between Feb. 6 and May 1.
These Falcons made it to the Super Bowl
(Stars and Stripes) U.S. fighter jets will exercise Wednesday near the Meadowlands in preparation for the big game on Sunday, with 1st Air Force out of Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., taking the lead on flying.
MARINE CORPS
Marine Corps struggles with challenge of making women do pullups
(Marine Corps Times) Marine officials are uncertain whether women will be required to perform pullups with the development of new service-wide fitness standards, but a strongly worded message from the commandant encourages personnel to continue building upper body strength in anticipation of a modification to the Physical Fitness Test.
Marine says he was 'devastated' by word of retrial
(Associated Press) A Marine sergeant said he was devastated when he learned the corps will retry after twice-overturned murder convictions — the latest twist in a nearly decade-old Iraq war crime case.
Marines tested for infection after dental techs use unsterilized tools
(Marine Corps Times) Members of a Marine reserve unit were called in for an emergency blood draw in late January after officials discovered that some had undergone dental examinations with unsterilized instruments during a drill weekend.
Much of old Irvine air base is removed from list of hazardous sites
(Los Angeles Times) More than 1,900 acres of the retired Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in Irvine have been cleaned up and removed from the list of the nation's most hazardous sites after more than two decades, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday.
VETERANS
An aggressive voice for the newest vets
(The Hill) Tom Tarantino, 36, runs the Washington office for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), an advocacy group for the country’s newest generation of veterans.
Meet a Marine Vietnam veteran who creates busts of fallen warriors
(Marine Corps Times) Cliff Leonard, who served with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, teamed up with the Semper Fidelis Society in Jacksonville, Fla., to provide a memorial for a local cemetery a few years ago. He offered to sculpt a life-sized bust of Pfc. Nathan Clemons, a local Marine who was killed in Iraq in 2005. He contacted the Clemons family and got started.
Retired Air Force, Army vet worked with Jonas Salk
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) Col. Teresa Geisler Goldner, a retired Air Force and Army veteran and a physical therapist who worked with Dr. Jonas Salk during clinical trials of the polio vaccine, died Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014. She was 90.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Homeland Security blacked out recommendation on Border Patrol restraint
(Washington Post) It’s one of the U.S. Border Patrol’s most controversial practices: shooting at migrants and suspected drug runners who throw rocks and other objects at agents. Many law enforcement experts say the best option is to take cover or move elsewhere, rather than use lethal force.
U.S. Border Protection Agency Grounds Drone Fleet
(Wall Street Journal) The U.S. Customs and Border Protection grounded its fleet of drones after one lost power while flying Monday night and crashed in the Pacific Ocean.
OPM seeks to improve government morale
(Federal Times) Does your agency have terrible morale? The Office of Personnel Management wants to help.
AFGHANISTAN
Afghan President Denies Blaming US for 'Insurgent-Style' Attacks
(Voice of America) The Afghan government is denying reports that it suspects the United States of aiding "insurgent-style" attacks in an effort to undermine the government.
US ambassador: Relationship with Kabul strained, but not beyond repair
(Stars and Stripes) The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan painted a picture of an increasingly fraught relationship with Afghan President Hamid Karzai during a media roundtable, but said the U.S. remains hopeful a security agreement allowing foreign troops to stay past the end of the year can be finalized.
Afghan Justice Proves Complicated in Killing of 9-Year-Old Boy
(New York Times) The case has consumed this city in western Afghanistan for over a year: A 9-year-old boy, Ali Sena Nowruzi, is kidnapped on his way to school by his trusted friend and bodyguard, and then is found beaten to death.
Afghan Hailstorm Affects Coalition Air Campaign
(Aviation Week) Details of the incident last April 23 have only recently begun to come to light now that coalition air forces are starting to return to service aircraft seriously impaired in the storm, which occurred at Kandahar airfield. Golf-ball-sized hailstones peppered the airfield and the hundreds of aircraft based there, causing hundreds of millions of dollars of damage. Conceivably, a large number of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft will have to be written off.
IRAQ
Former Iraqi PM backs Maliki’s war on al-Qaeda
(Al Monitor) When the coalition invaded Iraq to topple late dictator Saddam Hussein, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a former prime minister and back then one of Iraq’s prominent opposition figures, was one of the few in his camp who opposed the US-led invasion. However, after the fall of Saddam, Jaafari became the first head of his country’s interim governing council that was known to be backed by Washington, and later on he won the 2005 election.
Iraq says Syria war spillover hinders oilfields, pipelines
(Reuters) Spillover attacks from the civil war in Syria have hindered development of Iraq's gas and oil reserves and a major pipeline to the Mediterranean has been blown up dozens of times, Iraq's top energy official said on Tuesday.
Iraq in Serious Talks Over Kurd Oil Sales
(Wall Street Journal) Baghdad is in "very serious" discussions with the Kurdistan Regional Government to break a political deadlock on the controversial subject of oil sales from the semiautonomous Kurdish region, Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said Tuesday.
MIDDLE EAST
Pak-Saudi Defense Cooperation To Expand, But Questions Arise
(Defense News) The recent visit of the Saudi Arabian deputy defense minister to Pakistan included discussions of improving defense and security ties, although what direction that would take is unclear, analysts said.
Abbas Accepts Three-Year Israeli Presence in a Palestinian State
(Wall Street Journal) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Israeli soldiers could temporarily remain inside a Palestinian state after it is established, in his first public acknowledgment of Israel's stringent demands for West Bank security arrangements in U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations.
Syrian Talks Disrupted by Congress’s Approval of Aid to Rebels
(New York Times) New fireworks erupted at talks between the Syrian government and the opposition here on Tuesday, as the government sharply criticized a recent decision by the United States Congress to approve continued support for the Syrian rebels, and the United Nations’ top mediator decided not to continue talks in the afternoon.
Syrian Opposition in Geneva Tries to Polish Image, Project Unity
(Wall Street Journal) The Syrian opposition delegation to the Geneva peace talks has gone to pains over the past week to overcome its image as a fractious organization mired in infighting, trying to present a strong and united front to the media, Western backers and Syrians back home.
ASIA-PACIFIC
China challenging U.S. military technological edge: Pentagon official
(Reuters) The U.S. military's technological superiority is increasingly challenged by China, and efforts to maintain an edge are complicated by shrinking defense budgets that have cut money for development, the Pentagon's top weapons buyer said.
Baucus pledges to press China on security issues, trade in hearing on ambassador post
(Washington Post) The Obama administration’s choice to be the next U.S. ambassador to China on Tuesday signaled a tougher public stance on simmering commercial and security disputes, pledging to tell Beijing, “Uh-uh, we won’t be taken advantage of.”
South Korea To Hold Live Fire Drill Despite North Warning
(Defense News) South Korea said it would carry out a live fire exercise Tuesday near the disputed sea border with North Korea, despite Pyongyang’s warning of “grave consequences” if it went ahead.
U.S. Bemoans North Korea Nuclear ‘No Show’
(Wall Street Journal) North Korea didn’t earn a mention in the State of the Union speech this year but U.S. diplomatic coordination over its nuclear program continued in Seoul on Wednesday.
Dozens of Rebels Killed After Philippine Peace Deal Is Struck
(New York Times) More than 40 people have been killed and a school district supervisor kidnapped in separate incidents around the island of Mindanao, days after a landmark peace deal was struck with the largest Muslim insurgency group in the Philippines, officials said Wednesday.
EUROPE
Report: German Military Has Reached Its Operational Limits
(Defense News) The German military is stretched to its limits, and the goals of the ongoing restructuring program might not be reached, the parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces said.
In concession to opposition, Ukraine repeals anti-protest laws; prime minister resigns
(Washington Post) Ukraine’s opposition movement gained ground Tuesday in its efforts to remake the country, with the resignation of the prime minister and his cabinet and the repeal of harsh new laws restricting freedom of speech and assembly.
Finland Purchasing Secondhand Equipment to Protect Core Budget
(Defense News) Higher demands being placed on the Finnish military’s cost-reduction programs are driving the Armed Forces Command (AFC) to emphasize the acquisition of secondhand equipment.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Budget Cuts Are Sending the Wrong Message to Veterans
(Alex Nicholson in Defense One) Troops, veterans, and military families are used to being roughed up - by deployments, frequent moves, visible and invisible injuries, combat deaths, and so on. They’ve been at war for more than a decade while the civil-military divide has grown wider. But the continued use and abuse of the military and veteran community by politicians in Washington is an indignity that needs to end.
The True Forever War
(Micah Zenko in Foreign Policy) Technology, not policy, will make it easier for U.S. leaders to kill people, blow things up, and disrupt computer networks around the world.
A Game of Go: China and Japan Seek Advantages in East Asia
(Jin Kai in The Diplomat) In Chinese ancient military general and strategist Sun Tzu’s classical military treatise The Art of War, “shih” means the strategic configuration of power. Winning by “shih” may help to bring about a final triumph even without engaging in actual fighting. Such idea may provide us with an alternative perspective to examine the current Sino-Japanese “Cold War.”
In Afghanistan, a war that has lost its purpose
(Richard Cohen in the Washington Post) While watching the utterly gripping movie “Lone Survivor” recently, I comforted myself by noting that the four Navy SEALs engaged in a desperate firefight with the Afghan Taliban were all volunteers. They asked for this, I told myself. They were not draftees yanked out of civilian life and compelled to fight a war they could neither understand nor win. They had asked for this, I insisted, but I knew all the time that this was a lie. They had volunteered, but certainly not to die and certainly for no purpose.
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