TODAY’S TOP 5
1. Amos breaks silence on scout sniper scandal: 'I never said I wanted them crushed'
(Marine Corps Times) The Marine Corps’ top general has ended his silence on accusations he abused his authority to ensure Marines were punished for an inappropriate war-zone video, vehemently denying in an interview with NPR that he told a subordinate general he wanted those embroiled in the scandal “crushed” and kicked out of the service.
2. Death shapes life for teams that prepare bodies of fallen troops for final flight home
(Stars and Stripes) The first body was the most difficult. Pfc. Durell Siverand found a family portrait in the dead soldier’s wallet that showed him posing with his wife and two daughters. A mortar blast had killed him on the day he turned 21.
3. Iran, History, and Strategy by Analogy
(Lawrence Freedman in War on the Rocks) The 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War has encouraged a number of worried comparisons with the current relations between China and Japan to the point where this has become a natural starting point for any consideration of where their mutual tension might lead. Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s invocation of this comparison was probably the most significant, if only because he believes his country is in a pre-war situation.
4. Iranian Hacking to Test NSA Nominee Michael Rogers
(Wall Street Journal) Iran's infiltration of a Navy computer network was far more extensive than previously thought, according to officials, and the officer who led the response will likely face questions about it from senators weighing his nomination as the next head of the embattled National Security Agency.
5. U.S. seeks prisoner swap with Taliban to free Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl
(Washington Post) In an effort to free American captive Bowe Bergdahl before the bulk of U.S. forces leave Afghanistan this year, the Obama administration has decided to try to resume talks with the Taliban and sweeten an offer to trade Taliban prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for the Army sergeant, current and former officials said.
INDUSTRY
Deals Drop as Pentagon Contractors Bear Cruelest Month
(Bloomberg) Poet T.S. Eliot called April the cruelest month. Defense contractors would pick January.
Rolls-Royce Builds on C-130 Engine Business
(Defense News) With few new-engine opportunities available in the US, Rolls-Royce is focusing on maintaining and improving its C-130 engine base through the rest of the decade.
L-3 repurposes planes for ISR
(C4ISR & Networks) L-3 Mission Integration is modifying Bombardier's Q400 commercial aircraft for maritime and ISR missions.
Broadband Stealth May Drive Taranis Design
(Aviation Week) BAE Systems' Taranis unmanned combat air system demonstrator is designed to defeat new counter-stealth radars, and may use thrust vectoring as a primary means of flight control and an innovative high-precision, passive navigation and guidance system, an AW&ST analysis indicates.
At Asia Air Show, Plenty of Competition for Sales of Drones
(New York Times) While the supersonic jets, attack helicopters and surface-to-air missiles longer than a stretch limousine wowed an estimated 80,000 people who attended the final days of the Singapore Airshow over the weekend, it was a small, silent and unarmed weapon that took center stage as major players in the Southeast Asia weapons market hawked their wares.
Three Companies Win Design Contract For New Coast Guard Cutters
(U.S. Naval Institute) The Coast Guard awarded three preliminary design contracts for the service’s new Offshore Patrol Cutter last week, the service announced.
CONGRESS
Security Insiders: High Time for Congress to Cave on Closing Military Bases
(National Journal) It's high time for Congress to agree to the Pentagon's request to close military bases, a whopping 91 percent of National Journal's National Security Insiders said.
Petri asks for ethics probe of his actions
(USA Today) Rep. Tom Petri says he is "distressed by the innuendo" that there is a conflict between his personal financial interests and his official actions in Washington so he took the unusual step on Sunday of asking the House Ethics Committee to investigate him.
Sen. Blunt Wades Into End-Strength Debate Between Army, National Guard
(Inside the Army) Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) has been trying to rally fellow lawmakers to join him in urging Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to prevent the Army from executing a plan that would cut the size of the National Guard and restructure the service's aviation assets, according to a draft letter obtained by Inside the Army that Blunt's office has been circulating on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Cantor: U.S. Needs to Be More Forceful Overseas
(Wall Street Journal) The U.S. must take on a more aggressive stance internationally in order to protect domestic interests and foreign allies while not ceding influence around the globe, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.) said Monday.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Defense Secretary Hagel finds long-lost "brother"
(CBS News) It was 1968, the worst year of the Vietnam War, and Sgt. Chuck Hagel didn’t know from one day to the next whether he would live or die.
Empty Chair? Top Officer Seen As Slow to Respond To Ethics Issues Roiling Military
(Foreign Policy) The Pentagon's response to the recent spate of ethical lapses rocking the entire U.S. military has been devoid of the kind of dramatic moves that Washington craves: there have been no high-profile firings, no generals publicly rebuked, and no announcements of far-reaching punishments that would indicate that the top officials are taking it all seriously.
Military backslides on ethnic diversity
(USA Today) Michelle Howard, soon to be second-in-command of the U.S. Navy, still recalls her days fresh out of the Naval Academy, when she was the only woman and only black in a crowd of officers.
USS Cole bombing hearing halted; defendant may fire lawyer
(Miami Herald) An Army judge abruptly recessed the first military commission session of the year Monday because the alleged architect of al-Qaida’s 2000 USS Cole bombing may want to fire his lawyer.
ARMY
Army launches new incentives to quit active, join reserves
(Army Times) If you’re looking to leave active duty (or among the thousands getting the boot), the National Guard and Army Reserve want you.
Stryker crews find ways to defeat armored enemy
(The News Tribune; Tacoma, Wash.) Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s 19-ton Stryker vehicles made their mark early in the Iraq War as speedy “tactical taxis” hauling soldiers to hot spots a couple years after they started coming off the assembly line.
Jefferson County’s high divorce rate may be affected by Fort Drum
(Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.) Randolph S. Imhoff, a marriage and family counselor at the Carthage Area Behavioral Health Center and retired Army family life chaplain, said many factors of military life can create problems, such as the young age of soldiers and their spouses, isolation at a new location and the job’s lengthy hours.
U.S. troops saved art as the 'Monuments Men' of Iraq
(Army Times) What once served as a national bank looked more like a tomb. And it was, for the enemy soldiers who had recently tried to blast their way into the vault. The reinforced confines and simple physics left little of them.
Soldier 360 leadership program uses healing power to help noncommissioned officers
(Fayetteville Observer) Mary Lopez knows they're coming. They're the grizzled, combat-tested noncommissioned officers who want nothing to do with her "hippy-dippy" teachings.
NAVY
Shore duty slackers
(Navy Times) Officials are struggling to close thousands of open fleet jobs with the possibility of pulling some sailors off shore duty. That comes, in part, because of those who aren’t pulling their weight.
Navy F-35C Prepares for Ship Trials, Faces Headwinds
(National Defense Magazine) Naval aviators plan to fly the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter from an aircraft carrier at sea this fall. Pilots who have operated the aircraft say they are cautiously optimistic about its future despite a string of technical setbacks.
Mid's body recovered on campus near sunken car
(Navy Times) The body of a male midshipman was found underwater near a sunken car on the Naval Academy campus Sunday, an academy spokesman said, in a rare on-base tragedy that has dismayed students and faculty.
USS Donald Cook prepares for first ballistic missile defense patrol
(Stars and Stripes) The fanfare of its arrival has passed, and the USS Donald Cook is preparing to make its first patrol in support of Europe’s ballistic missile defense patrol sometime in the next month.
President Obama taps Rear Adm. Tighe to head Fleet Command
(C4ISR & Networks) President Barack Obama has nominated Rear Adm. Jan Tighe to head the Navy's arm of U.S. Cyber Command, the Pentagon announced Feb. 14.
AIR FORCE
Air Force shows off a big, black, brawny B-2 after Red Flag exercises at Nellis
(Las Vegas Review-Journal) After a rip-roaring Red Flag air combat exercise at Nellis last week, the bomb squad from Whiteman Air Force Base that steers the big, black, bat-shaped B-2 Spirit jets returned to Missouri.
Whiteman leaders deliver long-overdue medals to WWII POW
(Air Force Times) Retired Chief Master Sgt. Charlie Sibert thought he’d been summoned to Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., late last month to tell his story again.
Pope Master Sgt. Sheridan recognized for actions during Afghanistan attack
(Fayetteville Observer) A Pope Field airman is being heralded as an example of courage and heroism for his actions in Afghanistan last year. Master Sgt. Delorean M. Sheridan was one of 20 airmen chosen for the Air Force's annual Portraits in Courage series, which was released earlier this month.
Season 2 of ‘House of Cards’ takes on military sexual assault
(Flightlines) For at least the second time, an Air Force brochure that told victims of sexual assault “it may be advisable to submit than resist” has made it into a Hollywood story line.
Space shuttle exhibit to open Feb. 26
(Dayton Daily News) The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force will open a full-size mock-up of a space shuttle on Feb. 26 that could be the museum’s largest exhibit and boost tourism, according to museum officials.
MARINE CORPS
Marine Commandant Launches Offensive Against Bad Behavior
(National Public Radio) After 12 plus years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the commandant of the Marine Corps is taking stock of where the Marine Corps is headed as an institution. Gen. James Amos is examining issues from discipline and sexual assault, to how to keep Marines who signed up to fight engaged. During a recent visit to Los Angeles, Gen. Amos sat down with Renee Montagne to talk about his efforts.
MARSOC Marine killed in Afghanistan IED blast
(Marine Corps Times) A member of Marine Corps Special Operations Command has died on his sixth combat deployment, according to Kentucky media.
Hey Joe: Working dog spooked by war finds home among wounded
(Stars and Stripes) There are plenty of working dogs at this massive Marine-built base in Helmand province. But none quite like Joe.
Trailblazing Marine officer faces sour end to her career
(Marine Corps Times) A senior Marine officer who was fined $18,000 and formally reprimanded after being convicted at court-martial late last year of fraternizing with a senior enlisted Marine is protesting her treatment, saying she was falsely accused by someone with a grudge.
Marine killed after being struck by vehicle
(The Daily News; Jacksonville, N.C.) Wilmington police are investigating whether a Camp Lejeune Marine and an Apex teen charged in his death Sunday attended the same house party on Rose Avenue before the fatal incident, according to a spokeswoman.
AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN
Jihadists create 'no-go zones' in northern Afghanistan
(The Long War Journal) For years, The Long War Journal has observed that while media coverage has tended to focus on the Taliban and allied jihadists' efforts in the Afghan south and west, the groups have devoted significant resources in the north.
Exclusive: Afghan peace team seeks Dubai meeting with Taliban figures
(Reuters) A delegation from Afghanistan's High Peace Council has travelled to Dubai to meet former and current Taliban figures, in the hope of laying the groundwork for peace talks to end Afghanistan's long conflict, sources familiar with the move told Reuters.
Former Afghan Taliban minister shot dead in Peshawar
(Dawn.com) A former minister of the Afghan Taliban who was in favour of peace talks with the Kabul government was gunned down in Pakistan's northwest city of Peshawar on Monday, Afghan Taliban sources said.
Pakistan Suspends Taliban Peace Talks Over Killings
(New York Times) Peace talks between the Pakistani government and the Taliban were suspended in acrimony on Monday, as a government committee refused to meet with Taliban representatives in the aftermath of the reported killing of 23 paramilitary soldiers in militant captivity.
IRAQ
Bomb attacks kill at least 24 in Iraq capital
(Reuters) At least 24 people were killed in bomb explosions in the Iraqi capital late on Monday, including blasts near two Shi'ite Muslim mosques and at a busy bus station, police and medics said.
Sadr's sudden retirement shakes up Iraqi politics
(Al-Monitor) Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has decided to retire from politics and has cut his relationship with the political and organizational representatives belonging to his movement. The political situation in Iraq has a new twist.
Former Iraqi vice-president blames PM Maliki for crisis
(BBC) The former vice president of Iraq has blamed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for the country's crisis.
MIDDLE EAST
Saudi Arabia plans to pitch Obama for regime change in Syria
(Al-Monitor) Saudi Arabia is belatedly taking steps to discourage Saudi citizens from traveling to Syria to join al-Qaeda in the war against Bashar al-Assad’s regime. King Abdullah this month issued a royal decree banning travel abroad to join jihadist movements, and imposing jail terms of up to 20 years for violating the decree.
U.S. Revisits Options on Syria as Talks Stall
(Wall Street Journal) The Obama administration, exasperated by stalled talks over Syria and seeking ways to pressure the regime and its Russian allies, plans to revisit options ranging from expanding efforts to train and equip moderate rebels to setting up no-fly zones, according to officials briefed on the deliberations.
Obama Promises More Aid to Jordan to Cope With Refugees
(Bloomberg) President Barack Obama intends to provide $1 billion in loan guarantees to Jordan and to renew an agreement ensuring a minimum level of annual U.S. aid through 2019 as the kingdom copes with a flood of Syrian refugees.
Little Optimism as Iran Nuclear Talks Resume
(New York Times) Talks with Iran over a permanent agreement on its nuclear program begin on Tuesday in Vienna, but there is little immediate optimism over a negotiation that is expected to last up to a year. Talks with Iran over a permanent agreement on its nuclear program begin on Tuesday in Vienna, but there is little immediate optimism over a negotiation that is expected to last up to a year.
Ansar Jerusalem claims tourist bus bombing in Egypt's Sinai
(The Long War Journal) In a statement released to jihadist forums today, the Sinai-based jihadist group Ansar Jerusalem (Ansar Bayt al Maqdis) claimed responsibility for the bombing of a tourist bus in Taba yesterday. At least three South Korean tourists and the bus' Egyptian driver were killed in the attack, which officials now believe was carried out by a suicide bomber.
ASIA-PACIFIC
India Proposes 10% Budget Increase; 3.3% Boost for Procurement
(Defense News) India has proposed a 10 percent increase in defense spending for the financial year beginning April 1, but the plan includes a boost of only 3.28 percent for new weapon procurement compared with a jump of 9 percent the previous year.
3 Killed, Including 2 Officers, as Thai Police Move In on Protests
(New York Times) Three people, including two police officers, were killed and at least 59 were injured on Tuesday as antigovernment demonstrators resisted attempts by thousands of riot police officers to dislodge them from the streets surrounding the prime minister’s office.
U.N. report catalogs North Korean 'crimes against humanity'
(Los Angeles Times) Torture, deliberate starvation and other abuses carried out by North Korean authorities — possibly on the orders of leader Kim Jong Un — are crimes against humanity and should be referred to an international court or tribunal for prosecution, United Nations investigators said Monday.
South Korean Lawmaker Sentenced for Treason
(Wall Street Journal) A South Korean court on Monday sentenced a left-wing lawmaker to 12 years in prison for plotting an armed rebellion, the first time a member of parliament has been convicted of treason since the nation became a democracy almost three decades ago.
AFRICA
New Turk Comm Satellite To Expand Connections Through Africa
(Defense News) Turkey has launched the Japanese-built Turksat 4A, a communications satellite expected to provide decades of service for government and commercial users.
Fresh Fighting Hits South Sudan
(Voice of America) Witnesses and officials in South Sudan said rebels have attacked the capital of oil-rich Upper Nile state.
Ukroboronprom To Deliver T-64 Tanks to DR Congo
(Defense News) Ukraine’s leading defense group, Ukroboronprom, announced it has signed a contract to deliver 50 T-64BV-1 main battle tanks worth about 100 million hryvnia (US $11.5 million) to a foreign country that the company did not identify. Russian news site Lenta.ru, however, reported that the tanks will be delivered to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Celebrations, and Unease, in Libya on Anniversary of Uprising
(New York Times) Rockets exploded in showers of sparkles over Martyrs’ Square here on Monday, and thousands of Libyans raced their cars up and down the coastal highway, flying flags and honking their horns in celebration of the third anniversary of the start of the uprising that overthrew the longtime ruler Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Army Women: Better Chopper Pilots Than the Guys?
(Mark Thompson in Time) Ten out of every 100 Army helicopter pilots are women — but they account for only 3 out of every 100 accidents.
Bush-era lessons remain relevant for Obama, Hagel as they prepare Pentagon’s budget
(Walter Pincus in the Washington Post) In his final meeting with members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in December 2008, President George W. Bush encouraged them “to make his last defense budget very forward-leaning in terms of modernization, re-equipping our forces after the two wars and funding ‘unplanned contingencies,’ ” former defense secretary Robert M. Gates wrote in his book “Duty.”
Conclude the Littoral Combat Ship Now
(Everett Pyatt in Real Clear Defense) To its proponents, the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) is the surest way the Navy can maintain forward presence. As such, the Navy had planned to build 52 Littoral Combat Ships. But a recent classified memo issued by Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense Christine Fox directed the Navy to halt LCS production after 32 ships and begin development of a “more capable surface combatant,” most likely a frigate.
Why the U.S. Should Use British Missiles on Reaper Drones
(Ambassador Peter Westmacott in Defense One) At a test facility in California, the U.S. military has just finished testing a British-designed missile, the Dual-Mode Brimstone. The tests successfully proved that the Brimstone is compatible with one of America’s main unmanned aerial vehicles, the Reaper, and is a more accurate weapon than anything comparable on the market.
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