TODAY’S TOP 5
1. Sources: Marine Kyle Carpenter will receive MoH for heroism in Afghanistan
(Marine Corps Times) William Kyle Carpenter, a Marine Corps veteran who was severely wounded during a November 2010 grenade attack in Afghanistan, will receive the nation’s highest combat valor award later this year, Marine Corps Times has learned.
2. DoD Official: Extra $115 Billion Does Not Fund Carrier, Soldiers
(Defense News) Last week, top US defense officials told Congress that if the Pentagon were allowed to bust its budget caps, it would save one aircraft carrier and tens of thousands of troop billets slated for elimination. But DoD’s new spending request — which stays under the cap for 2015 but exceeds the 2016-19 caps by a total of $115 billion — contains no money for the carrier and extra troops, according to a senior DoD official.
3. The Biggest Threat to the Pentagon’s Budget Is Entitlement Spending
(Rep. Scott Rigell in Defense One) Last week, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel provided sobering insight into the Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2015 budget request. Much of what the secretary shared caused a sharp reaction across the defense community and on Capitol Hill, with options including a reduction in the size of the Army to pre-World War II levels, increased cost-shares from active duty and retired service members for TRICARE, and if sequestration continues in fiscal year 2016, retirement of the aircraft carrier USS George Washington halfway through its expected service life.
4. How the Government Pays Defense Contractors Tens of Billions for Nothing
(National Journal) In 2011, the Army doled out its first contracts to develop new armored vehicles that could carry a full nine-man infantry squad. Building the fleet of 1,800 new vehicles was expected to cost a whopping $29 billion.
5. Nato airstike kills 5 Afghan soldiers
(Washington Post) A NATO airstrike on Thursday killed at least five Afghan soldiers in one of the most devastating incidents of friendly fire in the war’s 12-year history.
EUROPE
U.S. sending F-15s, tanker to patrol Baltic airspace
(Air Force Times) The U.S. is increasing its support for NATO’S Air Policing mission in Poland and the Baltics, sending a KC-135 refueling tanker and six more F-15s to the region this week, a defense official said today.
Destroyer USS Truxton heads for Black Sea amid heightened tensions over Crimea
(Stars and Stripes) A U.S. guided-missile destroyer is bound for the Black Sea in what the Navy calls a routine visit unrelated to events in Ukraine.
France On Track To Supply Russian Warships, Despite Ukraine Crisis
(Wall Street Journal) France is on schedule to deliver two Mistral carriers, valued at €1.4 billion, to the Russian Navy. The first Mistral—a high-tech amphibious assault ship capable of deploying helicopters and tanks—is due to arrive in Russia by the end of the year, according to DCNS, the French firm building the vessels.
Committee: More Cuts Would Endanger UK Army Restructuring
(Defense News) Plans for a radical restructuring of the British Army by 2020 would be in danger of failing if the government inflicts further cuts on Defence Ministry budgets, the parliamentary Defence Committee has warned.
INDUSTRY
USAF General: 'Of Course' Bomber Will Be More Than $550M Per Copy
(Defense News) The US Air Force’s top military acquisition officer expects the cost of the new long-range strike bomber to exceed an expected per-unit cost limit — but indicated that has been part of the planning process.
Shipyard gets $1.3B more for carrier John F. Kennedy
(The Virginian-Pilot; Newport News) Newport News Shipbuilding on Tuesday was awarded an additional $1.3 billion by the Navy to continue work on the carrier John F. Kennedy, which is scheduled to join the fleet by 2022.
Navy Zeroes Out Fire Scout Buy, Future of Program Unclear
(U.S. Naval Institute) The Navy has abandoned its plans to buy 17 additional Northrop Grumman Fire Scout rotary wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the next five years as part of its Fiscal Year 2015 budget submission.
CHESS moves: Commercial software contract slippage likely
(C4ISR & Networks) The Army is moving forward with plans to award a multi-billion dollar, follow-on contract for commercial IT, but officials anticipate there will be slippage in the schedule as they work through the complexities of managing a massive contract.
CONGRESS
Hagel, McCain Clash Over Intel on Russia Invasion; Budget Proposal Questioned
(Defense News) US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel fielded tough questions Wednesday from GOP senators on alleged US and NATO intelligence failures on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Levin on BRAC: Not going to happen
(The Hill) There is not a path forward for Congress to agree to a new round of military base closures, Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.) told The Hill.
Gillibrand Reacts to Air Force Rape Case First Reported by The Daily Beast
(The Daily Beast) The story of Airman Jane Neubauer, who was allegedly raped and then hung out to dry by the Air Force, is one of many that show why Congress must reform the way sexual assault cases are handled by the military. Two leading advocates for military-sexual assault reform reacted to Neubauer’s story and discussed the Senate vote expected this week on the issue.
Senate could vote on sex assault measures Thursday
(The Hill) The Senate could vote on two competing measures addressing sexual assault in the military as early as Thursday.
VFW to Congress: Scrap sequestration
(Military Times) Veterans of Foreign Wars members have spent most of this week lobbying Congress on a fix for sequestration spending cuts, calling it their top legislative priority this year.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Hagel defends proposed pay and benefit changes
(Military Times) Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Wednesday downplayed the impact of proposed cuts to military pay and benefits in the fiscal 2015 defense budget request, saying the changes still leave troops with “fair compensation” and produce a stronger overall force.
China Threat Cited as Pentagon Budget Takes Beating
(Foreign Policy) Senior Pentagon officials, top military commanders, and powerful lawmakers from both parties have long wrestled with a single question: is China, home to one of the world's largest and fastest growing militaries, a direct threat to the peace and security of the United States? Beijing's surprise announcement of a massive increase in its defense spending Wednesday is adding new fuel to the debate and emerging as a major obstacle to the Obama administration's hopes of trimming the Pentagon's bloated wartime budget.
Pentagon strategy document shows Russia not a prime concern
(Stars and Stripes) If the crisis in Ukraine is prompting a strategic reassessment of the security situation in Europe, don’t look to the Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review for evidence of a heightened focus on the Continent.
DoD: Water scarcity a growing issue for installations
(Federal Times) A battle over water at Fort Huachuca, an Army base in Arizona, illustrates the Defense Department’s growing concern over its water supply and maintaining military readiness in a water-scarce future.
Tricare won't pay for genetic tests; labs left with bills
(Military Times) A change in medical classifications last year has left clinical laboratories across the U.S. carrying a $10 million tab for Tricare.
ARMY
General to admit 3 improper affairs, deny sex assault
(USA Today) Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair will plead guilty Thursday to having had improper relationships with two junior officers and a civilian but will maintain he did not sexually assault a female captain during their three-year affair, his lawyers said late Wednesday.
Fort Carson GIs head to Afghanistan without commander, who faces probe
(Colorado Springs Gazette) A Fort Carson brigade is leaving for Afghanistan without its boss, who is being investigated for unspecified violations of Army policy.
4 schools at Fort Knox to close
(Army Times) Four DoD schools for military children at Fort Knox, Ky. — half of the schools at that installation — will close at the end of the school year, officials said, as a result of the Army’s inactivation of the 3rd Combat Brigade, 1st Infantry Division.
Fake soldier indicted for wooing, defrauding Madison County woman
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Federal prosecutors say a man from Nigeria pretended to be a U.S. soldier serving in Afghanistan to woo and bilk American women.
Army one step closer to treatment against deadly Marburg virus
(The Frederick News-Post, Md.) A drug developed in partnership with the Army is proving effective in protecting lab animals from the deadly Marburg virus, according to a published study.
NAVY
Interview: Adm. Jon Greenert, US Chief of Naval Operations
(Defense News) On Feb. 24, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel previewed the fiscal 2015 budget proposal to Congress ahead of its March 4 submission. For the Navy, the proposal recommended maintaining the carrier fleet at 11 ships, but it did not fund the refueling of the carrier George Washington. It also recommended capping the Littoral Combat Ship program at 32 hulls, 20 less than planned.
Navy Faces Budget Shortfall Even If Sequester Goes Away
(Breaking Defense) Even if Congress somehow rolls back sequestration, the Navy’s fiscal situation will be uncomfortably tight, like trying to steer a battleship through the Panama Canal. Under the president’s five-year budget plan — which assumes sequester away — the “real buying power” for the Navy and the Marine Corps declines after fiscal year 2016, the Navy Department’s official budget book admits.
Navy seeks permits for Northwest training, raising alarms among marine mammal advocates
(The News Tribune; Tacoma, Wash.)The U.S. Navy is seeking to renew permits to conduct sonar, explosives and other training exercises off the Washington, Oregon and California coasts, raising concerns from marine mammal advocates.
Perry-Class Frigate Retirements Accelerated for 2015
(Seapower) The Navy plans to decommission 10 frigates in 2015, seven of which will be the last ships in the Naval Reserve Force.
USS Michael Murphy returns with civilians after ship fire (With Video)
(KHON2, Honolulu) USS Michael Murphy arrived back at Pearl Harbor Tuesday morning carrying 19 Canadian civilians after a fire broke out in the engine room of the HMCS Protecteur last Friday, about 450 miles northeast of Honolulu. Officials say the engine room was so large, it took several hours to put the fire out.
At Newport News, the Ford carrier enters new phase
(Daily Press; Newport News, Va.) The hoopla of its christening long gone, the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford has entered a new outfitting phase at Newport News Shipbuilding.
AIR FORCE
Air Force halts voluntary separation pay, 15-year retirements
(Air Force Times) The Air Force Personnel Center has halted processing of early retirement and voluntary separation applications for both officers and enlisted.
Forty training sergeants, 10 academic majors among Air Force Academy budget cuts
(Colorado Springs Gazette) The Air Force Academy plans to cut a third of the sergeants who oversee military training and cadet discipline as part of an austerity plan that will carve 3 percent from its workforce and eliminate 10 academic majors at the school.
National Guard colonel facing 110 counts of fraud and theft
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) A local colonel and his friend, who worked in the Air National Guard's headquarters in Maryland, conspired to defraud the Air Force out of “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” U.S. Attorney David Hickton said Wednesday.
Why the Air Force wants to keep Global Hawks and retire U-2s
(Air Force Times) The cost of flying the Global Hawk reconnaissance drone has dropped to the point where Air Force leaders want to replace the venerable U-2, but the new drone still has years to go before it will match the Dragon Lady’s spy abilities, officials said.
Air Force Begs Congress: Save the Space Fence
(National Journal) Months after sequestration cuts shut down the country's "Space Fence," the Air Force budget unveiled Tuesday preserves $2 billion to build a successor to the program that helps keep space vessels safe from high-speed orbital debris.
MARINE CORPS
Pentagon: Half of stateside Marine units at unacceptable readiness levels
(Marine Corps Times) Only half of non-deployed Marine units were at an acceptable level of readiness last September due to the long-term budget cuts known as sequestration, the Pentagon announced this week.
Maj. Kurt Lee, Korean War hero, dies at 88
(Marine Corps Times) Marine Maj. Kurt Chew-een Lee, a legendary hero at Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War, and the Corps’ first Asian American regular officer, died Monday at his home in Washington, D.C., according to multiple sources. He was 88.
Military Discharges Marine Captain in Desecration Incident
(Wall Street Journal) The Navy secretary has decided to discharge a Marine Corps captain who was accused of failing to properly supervise a group of Marines who urinated on the bodies of Taliban insurgents, officials said.
A Man to Believe In: Eulogy for Marine Master Sergeant Aaron Torian
(The Daily Beast) On February 15, Marine Master Sergeant Aaron Torian was killed in action in Afghanistan—likely one of the last Americans to die there. His friend and comrade Elliot Ackerman shares his eulogy.
Marine crisis response force completes Africa mission
(Stars and Stripes) A Spain-based U.S. Marine crisis-response force began its redeployment back to Europe on Sunday after operating for several months in Africa in connection with the conflict in South Sudan, where Marines were sent to assist in the evacuation of U.S. citizens.
COAST GUARD
U.S. Coast Guard cutter rescues dog named 'Lucky' from frozen Lake St. Clair
(Detroit Free Press) A dog almost certainly headed for a frozen fate is out of the cold after being rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard cutter from the icy surface of Lake St. Clair.
Coast Guard seizes $122M of cocaine
(San Diego Union-Tribune) Cocaine valued at $122 million that was seized at sea, in several cases where shots were fired at fleeing suspected drug-smuggling vessels, was unloaded in San Diego to be used as evidence, the Coast Guard said in a statement Tuesday.
Commanders of the Coast Guard's largest cutters meet for the first time at CGA
(The Day; New London, Conn.) The officers who command the Coast Guard’s major cutters are meeting at the Coast Guard Academy for the first time this week, rather than at a place where many of the service’s senior leaders work.
AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN
Punish Russia? Why some Pentagon officials would prefer restraint
(Christian Science Monitor) The crisis in Ukraine has elicited tough talk from Capitol Hill, but in the back halls of the Pentagon, some officials are focused on a key supply line to Afghanistan that runs through Russia.
Karzai's Brother Quits Afghan Presidential Race
(Wall Street Journal) The brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai Thursday effectively bowed out of the country's presidential race and endorsed one of his rivals, shaking up the country's election campaign a month before the historic vote.
Peace talks resume in Pakistan amid more violence
(Los Angeles Times) As government mediators tentatively restarted peace talks with Pakistani Taliban representatives Wednesday, a roadside bomb struck a convoy of paramilitary forces in the country’s tribal region, killing six security personnel and wounding eight others.
MIDDLE EAST
US drones kill al Qaeda operative who fought in Iraq
(The Long War Journal) Yemeni news sources claim that Ali Juraym, whose full name is Ali Saleh Juraym Al Olyan, was an al Qaeda commander known to have returned from Iraq.
In Iraq, Celebration and Then Violence
(New York Times) While Iraqis were enjoying the victory of the national soccer team with celebratory gunfire, gunmen took advantage of the sounds of the shooting and opened fire on three police checkpoints in Baghdad, killing seven officers, according to police sources.
Israel Intercepts 'Iranian Weapons Shipment' to Gaza
(Defense News) Israel said it intercepted a ship Wednesday carrying an Iranian shipment of advanced rockets bound for Palestinian militants, claiming it proved Tehran could not be trusted in international nuclear talks.
Israel fires on Hezbollah on Syrian border
(Washington Post) Israel fired on Hezbollah militants who were attempting to plant a bomb on Syria’s border with the occupied Golan Heights, the Israeli army said Wednesday, as frictions with the Lebanese Shiite movement increase.
U.S. Urges Vigilance Over Syria's Chemical Disarmament
(Wall Street Journal) The U.S. has reacted to Syria's accelerated removal of its dangerous chemicals with pronounced skepticism, urging international watchdogs to keep up their pressure and vigilance.
Bomb at ATM prompts warning to US military in Bahrain
(Stars and Stripes) U.S. military officials here issued a new warning Tuesday to U.S. personnel and families living in this island kingdom, which has experienced a spike in violent activity in recent weeks.
ASIA-PACIFIC
Japanese Officials Discuss Perceived Decline in U.S. Military Might
(Wall Street Journal) At a national security seminar held in Tokyo Wednesday, several politicians and officials close to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stressed the need for Japan to give a greater role to its Self-Defense Forces. They pointed to higher Chinese military spending and U.S. defense cuts.
Analysis: Japan MoD Offers Evidence of Chinese Aircraft Intrusions
(Defense News) Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has posted an impressive interactive stop/play website that explains to readers in animated graphic terms the flight patterns of Chinese military aircraft in the East China Sea.
Execution of uncle unlikely to affect Kim Jong Un's authority, DOD says
(Stars and Stripes) The surprise execution of a key figure in the North Korean regime last year is expected to have little impact on the stability of Kim Jong Un’s rule or defense policy, according to a Department of Defense report released Wednesday.
North Korea Missiles Passed Near Chinese Passenger Jet
(Wall Street Journal) North Korea defended on Wednesday its recent missile firings as "ordinary military practice," as South Korea said Tuesday's volley passed above a Chinese passenger jet's route just minutes ahead of the airliner.
Pentagon: North Korea Poses 'Growing' Threat to US
(Defense News) North Korea poses a mounting threat to the United States due to its pursuit of long-range missiles and nuclear weapons, the Pentagon said Tuesday in its latest strategy document.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Robert Gates tells Republicans to cut back on criticizing Obama’s Ukraine policy
(David Ignatius in the Washington Post) As the Ukraine crisis deepened, Sen. John McCain responded by criticizing President Obama’s “feckless” foreign policy, while Sen. Lindsey Graham called Obama “a weak and indecisive president [who] invites aggression.”
Building a U.S. Army of 125,000 Spartans
(J. Furman Daniel, III in Real Clear Defense) Defense cuts are coming. The only question is how much. As it has grappled with the fiscal realities of sequestration, the U.S. Army has sought to define its mission in a post-war environment. The Pentagon’s latest budget request would reduce Army end strength to 440,000. While this reduction has caused a great deal of consternation in some quarters, this is not nearly enough.
Revitalize American Seapower
(Rep. J. Randy Forbes in Proceedings) The year 2014 promises to be exceedingly important for the future of America’s Navy. As the Pentagon and Congress face continued budget reductions and the Department of Defense is forced to weigh its priorities, the contours of American sea power and our global commitment to an expeditionary posture are at stake. Indeed, the choices made in just the next several years will lock in major trends in shipbuilding, naval aviation, and important research-and-development (R&D) efforts that will define the Navy of the 2020s and beyond.
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