TODAY’S TOP 5
1. Frustrated by Karzai, U.S. Shifts Afghanistan Exit Plans
(Wall Street Journal) The U.S. military has revised plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan to allow the White House to wait until President Hamid Karzai leaves office before completing a security pact and settling on a post-2014 U.S. troop presence, officials said.
2. Obama Officials Weigh Drone Attack on US Suspect
(Associated Press) The case of an American citizen and suspected member of al-Qaida who is allegedly planning attacks on U.S. targets overseas underscores the complexities of President Barack Obama's new stricter targeting guidelines for the use of deadly drones.
3. Seduced by success
(Daniel Davis in Armed Forces Journal) Conventional wisdom holds that the past decade-plus of combat has forged a group of Army leaders as good as any our country has ever produced. Can this be true? Or is it hubris? In fact, the military conditions under which we’ve operated for the past two decades have been historically atypical. They have allowed too many in uniform to believe the hype.
4. Leaders who will influence C4ISR and networks in 2014
(C4ISR & Networks) We’ve developed a subjective list of leaders in the military and private sector who we believe will greatly influence efforts to meet that challenge in the coming year. We could have easily doubled or tripled the number of names on this list, but that still wouldn’t be enough for one retired three-star general we polled.
5. Video shows U.S. abduction of accused al-Qaeda terrorist on trial for embassy bombings
(Washington Post) After dawn prayers Oct. 5, Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, a wanted al-Qaeda terrorism suspect, returned to his family’s home in Tripoli, Libya.
INDUSTRY
Singapore Airshow To Focus on F-16s and F-35s
(Defense News) F-16 upgrade programs and F-35 deals in the region are expected to dominate the Singapore Airshow this week, as Lockheed Martin squares off with BAE Systems to be prime contractor for Singapore’s F-16 upgrade effort.
China Pushing Into SE Asia's Defense Market
(Defense News) At this year’s Singapore Airshow, Chinese aviation companies AVIC and CATIC are pushing into the export defense market for Southeast Asia.
Lockheed Chief Sees Commercial Demand for Cybertechnology
(Bloomberg) Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), the world’s largest defense contractor, sees an expanding market for its cybersecurity products and services among companies in industries from energy to banking, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Marillyn Hewson said.
Boeing Will Pursue F-16 Upgrades, Executive Says
(Defense News) Boeing is ready to throw its hat in the ring and compete for upcoming Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter upgrades, company executives said Feb. 10 ahead of the start of the Singapore Air Show.
UK to approve bulk F-35B buy in 2017
(IHS Jane's 360) Financial approval for the UK's main procurement of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)/Joint Combat Aircraft (JCA) is expected in the next three years, a government minister disclosed on 5 February.
UK Speeds Up Sea King Replacement
(Defense News) A planned gap in the British Royal Navy’s air surveillance capability is being reduced by about 18 months after the Defence Ministry agreed to speed up a program to replace Sea King Mark 7 airborne early warning (AEW) helicopters due to go out of service in 2016.
Boeing delivers early-warning aircraft to Turkey
(C4ISR & Networks) Boeing delivered the AEW&C, which is based on the 737-700 passenger jet, to Turkey's Konya air base, where the early warning aircraft will be stationed. Two more aircraft are scheduled for delivery this year, with the fourth arriving in 2015. Australia and South Korea also operate AEW&C aircraft.
Defexpo 2014: India, US clear path for Javelin to compete for ATGW requirement
(IHS Jane's 360) India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) is in advanced negotiations with the US government to allow the Raytheon/Lockheed Martin-designed Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system to compete for an urgent Indian Army requirement.
17 Firms Vie To Supply Tank, Vehicles to Poland
(Defense News) Seventeen foreign and Polish defense companies have applied to participate in the technical dialogues to supply new light tanks and tracked infantry fighting vehicles to Poland’s Army.
CONGRESS
Bill to restore COLA for military retirees clears Senate hurdle
(Military Times) The Senate cleared a key procedural hurdle Monday on a bill that would undo the cuts to military retirement pay introduced by the Bipartisan Budget Act.
House Republicans Seek to Trade Debt Deal for Repeal on Military Pensions
(New York Times) The House is likely to vote Wednesday on a plan to extend the government’s borrowing authority into 2015 in exchange for reversing a cut to the pensions of working-age military veterans that Congress approved just two months ago to try to trim the budget deficit.
Senator seeks records on military sex crimes
(Associated Press) The Pentagon is coming under pressure to give Congress detailed information on the handling of sex crime cases in the armed forces following an Associated Press investigation that found a pattern of inconsistent judgments and light penalties for sexual assaults at U.S. bases in Japan.
House GOP looks at longer sequester
(The Hill) House Republican leaders are thinking about extending the sequester to pay the $6 billion cost of reversing a cut to military pensions.
Republicans investigating Benghazi blame White House, State Dept. for failures
(Washington Post) Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee largely exonerated the U.S. military from responsibility for failures associated with the Sept. 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, instead blaming the White House and the State Department for ignoring heightened threats in the area.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Pentagon vexed by inability to solve ethics lapses
(Politico Pro) The Pentagon has spent years grappling with the problems that have embarrassed the Navy and Air Force this winter, but it still doesn’t know how to fix them.
Brain Implants Hold Promise Restoring Combat Memory Loss
(Bloomberg) The Pentagon is exploring the development of implantable probes that may one day help reverse some memory loss caused by brain injury.
DoD to complete development on UAV sense-and-avoid systems by FY 2017
(IHS Jane's 360) The US Department of Defense (DoD) expects to overcome one of the most significant technical obstacles to using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in national air space-development of reliable sense-and-avoid (SAA) systems-over the next two to three years, according to a new report to Congress.
ARMY
NGAUS Head Knocks Senior Pentagon Leaders On Army Budget Battle
(Breaking Defense) As the regular Army heads into what will likely be a bitter battle over fiscal 2015 funding with the Army National Guard, the service’s leadership is showing some style and unaccustomed savvy — according to no less an authority than its chief opponent, the powerful National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS).
Soldiers say Army’s battlefield intelligence network is a life-threatening disaster
(Washington Times) An internal memo from the U.S. command in Afghanistan says soldiers are voicing strong complaints about the Army’s battlefield intelligence network, for which Congress just slashed spending by 60 percent.
GI likely killed at San Antonio base
(San Antonio Express-News) A soldier found in the stairwell of his barracks at Fort Sam Houston over the weekend likely was killed, military officials said.
SFC pitches idea for 'Army Retirement Medal'
(Army Times) When Sgt. 1st Class Steven Janotta first floated his idea for a retirement medal, some of his peers thought he was joking and wasting their time. But the infantryman, who has 25 years of service, was serious.
NAVY
Bataan ARG underway
(Navy Times) Three ships carrying more than 4,000 sailors and Marines got underway Saturday for a scheduled eight-month deployment.
Midshipman argues Naval Academy superintendent was pressured in assault case (With Video)
(Baltimore Sun) Attorneys for a Naval Academy midshipman accused of sexually assaulting a classmate argued Monday that the academy's superintendent was pressured to prosecute the case — one of several claims the legal team is making in an effort to get the case dismissed.
Cape Ray to hold in Spain until Syria turns over chemical weapons stockpile
(Stars and Stripes) The MV Cape Ray, which is on a mission to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons, will be held up indefinitely in Rota, Spain, while the international community waits for the Syrian regime to hand over the remainder of its stockpile, the Pentagon announced today.
LCS 11 Keel To be Laid
(Seapower) The keel for Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) 11, the future USS Sioux City, will be laid in Feb. 13 ceremonies at the Marinette Marine Corp. shipyard, in Marinette, Wis.
AIR FORCE
AF honors 22 for war-zone and other acts of courage
(Air Force Times) As Staff Sgt. Nicole Richardson headed out on a Sept. 5, 2012, resupply mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan, she knew it would likely be rough.
Interview: Gen. Hawk Carlisle, Commander, US Pacific Air Forces
(Defense News) Top Pentagon officials are quick to bring up the Pacific when discussing long-term plans — or short-term budget fights. Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, commander of US Pacific Air Forces, talked with Defense News twice in January regarding the Pacific and how US interests are developing in the region.
Air Force pilot recalled at Vancouver service
(The Columbian; Vancouver, Wash.) The wreath at the front of the church featured a ribbon with four words: “That others may live.” It was the motto of Capt. Christopher Stover’s rescue unit. But it was more than a motto: It was his mission.
MacDill AFB intruder freed after guilty plea
(Tampa Tribune) The woman who sneaked onto MacDill Air Force Base four times between Oct. 1, 2012, and Jan. 4, 2013, is a free woman after pleading guilty to four counts of illegally entering a military facility and one count of illegally using a military ID badge.
MARINE CORPS
Marine Crisis Response Unit Commander Outlines International Security Challenges
(Seapower) The initial commander of the Marine Corps unit hastily formed to provide a rapid response to crises in Africa, such as the assault on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, said Feb. 10 that the command dealt with a range of missions that characterize what many are terming “the new normal” of international security challenges.
EOD Marine is first to receive revolutionary prosthetic implant
(Marine Corps Times) A year after an improvised explosive device pulled him from the front lines of the battlefield, a Marine staff sergeant stood on the front line of medical science, becoming the first patient to receive an implant that allows him to operate his prosthetic arm with his upper arm muscles.
ONR Team Working on Technologies for Future Ultra Heavy-lift Amphibious Connector
(Seapower) The Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR), together with the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab and an unidentified international partner, is working to develop technology for a possible future landing craft.
U.S. commander says Osprey training in Okinawa can be halved
(Global Post) The top commander of U.S. forces in Japan expressed confidence Monday that around half of their training using MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft can be conducted outside Okinawa Prefecture.
VETERANS
Progress stalls on cutting VA claims backlog
(Military Times) Veterans Benefits Administration officials on Monday announced the claims backlog — the number of cases pending for more than four months — rose by about 1,000 cases last week, to a total of just over 398,000.
After War, a Failure of the Imagination
(New York Times) The veteran wants to protect memories that are painful and sacred to him from outside judgment. But the result is the same: the veteran in a corner by himself, able to proclaim about war but not discuss it, and the civilian shut out from a conversation about one of the most morally fraught activities our nation engages in — war.
Construction industry pledges 100,000 jobs for veterans
(Stars and Stripes) First Lady Michelle Obama announced Monday that a coalition of construction companies and associations has pledged to hire more than 100,000 veterans over the next five years.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
CBP unmanned aircraft flying again
(C4ISR & Networks) Customs and Border Protection’s small fleet of unmanned aircraft systems is flying again.
Report says uncooperative local police stymie federal background security checks
(Washington Post) Law enforcement agencies in more than 450 jurisdictions, including D.C. police, do not cooperate with investigators conducting security-clearance probes for federal employees, according to a congressional report to be released Tuesday.
DHS Secretary: Syria Now a Homeland Security Problem
(National Defense Magazine) As thousands of foreign fighters from around the globe head to Syria to fight in the nation's bloody civil war, the United States needs to be watchful of any returning terrorists, said Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson.
US Easing Immigration Rule for Terrorist Support
(Associated Press) The Obama administration has eased the rules for would-be asylum-seekers, refugees and others who hope to come to the United States or stay here and who gave "limited" support to terrorists or terrorist groups.
AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN
Afghan Forces Struggle to Hold Land, Defense Agency Says
(Bloomberg) Afghanistan’s security forces are struggling to improve their combat capability as the U.S. withdraws intelligence, reconnaissance and bomb-detection technologies, according to the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency.
Two advisers killed in blast near detention center in Kabul
(Stars and Stripes) Two security contractors killed by a suicide blast in Kabul Monday were Americans, the U.S. Embassy confirmed.
U.S. Consulate employee killed by gunmen in Pakistan, officials say
(Washington Post) A Pakistani employee of the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar was shot and killed Monday while traveling home from work, the latest in a string of targeted assassinations in that area, local officials said.
Pakistan Taliban Has 500 Suicide Bombers, Cleric Says
(Bloomberg) The Pakistani Taliban has as many as 500 female suicide bombers ready to act, a representative of the group involved in peace negotiations said, underscoring the risk of further violence if talks fail.
IRAQ
Suicide Bomb Instructor Accidentally Kills Iraqi Pupils
(New York Times) A group of Sunni militants attending a suicide bombing training class at a camp north of Baghdad were killed on Monday when their commander unwittingly conducted a demonstration with a belt that was packed with explosives, army and police officials said.
Shiite militias in Iraq begin to remobilize
(Washington Post) Scores of bodies have been dumped in Iraq’s canals and palm groves in recent months, reminding terrified residents of the worst days of the country’s sectarian conflict and fueling fears that the stage is being set for another civil war.
Report: Iraq Heading Toward Fully Operational Air Force
(Defense News) A proposed foreign military sale to Iraq for air traffic control and landing systems highlights the imminent possibility of a fully operational Iraqi Air Force in the next few years, according to an industry expert.
With Fearlessness And A 'Code Name,' Iraqi Helped Navy SEALs
(National Public Radio) For years, Johnny Walker interpreted for the U.S. Navy SEALs on missions all over his home country of Iraq. He served on over a thousand missions, and stood out as an invaluable part of nearly every team he worked with.
MIDDLE EAST
Al-Qaeda’s expulsion of Islamist group in Syria prompts U.S. debate
(Washington Post) The Obama administration is engaged in a debate about the extent of the president’s powers to use lethal force against terrorist organizations, and the deliberations have been accelerated by al-Qaeda’s recent decision to sever ties with a violent Islamist group in Syria.
Al Nusrah Front praises Chechen commander killed in Aleppo
(The Long War Journal) The Al Nusrah Front for the People of the Levant, al Qaeda's official branch in Syria, praised a Chechen jihadist commander who was killed during recent fighting to take control of a prison in Aleppo. The Chechen, known as Saifullah al Shishani, had defected from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham last fall and joined the Al Nusrah Front.
As Second Round of Syrian Talks Begin, U.N.’s Mediator Steps Cautiously
(New York Times) Representatives of Syria’s government and opposition on Monday opened a second round in the fragile peace process as humanitarian agencies continued to evacuate civilians from the besieged Old City of Homs under a cease-fire that was negotiated in the first round.
Israel, Turkey Near Repairing Alliance
(Wall Street Journal) Turkey and Israel are nearing a settlement to a four-year feud that left their once-close governments estranged, officials from both countries said, a development that would restore vital ties between the two U.S. allies.
ASIA-PACIFIC
Regional Tensions Take Center Stage at Asia Conference
(Defense News) The Asia Pacific Security Conference debated a wide range of policy and modernization issues that are causing consternation and confusion in the region.
U.S. General Tells Japan, Philippines to Cool China Rhetoric
(Bloomberg) Comments by the leaders of Japan and the Philippines drawing parallels between China’s growing assertiveness in the region and events in pre-war Europe are “not helpful,” said the commander of U.S. air forces in the Pacific.
China set for landmark Taiwan talks
(BBC) China and Taiwan are about to begin the highest-level talks since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Obama and Hollande: France and the U.S. enjoy a renewed alliance
(President Barack Obama and French President François Hollande in the Washington Post) We are sovereign and independent nations that make our decisions based on our respective national interests. Yet we have been able to take our alliance to a new level because our interests and values are so closely aligned.
Let NATO Keep the Peace in Palestine
(John Deni in Defense One) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas proposed last week that an American-led NATO peacekeeping force should patrol the West Bank and the Gaza Strip indefinitely, as part of a broader Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. Washington should wholeheartedly embrace Abbas’s proposal not simply as a means of facilitating peace between Israel and Palestine, but also as a means of advancing NATO into the post-Afghanistan era.
Budget deal needs real Pentagon reforms
(Rep. Duncan Hunter and Pete Hegseth in USA Today) Imagine a combat infantryman with 25 years of military service, through times of war and peace. Now retired, this veteran struggles with back pain and arthritis, warranting a disability rating and modest compensation for decades of grueling service. Despite the pain, he is deeply proud of his service to this country.
Actually, Some U.S. Missile Defense Already ‘Prime Time’
(Scott C. Truver in Defense One) While a key element of the United States ballistic missile defense strategy – ground based interceptors — might not be ready for “prime time,” clearly that’s not the case for the U.S. Navy’s Aegis weapon system. Aegis is at sea, today, aboard 30 guided-missile cruisers and destroyers. And if the Navy and Missile Defense Agency budgets can survive near-term defense cuts, this sea-based force could increase to more than 40 ships by 2018.
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