TODAY’S TOP 5
1. Sailors suspected in spreading nuke cheating scandal
(Military Times) Dozens of senior enlisted instructors at a Navy nuclear propulsion school are accused of cheating on the written tests that help them qualify to operate nuclear reactors, Navy officials said Tuesday.
2. Fraud in Army Recruiting Bonus Program May Cost Nearly $100 Million
(New York Times) An Army program meant to increase the number of recruits during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars devolved into an illegal free-for-all that could cost taxpayers close to $100 million, military investigators say, describing new details of what they called a long-running scheme among National Guard recruiters that went undetected for years.
3. Fine Print: For Air Force officers, the long wait for a nuclear attack can be a bore
(Walter Pincus in the Washington Post) It’s not stress, drugs or cheating on proficiency tests that’s the problem for about 550 Air Force officers who serve 24-hour shifts in capsules 60 feet underground. They’re waiting — as their predecessors have done for 50 years — to launch nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles.
4. How A Simple New Invention Seals A Gunshot Wound In 15 Seconds
(Popular Science) When a soldier is shot on the battlefield, the emergency treatment can seem as brutal as the injury itself. A medic must pack gauze directly into the wound cavity, sometimes as deep as 5 inches into the body, to stop bleeding from an artery. It’s an agonizing process that doesn't always work.
5. Robert Work Said to Be Obama Choice for Pentagon’s No. 2
(Bloomberg) The White House is expected to announce as soon as tomorrow that President Barack Obama will nominate Robert Work as the Pentagon’s No. 2 civilian leader, according to U.S. officials who asked not to be identified in advance of an announcement.
INDUSTRY
Satellites, electronics next in U.S. export control reform
(Reuters) The U.S. government is making "great strides" in its drive to reform unwieldy export rules, and expects to unveil proposed changes covering exports of satellites, electronics and chemicals this year, a senior White House official said Tuesday.
India, Dassault Rafale Deal Appears Stalled
(Defense News) Negotiations over the multibillion dollar deal to sell 126 Dassault Rafale jets to India have stalled, according to Indian Defence Ministry sources, who say the sticking point involves issues governing license-production of the jets at state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL).
Fast-Changing Trends In Asia Fighter Market
(Aviation Week) After South Korea overturned its procurement agency's choice of the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle as its air force's next new fighter in September, and announced that it would buy the Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, Lockheed Martin and sources close to the company were not shy about predicting an Asian sweep for JSF. Japan had already chosen the new U.S. fighter over the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Eurofighter Typhoon (the latter was also passed over by South Korea), and Singapore was expected to follow suit imminently.
Future of F-35 Unclear as Costs Mount in Japan
(Defense News) Two years after Japan agreed to buy F-35 joint strike fighters to replace its 1960s-era F-4EJ Kai Phantoms, the government has yet to give more than the vaguest hints about its future fighter replacement plans as the Defense Ministry struggles with a rising tide of costs and difficulties with the troubled stealth fighter program.
Thales, Nexter, RTD Discuss Joint Bid on Tank, Vehicle
(Defense News) Systems specialist Thales has entered talks with armored vehicle builders Nexter and Renault Trucks Defense (RTD) as the three French companies seek to make a joint offer to build a new multirole combat vehicle and light tank that could be worth about €4 billion (US $5.5 billion), industry executives said.
Israel's defense industry boosts UAV sales, eyes unmanned subs
(United Press International) Elbit Systems says it is delivering its new Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle to three foreign countries, as well as the Israeli military, underlining how the Jewish state's defense industry has become one of the world's top exporters of drones.
Israeli Army Renews Elbit Training and Simulation Services
(Defense News) Israel’s Ministry of Defense has renewed a service contract with Elbit Systems to operate and maintain the Israeli Army’s growing inventory of company-built training systems through 2019.
CONGRESS
Senate panel to mark up bill repealing military pension cuts
(The Hill) The Senate Armed Services Committee will mark up a bill next week to repeal the $6 billion military pension cuts included in last month’s budget deal.
Veteran Hopefuls Use Bravery, Heroics in Bids for Congress
(Roll Call) Veterans regularly run for Congress, but this cycle features candidates armed with particularly impressive biographies involving escapes, captures and military adventures that Tom Clancy would have struggled to dream up.
Mike Rogers: Drone limits put Americans at risk
(Politico) House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers charged Tuesday that Americans are in greater danger as a result of limits President Barack Obama imposed last year on U.S. drone strikes overseas.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
No agnostics in the (Army) foxhole
(USA Today) Troops last year fell into 100 religious categories, from Advent Christian Church (567) to Unknown (73,354) and most every faith in between.
US Official: Snowden Leaks Lead To Pentagon Change
(Associated Press) A top U.S. military intelligence official said Tuesday that the Pentagon will have to make costly changes to programs and personnel because of leaks by former National Security Agency analyst Edward Snowden.
Pentagon IG dings department historian for using ‘public office for private gain’
(Washington Post) A recently released Pentagon inspector general’s report found that the department’s chief historian, Erin Mahan, “on occasion engaged in unprofessional conduct in the office” by “discussing personal medical issues. . . and speculating about an employee’s sexual orientation,” that “she directed two contract employees to plan, organize and execute” office social events and that she had those employees babysit when she brought her son to work and to “transport the child to and from daycare” — thus using her “public office for private gain.”
Here’s What’s Troubling American Troops in One Chart
(Time) This Army graph makes crystal clear what many U.S. troops, and their loved ones, have long suspected: the more combat events they experience, the more mental-health problems they will suffer. In fact, according to this illustration from a new Army report, there is a direct linear relationship between combat exposure and resulting mental maladies.
DARPA Wants Self-Destructible Computer Chips
(Defense Tech) Called the Vanishing Programmable Resources, DARPA announced the program on Jan. 28 issuing a $3.5 million award to IBM to study the possibilities of developing “strained glass substrates” that would crumble into powder on command, according to the DARPA announcement.
ARMY
Army mulls funding for controversial intel network
(Washington Times) The Army is assessing development plans for its battlefield intelligence network after Congress made it one of the largest budget-slashing victims in the new defense budget.
Army Commanders Nix Key Satellite Communications System
(Nextgov) Army tactical company commanders universally panned satellite communications equipment installed on their vehicles in tests last year, the Pentagon’s test organization has reported.
Site work begins on $990 million replacement for Landstuhl hospital
(Stars and Stripes) After a delay of more than a year, the first tangible step has been taken toward replacing the Army’s aging Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
ENLISTED: Star Geoff Stults Talks the Delicate Balance of a Comedy Portraying Military Life
(theTVaddict.com) Fox’s new comedy series ENLISTED offers a humorous look at life on a military base, showcasing the misadventures of three brothers stationed together stateside. With the cool casting Geoff Stults, Chris Lowell and Parker Young as brothers that will do anything to help each other out, ENLISTED shines with humor and heart.
NAVY
Navy to Activate Three Mobile Tactical Operations Centers
(Seapower) The Navy is establishing three Mobile Tactical Operations Centers (MTOCs) this year, which will bring to 12 the number available to support maritime patrol and reconnaissance force (MPRF) aircraft deployments.
Navy: Congressional Oversight Will Not Slow UCLASS Program
(US Naval Institute) The Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will not force the U.S. Navy to restructure its Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) aircraft program, service officials said.
Navy reschedules christening of stealth destroyer USS Zumwalt
(Bangor Daily News, Maine) The future USS Zumwalt, a nearly $4 billion stealth destroyer being built at Bath Iron Works, will be christened on Saturday, April 12.
Last Ride of the FORRESTAL
(Intercepts) In the frigid pre-dawn darkness of Feb. 4, tugs surrounded the venerable aircraft carrier USS Forrestal (AVT 59, ex-CV 59), long lying dormant at a pier in the old Philadelphia Navy Yard. Huge hawsers were rigged, and before sunrise, the huge Foss Marine tug Lauren Ross, assisted by four smaller tugs, began to ease the ship off the pier, away from another decommissioned flattop, the John F. Kennedy.
AIR FORCE
Welsh: Stay focused, even amid cuts and scandal
(Flightlines) In his latest “Airman to Airman” video, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh urged airmen to remain focused on their mission even in the face of trying times and scandal.
Airman found dead on Osan Air Base
(Stars and Stripes) An airman with the 694th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group was found dead Monday in his dormitory at Osan Air Base, according to the 51st Fighter Wing.
Air Force developing air and missile defense planning system
(C4ISR & Networks) Lockheed Martin has won an $8 million Air Force contract to develop a software planner to integrate air and missile defenses.
Drone protesters found guilty of trespassing at Beale AFB
(The Sacramento Bee) A Sacramento federal judge Monday found four people who protested the Obama administration’s use of killer drones outside a gate at Beale Air Force Base last spring to be guilty of trespassing.
MARINE CORPS
MARSOC and recon: Does the Corps need both?
(Marine Corps Times) Since MARSOC’s creation in 2006, recon units have faced stiff competition for personnel of the caliber both communities require. And now, as operations in Afghanistan dry up and attention shifts to the Asia-Pacific region, the two may find themselves vying for similar missions.
22nd MEU Marines, sailors depart for deployment
(The Daily News; Jacksonville, N.C.) U.S. Marines and U.S. Navy sailors with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) are slated to depart North Carolina and begin their scheduled eight-month deployment with the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG).
Robotic turrets: Corps' next-gen vehicles could feature remote weapons systems
(Marine Corps Times) Lance Cpl. Dale Means, who deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 with Combat Logistics Battalion 2, was manning the turret on a 7-ton truck when a roadside bomb detonated. Three Marines inside the vehicle — its driver, vehicle commander and security team leader — suffered serious, but non-life threatening back injuries. Means, a 23-year-old from Jordan, Minn., was killed.
Intrepid chefs try to work magic on military rations at MRE Cook-off
(Washington Post) The MRE Cook-off began as a way to draw attention and, perhaps, visitors to the Marine Corps museum during its slowest season. “This time of year, it’s pretty dead — even on a Saturday,” said Michele Flynn, the museum’s visitor services manager. The museum, she said, attracts about a half-million visitors annually.
VETERANS
Government concedes negligence in Legionnaires' lawsuit
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) House legislation that would make it illegal for veterans hospitals nationwide to conceal disease outbreaks won passage on Monday evening with bipartisan approval.
Senators want answers on veterans records breach
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Both U.S. senators from Missouri are seeking answers about the potential fallout for veterans and their families after a former clerk admitted misfiling hundreds of military records at a St. Louis warehouse.
Helping wounded vets move from 'surviving' to 'thriving'
(Stars and Stripes) Back when Michael Baker was a nuclear submarine technician in the Navy, he was a triathlete who spent as much time as he could exploring the Hawaiian outdoors near his naval base.
Former fighter pilot named new director of Punchbowl
(Honolulu Star-Advertiser) A former Air Force fighter pilot and onetime inspector general for Pacific Air Forces will become the new director of Punchbowl Cemetery March 9, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced today.
AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN
Old Tensions Resurface in Debate Over U.S. Role in Post-2014 Afghanistan
(New York Times) President Obama brought his top Afghanistan commanders to the Oval Office on Tuesday to discuss the way forward in a war he is determined to end by the end of the year, even as he finds himself stymied by an unreliable partner and an uncertain future.
Televised Debate Is a First for Kabul
(Wall Street Journal) Afghanistan's five leading presidential candidates faced off Tuesday in the first televised debate of the historic race, showcasing an increasingly sophisticated approach to political campaigning.
A precarious time for Afghan women
(Los Angeles Times) Since the Taliban's fall, women have seen fitful gains. But those with access to education and work fear the U.S. troop departure will erode their freedoms.
U.S. said to curtail drone strikes in Pakistan as officials there seek peace talks with Taliban
(Washington Post) The Obama administration has sharply curtailed drone strikes in Pakistan after a request from the government there for restraint as it pursues peace talks with the Pakistani Taliban, according to U.S. officials.
Suicide bomber kills 9 in Peshawar
(Dawn.com) As people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hoped for some respite from terrorist attacks in the wake of moves for peace talks between the government and militants, a suicide blast ripped through a restaurant near an Imambargah in a congested city locality of Kocha Risaldar on Tuesday evening, leaving nine people dead and around 50 injured.
IRAQ
Iraqi orders are to kill, not capture, terrorists
(Al-Monitor) A controversy is brewing over the actions of Iraqi armed forces during “anti-terrorism” operations, as senior army officers have issued clear orders to kill rather than arrest those being pursued.
Bombings kill at least 16 in Iraqi capital
(Los Angeles Times) Iraqi officials say a wave of bombings has rocked central Baghdad, striking mainly near the heavily fortified Green Zone where key government offices are located and killing at least 16 people.
More Than 50 Militants Killed In Iraq's Anbar
(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Iraq's Defense Ministry says 57 militants were killed in fresh fighting in Iraq's Anbar Province.
MIDDLE EAST
Syria: At least 50 Americans have joined extremist units, U.S. says
(Los Angeles Times) At least 50 Americans have joined the mix of extremist groups that are fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Assad, and some could try to mount terrorist attacks at home, U.S. intelligence officials said Tuesday.
US Intel Community Sour on Syria Outlook
(Defense News) James Clapper, director of national intelligence, testified that the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is in a stronger position than when it signed an agreement last year to get rid of its chemical weapon stocks.
Syria 'to complete chemical weapon shipments by March'
(BBC) The Russian government says Syria should complete the shipment of its chemical weapons out of the country by 1 March, weeks behind schedule.
ISIS confirms death of senior leader in Syria
(Long War Journal) The Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham, the jihadist group that was denounced by al Qaeda's General Command just days ago, has confirmed that one of its senior leaders was killed during a clash with a Syrian rebel group in early January.
Meet Chechclearr, the Web-savvy foreign Islamic militant in Syria
(Los Angeles Times) 'Media is half of jihad,' posts the prolific Chechclearr, who seems to relish his role as a self-appointed propagandist for Al Qaeda-linked factions in Syria.
US Senators Question State of Iranian Nuclear Centrifuge Development
(Defense News) US senators questioned Obama administration officials Tuesday for striking an interim pact that allows Tehran to continue developing nuclear arms components.
ASIA-PACIFIC
Study: Asia Fuels Rise In World Defense Spending
(Defense News) World defense spending will rise in 2014 for the first time in five years, a key study found Tuesday, driven by arms races in Asia and the Middle East, as well as a resurgent Russia.
Panel: Japan should lift ban on collective defense
(Associated Press) A government panel will urge Japan to allow its military to help allies that come under attack, in a major reversal of the country's ban on collective defense under its pacifist constitution.
China's Navy Holds Indian Ocean Drills
(ABC News) A three-ship Chinese navy squadron has concluded exercises in the Indian Ocean and sailed on to the western Pacific, showing off the growing reach of the country's seagoing forces at a time of sharpening territorial disputes in regional waters.
North Korea Calls Japanese PM Abe 'Asian Hitler'
(Defense News) North Korea on Tuesday denounced Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as an “Asian Hitler” intent on amassing military power under the guise of ensuring regional stability.
AFRICA
Libya army says it has no orders to move against seized oil ports
(Reuters) Libya's armed forces have not received orders from Prime Minister Ali Zeidan to move against eastern oil ports and use force to end a six-month blockade there by protesters, an army spokesman said.
Tunisian Shootout With Militants Leaves at Least Eight Dead
(Wall Street Journal) Tunisia's National Guard stormed a suspected militant hideout in a seaside suburb of Tunis after a daylong standoff Tuesday. Seven radicals were killed, including suspect in a political assassination last year, a minister said.
Rwanda genocide trial begins in French court
(Reuters) Twenty years after the Rwanda genocide, France opened its first trial against a suspected accomplice in the massacre that killed 800,000 people, accusing a former intelligence chief of crimes against humanity.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Zawahiri Aims at Israel
(Matthew Levitt in Foreign Affairs) On January 22, Israeli officials announced that, several weeks before, they had disrupted what they described as an "advanced" al Qaeda terrorist plot in Israel. Although al Qaeda–inspired jihadists had targeted Israel before (three men who had plotted an attack near Hebron were killed in a shootout with police in November), this marked the first time that senior al Qaeda senior leaders were directly involved in such plans.
The Makers of the Jihadist Strategy
(Mark Stout in War on the Rocks) These days, westerners write more about jihadist strategy than the jihadists do. In fact, just as the study of jihadist strategy was taking off in the West, the golden age of strategic studies within the jihadist world was coming to an end. Decoding Al-Qaeda’s Strategy: The Deep Battle Against America, by Michael W. S. Ryan of the Jamestown Foundation, is one of the most recent contributions to western literature on a jihadist strategy. It can almost be thought of as the Makers of Modern Strategy for the al Qaeda world.
Deterring the Dragon ... From (Under) the Sea
(Retired Cmdr. Victor Vescovo in Proceedings) If the United States wants to prevent China from flexing its military muscle and disrupting the status quo it should adopt and advance a subsurface strategy.
Time: Air Power’s Great Nemesis
(James Holmes in The Diplomat) Blockades have a drip, drip, drip effect that takes time to change minds among the enemy leadership or populace. So it is with aerial bombardment. Corbett also suggests that such endeavors try the patience of combatants who prosecute them. They tend to wear out key constituencies on both sides. Indeed, Wylie doubts cumulative campaigns are ever strategically decisive in themselves.
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