TODAY’S TOP 5
1. DoD Personnel Costs Could Force Program Cuts
(Defense News) The first of several fiscal 2015 Pentagon spending bills began to come into focus last week, signaling something the defense sector has been lacking for years: Stability. But that could change dramatically in 2016.
2. Congressman pressures Marine commandant to account for whistle-blower fallout
(Marine Corps Times) An outspoken member of Congress says he is frustrated that the Marine Corps’ top general has not yet addressed questions put to him nearly two months ago about the fallout from a whistleblower complaint.
3. The Comanche and the Albatross
(Air Force Col Michael Pietrucha in Air & Space Power Journal) At the heart of any JSF discussion lies the belief that the program cannot be cancelled -- that any attempt is doomed to failure because of the spread of the program structure in the United States and internationally. Despite any great unwillingness to end the program, doing so is certainly not impossible. Clearly, the army's experience with the Comanche is instructive.
4. 2014 Salute to Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans - General James Mattis (Video)
(Marines' Memorial Club) Full version of the 3rd Annual Salute to Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with General James N. Mattis, USMC, (Ret.) at the Marines' Memorial Club on April 23, 2014.
5. How women are scaling barriers to combat
(Christian Science Monitor) One year into a controversial experiment, what the US military is learning about women training for combat duty.
DEFENSE NEWS WITH VAGO MURADIAN
NSA's Relationship with Industry, Part 1
Anne Neuberger, National Security Agency, on Snowden leaks, digital surveillance and espionage.
NSA's Relationship with Industry, Part 2
Neuberger talks about the debate between industry and the government about how long companies should be required to store metadata.
SpaceX Lawsuit against the USAF
Brett Lambert, former Pentagon industrial policy chief, on the SpaceX lawsuit to compete for U.S. Air Force launches.
Vago's Notebook: Compensation Reform
Caring for troops isn't just about good pay and benefits, but includes training and equipment.
INDUSTRY
With Lawsuits and Mergers, US Space Market Primed for Changes
(Defense News) A series of aggressive moves from two major space companies in the past two weeks is a sign that the military space launch sector is ripe for change, according to analysts and former US Defense Department officials.
CH-53K Ground Tests Advance Ahead Of Rollout
(Aviation Week) One look at the massive steel columns anchoring the CH-53K to the ground here at Sikorsky’s development test center makes clear the sheer power of this heavy-lift helicopter, which has more than three times the lifting capability of the aircraft it will replace.
Production standard AH-6i Little Bird makes maiden flight
(IHS Jane's 360) The first production standard Boeing AH-6i Little Bird light attack/reconnaissance helicopter has made its maiden flight, the company announced on 1 May.
Navy Looking for Fresh Thinking on Future Warships
(National Defense Magazine) It took the Navy more than 10 years to design and start building its littoral combat ships. The warship that would succeed the LCS — dubbed "small surface combatant" — might be in the fleet within just five years.
Mississippi-built Fire Scout aircraft on Navy’s cutting block
(McClatchy) resident Barack Obama’s proposed 2015 budget drops funding for purchases of the Navy’s unmanned, rotary-winged Fire Scout aircraft, which takes off and lands from ships and is being built in Moss Point, Miss., home state of Navy Secretary Ray Mabus.
U.S. Contractors Scale Up Search for Heartbleed-Like Flaws
(Bloomberg) Across the U.S., a new league of defense contractors is mining the foundation of the Internet for glitches that can be turned to the country’s strategic advantage. They’re part of a cybermilitary industrial complex that’s grown up in more than a dozen states and employs thousands of civilians, according to 15 people who work for contractors and the government. The projects are so sensitive their funding is classified, and so extensive a bid to curb their scope will be resisted not only by intelligence agencies but also the world’s largest military supply chain.
Defense Industry Eyes Growth in the Middle East
(National Defense Magazine) Nearly $100 billion in defense sales are up for grabs in the Middle East and North Africa through 2019, along with tens of billions of dollars in services and support contracts, according to new estimates by the consulting firm Avascent. The region's largest spenders are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iraq and Algeria.
Japan Prepares to Enter the Arms Market
(Bloomberg) Keenly aware of the trouble that came with ambitious generals and an expanding munitions industry, the Japanese government has long banned most weapons exports. That policy helped buttress Japan’s pacifism, but it also hindered the growth of the country’s defense industry.
UK Carrier Preps for Launch in July
(Defense News) Within sight of one of the crowning engineering achievements of Queen Victoria’s reign, Britain’s naval shipbuilding industry is counting down to the launch of a new aircraft carrier for the Royal Navy named after the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth.
A400M: The Horror, The Horror
(Aviation Week) Multinational defense programs in the West have become “a horror” for industry, and Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders said April 30 that he will not allow his company to repeat the experience of the beleaguered A400M in his tenure.
CONGRESS
Rep. Hunter opposes possible nominee to lead Pentagon spy agency
(The Hill) Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) on Thursday voiced his opposition to a possible nominee to lead the Defense Intelligence Agency, saying her past work raised “significant concerns” about her qualifications.
HASC Throws General Dynamics Little Bone On AMPV
(Breaking Defense) A House Armed Services subcommittee passed its markup of its part of the annual defense bill that would — among many other things — freeze some funding for the Army’s Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle Program. AMPV is the service’s biggest weapons program left standing after sequestration’s budget cuts, and contractor General Dynamics had protested the competition was unfair and pledged to take its case to Congress.
House speaker calls for special probe into Benghazi
(USA Today) House Speaker John Boehner said Friday that the House will vote to create a new select committee to investigate the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans.
House subpoenas Kerry to testify about Benghazi (With Video)
(Washington Times) The House has subpoenaed Secretary of State John F. Kerry to force him to answer questions about how his department has handled questions about the Benghazi terrorist attack.
Schiff dismisses Benghazi committee as a 'waste of time'
(Politico) The creation of a select committee to investigate the 2012 Benghazi attacks on a U.S diplomatic mission in Libya is a "colossal waste of time," Rep. Adam Schiff said on "Fox News Sunday."
Unrequired Reading
(Washington Post) Every year, as required by law, the U.S. government prepares an official report to Congress on Dog and Cat Fur Protection. The task requires at least 15 employees in at least six different federal offices.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Observers praise rise in sex assault reporting, slam prosecution rate
(Stars and Stripes) According to the annual report released Thursday by the Department of Defense, just 484 people went to trial out of the more than 2,100 that could have been considered for action, and just 370 were convicted of any crime.
Group protests at APA meeting the use of psychiatric drugs for troops
(Military Times) A watchdog group turned out in force Saturday at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting to protest the practice of medicating troops and veterans with psychiatric drugs.
Selective Service sends thousands of letters in error
(WTOP; Washington, D.C.) Notices have gone out to thousands of men in Maryland telling them they need to register with the Selective Service System, even though they did so already.
DoD wants you to drink milk, eat pudding
(Army Times) Holy cow! Troops need more milk. Defense Department experts are trying to reintroduce the idea of drinking moo juice as part of a broader healthy eating initiative at military dining facilities.
ARMY
After 9 deployments, sgt. maj. loses legs to drunken driver
(Army Times) Sgt. Maj. Jeremy Bruns survived nine deployments only to lose both legs to a drunken driver who plowed into him outside his home on a Saturday morning in 2012.
Convicted of murder, soldier blames anti-smoking drug
(McClatchy) Early one Sunday evening six years ago, Army Pfc. George D.B. MacDonald made his way through his Fort Benning barracks to the bunk where a 23-year-old recruit named Rick Bulmer lay sleeping.
Army (and Boston) Strong: Colonel awarded for heroism at marathon
(Army Times) In the immediate aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, an NBC News report praised an unnamed active-duty service member who turned his shirt into a makeshift tourniquet, treating the wounded in the chaos at the finish line of the April 15, 2013, race.
U.S. Army Ranger missing off the coast of Belize
(The Florida Times-Union; Jacksonville) A 29-year-old former Army Ranger went missing off the coast of Belize Tuesday when the kayak he was in flipped over near a reef off Ambergris Caye.
NAVY
LCS Will Miss World's Largest Naval Exercise
(Defense News) It’s the biggest naval exercise in the world, and it happens only every other year. This summer, nearly 50 ships from at least 16 navies will gather at Pearl Harbor for the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, hosted by the US Navy.
Navy aircraft grounded: Air boss orders 'pause' after latest crash
(Navy Times) The aviation Navy’s boss grounded all planes and squadrons except those deployed or underway Friday, labeling it an hours-long “tactical pause” that comes one day after the latest mishap, when a T-34C trainer crashed into the ocean off the coast of Texas.
US Navy to equip MQ-8C UAV for electronic warfare
(IHS Jane's 360) The US Navy (USN) plans to equip the Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout rotary-winged unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with an electronic warfare (EW) capability through the development of a new external pod, the Department of Defense (DoD) disclosed on 1 May.
Unofficial retention survey seeks sailors' unguarded opinions
(Navy Times) A fighter pilot who recently argued that the Navy’s officer corps is facing an exodus is taking his case one giant step further.
AIR FORCE
Spy Plane Fries Air Traffic Control Computers, Shuts Down LAX
(NBC News) A relic from the Cold War appears to have triggered a software glitch at a major air traffic control center in California Wednesday that led to delays and cancellations of hundreds of flights across the country, sources familiar with the incident told NBC News.
‘We will never forget’: Memorial honors Fairchild airmen
(The Spokesman-Review; Spokane, Wash.) More than 200 airmen and family members gathered Saturday morning at Fairchild Air Force Base’s Memorial Grove Park for the dedication of a memorial honoring the three airmen killed in a KC-135 Stratotanker explosion in the sky over Kyrgyzstan exactly one year ago.
Pilot killed in crash at base air show
(USA Today) A vintage civilian airplane crashed onto the tarmac at Travis Air Force Base in California while performing low-altitude aerial acrobatics during an air show Sunday, killing its pilot, officials said.
ICBM boss taking pulse
(Great Falls Tribune; Mont.) Less than four months after drug and cheating investigations were announced at Malmstrom Air Force Base, a number of changes have already been implemented.
US team aids injured Chinese sailors in Pacific
(Associated Press) Rescuers from southern Arizona reached and stabilized two critically injured Chinese sailors whose boat sunk in the Pacific Ocean, an official at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base said Sunday.
Letter: Why he can't re-enlist
(Air Force Times) Chief Master Sgt. Martin Kent Smith (ret.) of Howells, Neb., read Staff Sgt. Aaron Driver’s letter to the editor, “Why I won’t re-enlist” and thought, “Why not write a letter from the viewpoint of a first sergeant?”
Retiring general at Scott AFB talks logistics of Afghanistan exit, base structure
(St. Louis Post-Dispatch) When Gen. William M. Fraser III began his military career in 1974, there was a massive drawdown going on from the Vietnam War. It became an inevitable theme for anybody who spent the next four decades in uniform.
MARINE CORPS
Customizable predeployment training will debut this fall
(Marine Corps Times) The Marine Corps is redesigning the predeployment training that thousands of Marines conduct each year at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., scaling back urban and counterinsurgency exercises in favor of scenarios and challenges customized to the needs of the deploying unit.
V-22s, Other Marine Aircraft Need Battle Networks
(Breaking Defense) When Americans were threatened during the civil war in South Sudan, Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys flew a Marine response force from Spain to Djibouti in a non-stop flight of 3,200 nautical miles – the distance from Alaska to Florida. That’s an extraordinary feat for an aircraft that can take off and land vertically like a helicopter.
Veteran hopes for release from TJ prison
(San Diego Union-Tribune) Andrew Tahmooressi said he was hoping for a new beginning when he drove from Florida to California in March, with all of his worldly possessions inside his Ford F-150 truck. The 25-year-old Marine reservist had dropped out of college, broken up with his girlfriend, and was uncertain of his future.
Marines volunteer for future recruiting commercial
(The Daily News; Jacksonville, N.C.) Marines waited in line on Thursday afternoon to represent The Few, The Proud in an upcoming Marine Corps commercial.
VETERANS
VA treatment records falsified, probe finds
(USA Today) A VA investigation of one of its outpatient clinics in Colorado reveals how ingrained delays in medical care may be for an agency struggling to rapidly treat nearly 9 million veterans a year amid allegations that dozens have died because of delays.
Post-9/11 vet unemployment holding steady under 7 percent
(Military Times) The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was 6.8 percent in April, holding relatively steady and maintaining the significant drop in unemployment chalked up in March, government statistics show.
War Nostalgia Is Leading Veterans to Places Like Syria. One Went Missing There.
(The Daily Beast) With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan winding down, many who fought there have been drawn to a new set of battles in the region. Places like Tahrir, Aleppo, Tunis, and Taksim possess a new and yet familiar allure, promising to replace names we’ve let go: Ramadi, Helmand, Fallujah, and Khost.
Veterans groups call for investigation into Phoenix VA
(Military Times) Veterans groups are calling for a thorough investigation into delays in patient care at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System that may have resulted in deaths and say new allegations of a cover-up are troubling.
No sign VA officials destroyed key files on Sunday
(The Arizona Republic; Phoenix) Dr. Katherine Mitchell, a whistle-blower at the Phoenix VA Medical Center, said Friday that she and a co-worker preserved copies of patient appointment materials last weekend not because records already were being eliminated, but because they had reason to believe the information would be removed from an electronic database the next day.
Starting and supporting vet-owned businesses
(Military Times) The military teaches service members leadership skills and responsibility that many civilians can’t match. Yet the unemployment rate for the latest generation of veterans has long been higher than that of civilians.
AFGHANISTAN
Exclusive: CIA Falls Back in Afghanistan
(The Daily Beast) The intelligence agency’s irregular forces have been key to the fight against the Taliban since 2001. Now they’re being withdrawn—just as a bloody fighting season heats up.
Ending Afghanistan’s Drug Addiction Is Looking Like ‘Mission Implausible’
(Time) The Pentagon watchdog overseeing American efforts in Afghanistan says that the country’s booming opium industry is enjoying unprecedented growth that will fuel Taliban insurgents and challenge the government in Kabul.
UK Afghan detention policy ruled unlawful by High Court
(BBC) The court heard International Security Assistance Force procedures permitted detentions for a maximum of 96 hours, after which time people needed to either be released or handed over to the Afghan authorities.
Aid Begins to Trickle in for Thousands Displaced by Afghan Landslides
(Wall Street Journal) On Friday, 15-year-old Zainab lost everything: her home, all her belongings, and her entire immediate family.
MIDDLE EAST
Al Nusrah Front says it will comply with Zawahiri's orders
(Long War Journal) The Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's official branch in Syria, has issued a statement saying it will comply with Ayman al Zawahiri's orders with respect to the jihadist infighting in Syria. Al Nusrah has been at odds with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), which has been disowned by al Qaeda's general command.
Syria rebel commander reportedly kidnapped by Al Qaeda-linked forces
(Los Angeles Times) A prominent rebel military commander in southern Syria has been kidnapped by a hard-line Islamist faction linked to Al Qaeda, pro-opposition activists said Sunday.
Dearborn cleric cited as most inspirational leader for militants in Syria
(Detroit Free Press) Jibril’s talk was the beginning of a number of videos and online comments that have made him an internationally known inspirational figure for militants in Syria. Over the past two years, Jibril has become the most popular religious leader online for Westerners who’ve joined the battle against the Syrian government, according to a new report by a security center in England.
Saudis, Chechens, Afghans killed during recent fighting in southern Yemen
(Long War Journal) The Yemeni military killed at least 37 al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters during recent operations in the southern province of Shabwa. Among those killed were fighters from Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Russia, and Somalia, Yemeni officials said.
Fiscal Constraints May Curb Turkey's Ambitions for Centennial Projects
(Defense News) Turkish officials have ambitions to celebrate the republic’s centennial in 2023 with dozens of high-profile armament programs they hope will have been successfully concluded by then.
EUROPE
In Latvia, Tensions Mount Under Russia's Gaze
(Wall Street Journal) The U.S. ambassador was trying to instill confidence in a country growing nervous. Addressing Latvian troops at this large military base last week, Mark Pekala pointed to nearby paratroopers from the 173rd Infantry Brigade and said the U.S. was locked "plecu pie pleca," or "shoulder to shoulder" with its North Atlantic Treaty Organization partner.
NATO: Russia Uses Shadow Soldiers In Eastern Ukraine
(National Public Radio) NATO has been watching Russia as it took over part of Ukraine, and massed troops near another part. Steve Inskeep talks to NATO commander General Philip Breedlove.
Hagel: Idea of permanent peace in Europe is gone
(Military Times) Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Russia is emerging as a long-term threat to the U.S. and its NATO allies, but stopped short of calling for an increase in U.S. troop levels in Europe.
Two Ukrainian Mi-24s shot down by MANPADS
(IHS Jane's 360) Two Ukrainian Mil Mi-24 'Hind' combat helicopters were shot down in eastern Ukraine on 2 May during a major escalation of violence in the ongoing Ukraine crisis.
With Ukraine Crisis Worsening, NATO Ponders Future Relationship with Russia
(National Defense Magazine) Just four years ago at the Lisbon Summit, the pervasive view among NATO members was that Russia was no longer a significant threat and was willing to partner with the organization to achieve certain goals, NATO’s deputy secretary general said.
'Maddening' mission: Keeping NATO's interoperability on track
(Stars and Stripes) Just a year after standing up its new Allied Land Command in Izmir, Turkey, NATO learned last fall that the Turkish government was planning to purchase a new missile defense system — from China.
U.S. and Germany Fail to Reach a Deal on Spying
(New York Times) The effort to remake the intelligence relationship between the United States and Germany after it was disclosed last year that the National Security Agency was tapping Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone has collapsed, according to German officials, who say there will be no broad intelligence sharing or “no-spy” agreement between the two countries when Ms. Merkel visits the White House on Friday.
AFRICA
US Deployments to Africa Raise a Host of Issues
(Defense News) When US Secretary of State John Kerry made a whirlwind tour of several African allies last week, security and stability issues were at the top of his agenda.
U.S. Urges Congo Leader Not to Run for Third Term
(New York Times) Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday publicly urged the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo to respect his nation’s Constitution and not run for another term in 2016.
It's unclear whether Libya actually has a new Prime Minister after all
(CNN) Confusion and uncertainty swirled in Libya over the results of a vote on Sunday by the interim parliament on a new interim prime minister as disagreements over the legality of the outcome have been raised.
Kerry: U.S. will help in search for Nigerian girls kidnapped by militants last month
(Washington Post) Secretary of State John F. Kerry pledged U.S. help Saturday in finding and returning hundreds of Nigerian girls abducted by militants more than two weeks ago.
South Sudan Captures Stronghold of Rebels
(New York Times) Government troops in South Sudan launched a counteroffensive against rebel forces on Sunday to retake two important northern towns just days after South Sudan’s president told the United States that he would hold talks with his rebel opponent.
ASIA-PACIFIC
US, Filipino troops begin large military drill
(Associated Press) More than 5,000 U.S. and Filipino troops began two weeks of military exercises Monday to prepare to jointly deal with any potential crisis in the Philippines, which is prone to natural disasters and has been locked in a dangerous territorial standoff with China.
Agreement paves way for more rotations to Philippines
(Military Times) A new United States agreement with the Philippines is not likely to result in many immediate operational changes for troops in the Pacific region, but it clears the way for the Pentagon to invest in new construction and infrastructure there, and sets the stage for new U.S.-built facilities along the shores of the contested South China Sea.
Learning More About China’s New Massive Warship Plan (055 Cruiser)
(Popular Science) Just as the US did with the AEGIS and Zumwalt class cruisers and destroyers, modern naval engineering in China starts by first building full scale, land based mock ups of advanced warships. The rationale is that they provide a cheaper and less risky alternative to rushing directly into ship construction; it is far easier to measure, modify and fine tune a land based system as opposed to a seagoing prototype hull.
Indonesian Navy to acquire 16 ASW helicopters
(IHS Jane's 360) The Indonesian Navy (Tentera Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Laut, or TNI-AL) is to acquire 16 AS565 Panther anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters from Airbus Helicopters, it announced on 28 April.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Opinion: Stability, not change, needed in personnel policy
(Retired Air Force Col. Terry Stevens in Air Force Times) To steal a quote from “Star Wars:” There is a great disturbance in the Force. The turmoil throughout the Air Force is mostly caused by uncertainty in the personnel world.
Obama’s inaction invites challenges to the U.S.
(Rep. Buck McKeon in the Washington Post) No one is eager for a new war. Indeed, the worry in many circles is that the president’s foreign policy has been so provocatively feeble that we risk war through our own indecision.
China: Engagement vs. Estrangement
(Navy Cmdr. Elton Parker III) “We welcome Chinese participation, and we welcome quite frankly the growth of China as a military power in the Pacific. There is nothing wrong with that.”
The Benghazi Distraction
(Max Boot in Commentary) Republicans seem intent on focusing a disproportionate amount of their criticism of the administration on the events in Bengahzi–and not even the failure to better protect the U.S. consulate or to more swiftly respond with military force when it was attacked or to exact swift retribution on the terrorists who killed our ambassador and three other Americans. No, Republicans seem intent on focusing on the micro-issue of why administration spokesmen, led by Susan Rice, insisted at first on ascribing the attack to a spontaneous demonstration rather than to a planned act by terrorists who may have been affiliated with al-Qaeda.
The decline of deterrence
(The Economist) America's allies are nervous. With Russia grabbing territory, China bullying its neighbours and Syria murdering its people, many are asking: where is Globocop? Under what circumstances will America act to deter troublemakers? What, ultimately, would America fight for?
Opinion: Putin's Not Post-Communist, He's Post-Fascist
(Jan Fleischhauer in Der Spiegel) Some like to idealize Vladimir Putin as the ideological successor to the left-wing Soviet leaders, but that's sheer nonsense. His speeches offer clear evidence that his points of reference originate in fascism.
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