TODAY’S TOP 5
1. Army staff sergeant will receive Medal of Honor for valor at Wanat
(Army Times) It was the last bit of darkness before sunrise. A single burst of machine-gun fire rang out across the valley just as a volley of rocket-propelled grenades slammed into Observation Post Topside.
2. Suspected insider attack injures 2 ISAF troops
(Stars & Stripes) Two coalition servicemembers were wounded on Monday when an Afghan policeman opened fire during a meeting at a provincial police headquarters, officials said.
3. Will U.S. Military Advisors Face 'Mission Creep' in Iraq?
(Chris Miller in Cicero Magazine) The President has promised that "American forces will not be returning to combat in Iraq" and that military advisers will only be there to assist Iraqi forces to repel the ISIS invaders. But some have called this misleading and pointed out that U.S. military advisors certainly have engaged in combat in the past and will again if sent back to Iraq. But would the deployment of U.S. military advisers mean U.S. troops will be engaged in combat in Iraq again?
4. Legal memo backing drone strike that killed American Anwar al-Awlaki is released
(Washington Post) A federal court on Monday released a previously secret government memo outlining the legal justification for the 2011 killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen and accused al-Qaeda operative, in a drone strike in Yemen.
5. Polish Government Moves to Reassure U.S. on Countries' Relationship
(Wall Street Journal) Poland's leaders moved to reassure the U.S. on Monday that Warsaw hasn't lost faith in its relationship with Washington, after a leaked conversation appeared to show the foreign minister describing the U.S.-Polish alliance as worthless.
IRAQ
U.S. and Iraq agree on immunity for American troops
(Military Times) The U.S. and Iraqi government have hammered out a controversial deal granting U.S. troops some immunity from prosecution in the fledgling Iraqi court system, clearing the way for up to 300 special operators to begin deploying to Iraq, a defense official said Monday.
Kerry Says ISIS Threat Could Hasten Military Action
(New York Times) Winding up a day of crisis talks with Iraqi leaders, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that the Sunni militants seizing territory in Iraq had become such a threat that the United States might not wait for Iraqi politicians to form a new government before taking military action.
At Least 81 Iraqis Killed in Sunni Rebel Attack on Convoy
(Wall Street Journal) Sunni militants brought their campaign against the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki closer to Baghdad on Monday, attacking a police convoy just 20 miles from the center of the capital and triggering a shootout that left at least 81 people dead.
Shiite villagers describe 'massacre' in northern Iraq
(Washington Post) The villagers lowered 15 bodies into a mass grave here Monday. Two of the dead were young girls. The rest were men. All had been executed at point-blank range by al-Qaeda-inspired rebels and their allies, during what witnesses say was an attack aimed at destroying four Shiite Turkmen communities.
EXCLUSIVE: Iraqi Kurdish leader says 'the time is here' for self-determination
(CNN) Iraqi Kurdish President Massoud Barzani gave his strongest-ever indication on Monday that his region would seek formal independence from the rest of Iraq.
John Kerry Urges Kurdish Leaders to Support Baghdad Against ISIS
(Wall Street Journal) U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Kurdish leaders on Tuesday to back the Iraqi government in its fight against a growing Islamist insurgency in western Iraq and to support the formation of a new national government in Baghdad.
Long-dead militant's battle plan resurrected in Iraq
(Los Angeles Times) In early 2004, U.S. officials called a news conference in Baghdad to trumpet an intelligence coup: an intercepted letter from the head of Al Qaeda in Iraq setting forth his vision while outlining his worries about his organization's ability to combat an improving, American-backed Iraqi security force.
Pentagon: War fund not used for Iraq advisers
(The Hill) The Obama administration's planned operations in Iraq will not be paid for from the Pentagon's wartime funding account, according to a defense spokesman on Monday.
Ansar al Islam releases propaganda photos showing operations in Iraq
(Long War Journal) Ansar al Islam (AAI), a jihadist group founded in northern Iraq in September 2001, has released a set of photographs purportedly showing its ongoing operations. Since the latest rebel offensive against the Iraqi government began earlier this month, AAI has launched attacks against the military and police. In posts on its official Twitter feed on June 12, AAI claimed 14 attacks.
A Political Solution to Iraq Crisis Won't Come Easy
(Defense One) Secretary of State John Kerry was in Baghdad on Monday to emphasize the United States' message that military strikes won't solve Iraq's problems. The problem is that the political solution that President Barack Obama wants is going to take some time and a herculean effort to bring long-divided factions together.
UK's Hammond Heading to Gulf for Talks About Iraq, ISIL
(Defense News) British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond is to hold talks with four of the leading nations in the Arabian Gulf region starting Tuesday to discuss the growing threat posed by the radical Sunni group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Iraq's Military Seen as Unlikely to Turn the Tide
(New York Times) As Iraqi Army forces try to rally on the outskirts of Baghdad after two weeks of retreat, it has become increasingly clear to Western officials that the army will continue to suffer losses in its fight with Sunni militants and will not soon retake the ground it has ceded.
Obama: US firepower won't solve Iraq divisions
(The Hill) The Obama administration's planned operations in Iraq will not be paid for from the Pentagon's wartime funding account, according to a defense spokesman on Monday.
Equipped with Humvees, ISIL clashes with rivals in Syria
(Reuters) The Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (ISIL) battled with rival opposition fighters in northern Syria on Sunday, using U.S.-made military vehicles captured from neighboring Iraq for the first time, a monitoring group said.
INDUSTRY
Lockheed F-35 Upgrades Cost $920 Million Less, U.S. Says
(Bloomberg) The projected cost to upgrade F-35 jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) has declined by about $920 million, or 36 percent, in less than two years, according to the Pentagon's latest analysis.
Turkish Missile Maker Signs Deal With Saab Dynamics
(Defense News) Turkey's state-controlled missile maker, Roketsan, has signed a business cooperation agreement with Sweden's Saab Dynamics, company officials said.
Raytheon to resume production of warhead after successful test
(Reuters) Raytheon Co on Monday said it expects to soon resume production of an updated warhead, or "kill vehicle," used for U.S. homeland missile defense after the system successfully intercepted a dummy target over the Pacific.
Next Generation Engine Work Points to Future U.S. Fighter Designs
(USNI News) The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force are in the earliest stages of creating the requirements for their next generation of fighters but development of the engines that will power those aircraft are already well underway - and provide hints on what American sixth-generation aircraft will be able to do. One thing is already clear, both aircraft will be fast, long range and extremely efficient.
Hunt for RD-180 Replacement Begins
(Defense News) When the United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced on June 16 that it had reached an agreement with "multiple" US companies to study a next-generation engine replacement, the joint venture took a big step to ward off challenges to its use of a Russian-made engine.
First Karayel set for July delivery
(IHS Jane's 360) Vestel will shortly deliver the first of its Karayel unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) to the Turkish Land Forces.
UK Hopes To Speed Approval To Build Combat Vehicle
(Defense News) Negotiations are underway to bring forward the approval date for the manufacturing phase of Britain's Scout SV program to avoid next year's general election and a subsequent defense review, executives at the Eurosatory exhibition show said last week.
New Zealand reveals new contracts for ANZAC frigate upgrade
(IHS Jane's 360) The New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed two additional contracts as part of its ANZAC Frigate Systems Upgrade (FSU) programme. Agreements have been signed for preliminary design work and the upgrade of the existing hull-mounted sonar.
Akash SAM completes final Indian Army validation tests
(IHS Jane's 360) The Indian Army completed final validation trials of the Akash medium-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) on 18 June, paving the way for its induction into army service.
VETERANS
VA deaths covered up to make statistics look better, whistle-blower says
(CNN) Records of dead veterans were changed or physically altered, some even in recent weeks, to hide how many people died while waiting for care at the Phoenix VA hospital, a whistle-blower told CNN in stunning revelations that point to a new coverup in the ongoing VA scandal.
VA plays down seriousness of its errors, report says
(Military Times) Even when acknowledging serious mistakes, Veterans Affairs officials routinely downplay the severity of errors and the harm caused to veterans, according to a new investigation by the Office of Special Counsel released Monday.
More allegations of fraud, corruption, cover-ups: Crisis at the VA
(CNBC) CNBC has uncovered more allegations of fraud, cover-ups, and intimidation at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
VA rule changes eliminated thousands of veterans from waiting lists
(Tampa Bay Times) The computer scheduling program created in 2002 was supposed to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to identify veterans who had waited the longest for medical care.
`All clear' given at Wilmington following bomb scare
(Delaware News Journal) Wilmington VA officials pronounced the grounds of the hospital "all clear" Monday following a search for a possible bomb that ended at about 2:30 p.m.
GI Bill benefit unlikely to be cut, acting VA secretary says
(Military Times) Acting Veterans Affairs Secretary Sloan Gibson said he "can't imagine" lawmakers cutting back on veterans education benefits in the near future even with the continued fiscal pressures facing Congress.
Military, drugs, jail. Out now, Travynn Ippolito faces uncertain future
(Watertown Daily Times) He passed through the thick steel door, dragging his feet and wearing a uniform different from the one he had been accustomed to. As he took his seat behind the bulletproof, reinforced glass that divided him from the outside world, he interlocked his fingers - tattooed with the words "scum bag" - and raised his somber eyes.
Women who served in WWII Cadet Nurse Corps seek veterans status
(Newsday) Audrey Munz, working the overnight shift at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, remembers finding herself responsible for scores of patients.
Military considers shopping perk for most veterans
(Associated Press) The U.S. military is looking into allowing all of the nation's veterans who served honorably to shop online at exchanges that sell discounted, name-brand goods - a perk that is currently available only to a small minority.
CONGRESS
Problems at VA still in focus on Capitol Hill
(Washington Post) House lawmakers have embarked on an aggressive schedule of hearings and investigations into the Department of Veterans Affairs in hopes of rooting out any more examples of missteps by senior officials and mismanaged or delayed care.
Progressives jab Obama for drone memo redactions
(The Hill) The Congressional Progressive Caucus took shots at the administration on Monday after the release of a redacted version of a secret 2010 Justice Department memo that justified the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen and al Qaeda leader.
Congress sets up fight over aid to Egypt
(Al-Monitor) House and Senate appropriators have taken sharply differing tacks regarding Egypt, setting up a cross-party battle on the future of US assistance.
ARMY
Army to field new long-range parachute
(Army Times) The Army will field a new long-range infiltration parachute to special-mission units, also known as Special Forces troops, allowing them to jump from as high as 35,000 feet, wear armor and steer to an objective with "pinpoint accuracy," said Maj. Ernesto Perez, the Army's assistant product manager for airdrop systems.
Feds could tap JBLM to house minors detained at U.S.-Mexico border
(Tacoma News Tribune) Joint Base Lewis-McChord is among the military installations that could be tapped temporarily to house an influx of young Central American immigrants who have been detained at the U.S.-Mexico border, congressional sources said Monday.
Army announces senior NCO promotion for July
(Army Times) These NCOs have been selected to sew on a new stripe in July, the Army announced Monday:
Special Forces conduct naval training as Army emphasizes amphibious mission
(Military Times) Army Special Forces teamed up with the Gator Navy in April for training and managed to pull off a seemingly unprecedented feat: Simultaneously launching six helicopters from a two-spot dock landing ship.
NAVY
Judge orders break in Adrian sailor's child custody case
(Detroit Free-Press) A Michigan judge has called a time-out in a child custody dispute involving a sailor aboard a U.S. submarine.
8 honored for heroism during Navy Yard shootings
(Navy Times) Members of Naval District Washington family gathered at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday to honor a group of civilians and sailors for their bravery and service in the midst of last year's mass shooting that traumatized the Navy.
Navy college professor placed on leave over photo
(Associated Press) A U.S. Naval War College professor was accused in a complaint on Monday of taking a racy photo that was then posted online, and he was placed on leave.
Sailors test lightweight cammies that could become optional uniform
(Navy Times) For years, sailors facing the wilting heat of Bahrain or the tropical humidity of Guam have complained that the Navy working uniform wasn't cutting it. The blouse is too heavy for work topside, they've said, and the belt and tucked-in trouser legs trap heat like a greenhouse.
Reservist charged after landing plane at naval station
(Virginian-Pilot) A Navy Reserve captain is facing misdemeanor federal charges after landing his personal plane at Norfolk Naval Station's airfield.
Planned cyber center includes USNA's first classified facility
(Navy Times) A state-of-the-art cyber operations center planned for the Naval Academy would allow midshipmen to view classified information and watch cyber attacks as they happen, said Capt. Paul Tortora, director of academy's Center for Cyber Security Studies.
AIR FORCE
Generals breaking the rules: Does rank garner privilege or increased scrutiny?
(Air Force Times) The offenses span the spectrum. Wasteful spending. Affairs and inappropriate relationships. Violating ethics and travel regulations. Abusing authority and mistreating subordinates. Reprisal. Showing up drunk to work.
F-35 Catches Fire on Takeoff at Eglin AFB
(Defense News) A US Air Force F-35 Joint Strike Fighter caught fire when attempting to take off from a Florida Air Force base Monday morning, Pentagon officials said.
Ex-Air Force man sentenced for child exploitation
(Associated Press) A former Air Force non-commissioned officer was sentenced Monday to 120 years in prison after pleading guilty to child exploitation charges for producing sexually explicit images of children and sending them to an undercover federal agent last year.
'Stop saying 'uh-oh' while you're flying': Drone crash pilot quotes unveiled
(Washington Post) Drones are often called unmanned aircraft. But there is a lot of human drama when they crash. Drone pilots and other crew members swear, scream and yell at their remote-control video screens when the aircraft fly out of control. Those moments are often captured by audio recorders in ground control stations. Here's a sampling of that dialogue, according to transcripts contained in Air Force accident investigation reports:
U.S. Air Force airman stationed at Fort Bragg charged with several sex offenses involving a teenager
(Fayetteville Observer) A 31-year-old U.S. Air Force airman stationed at Fort Bragg was charged Monday with several sex offenses involving a teenager, according to arrest warrants.
3 officers get new assignments
(Air Force Times) Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh on Friday announced three general officer moves:
MARINE CORPS
Three Lejeune Marines killed in Afghanistan
(Marine Corps Times) Three North Carolina-based Marines were killed in Afghanistan on Friday, the Defense Department announced.
Parents of fallen Marine support comrades
(San Diego Union-Tribune) The parents of a Camp Pendleton Marine killed in Afghanistan are enlisting support for an event that supports their son's comrades.
Marine judge who called defendants 'scumbags' did not show bias, court finds
(Marine Corps Times) A military appeals court tossed out a Marine recruiter's sexual assault conviction and nine-month sentence this month after finding that a military judge peppered a witness with leading questions.
Experts: Amos' procurement plans risk making Corps irrelevant
(Marine Corps Times) The Marine Corps' current procurement strategy risks the service's ability to 'kick in the door' during a mid-intensity amphibious assault, according to two armored vehicle experts who served as career infantry officers.
AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN
Claim of Fraud in Afghan Vote Leads Official to Step Down
(New York Times) Afghanistan's election crisis has twisted through each of the past 10 days, as the presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah has wielded boycott and brinkmanship in his quest to expose what he calls industrial-scale fraud against him.
Kabul renews plea for Indian aid to Afghan armed forces
(Khaama Press) Afghanistan has renewed plea for Indian aid to Afghan armed forces, saying that Afghanistan doesn't have the defence it needs" to fight "proxy-terror groups".
Opposition figure returns to Pakistan, vowing 'revolution' and sparking chaos at two airports
(Washington Post) A leading opposition figure returned to Pakistan on Monday, resulting in chaos at two major Pakistani airports and posing a new challenge to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's efforts to keep his grip on power.
MIDDLE EAST
Syria Hands Over Last of Declared Chemical Weapons
(Defense News) The last consignment of declared chemical weapons has been handed over by the Syrian government on Monday, according to Ahmet Uzumcu, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons' (OPCW) director-general.
Bedouin Trackers Hunting for Clues to Kidnapped Boys
(New York Times) Maj. Mohammed Mazarib of the Israel Defense Forces ducked into an old stone hut on a hillside above a riverbed here Monday afternoon, quickly determining that footprints inside belonged to soldiers who had beat him there. He nonetheless drew his rifle and shone its spotlight into a hole on the far side of the hut, then grabbed a stick to poke around.
Fouad Ajami, influential scholar of the Middle East, dies at 68
(Washington Post) Fouad Ajami, a Lebanese-born scholar and commentator who illuminated modern Arab history for audiences in the United States, and who later played a part in that history as an advocate for the invasion of Iraq in 2003, died June 22 at his home in Maine. He was 68.
Jihadists Remind Turks Asymmetrical War Not Over
(Defense News) A fragile ceasefire with Kurdish insurgents a couple of years ago following decades of conflict led Turkish procurement officials to emphasize equipment geared for conventional combat.
Suicide car bomb shakes Lebanese capital Beirut
(BBC) A suicide bomber has detonated a car bomb near a Lebanese army checkpoint in the capital, Beirut, officials say.
EUROPE
At Least 1 Dead in German Eurofighter-Learjet Collision
(Defense News) A Learjet collided with a Eurofighter Monday afternoon in a rural area east of Cologne during an exercise, killing at least one crewmember in the Learjet.
Kosovo police disperse protesters in tense north
(Associated Press) Kosovo police fired tear gas and used batons Sunday to disperse hundreds of ethnic Albanians upset because minority Serbs had reinforced a barricade in the center of the city of Mitrovica.
Separatists in Ukraine agree to honor cease-fire
(Washington Post) Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine agreed Monday to a four-day cease-fire and to further negotiations with the government, a move that could help quell a conflict that has paralyzed the nation and defer further E.U. and U.S. sanctions against Russia.
ASIA-PACIFIC
Email scammers now posing as USFK commander
(Stars & Stripes) The commander of U.S. Forces Korea appears to be one of the newest military victims caught up in what investigators call the romance scam
Nominee for South Korean Premier Exits Over Colonization Remarks
(New York Times) President Park Geun-hye, whose approval ratings have fallen since an April ferry disaster that left hundreds dead, suffered a new political blow Tuesday as her second consecutive nominee for prime minister stepped aside, amid a furor over his suggestion that Korea's colonization by Japan had been "God's will."
Malaysia to deploy naval mothership off Sabah to stop kidnappings
(IHS Jane's 360) The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) is deploying the naval support ship Bunga Mas Lima (pennant number 5) off the east coast of the Malaysian state of Sabah to act as a sea base. The deployment is in line with an overall strategy by Malaysia to combat kidnappings by groups based in the Philippines.
China Threat: Air-Sea Battle vs. Offshore Control?
(Defense News) There are doubts in Washington that a US president would ever approve the bombing of China. This notion demonstrates that the Pentagon's Air-Sea Battle operational concept is seriously flawed, said T.X. Hammes, a senior researcher in strategy and future conflict at the department's National Defense University.
Japan delays C-2 service entry after door issue in testing
(IHS Jane's 360) Japan is delaying the introduction into service of the Kawasaki C-2 transport aircraft to investigate why a door broke during pressurisation testing in January.
AFRICA
What's stopping the US from rescuing kidnapped Nigerian girls? It's complicated
(Stars & Stripes) In a trio of daring missions, Navy SEAL Team 6 freed an American ship captain held hostage by Somali pirates in 2009, killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in 2011, and rescued two hostages in Somalia - an American and a Dane - in 2012.
60 females, 31 boys abducted in northeast Nigeria
(Associated Press) Witnesses say Islamic extremists have abducted 60 more girls and women and 31 boys from villages in northeast Nigeria.
Nigeria blast at Kano health college 'kills 8'
(BBC) An explosion has struck a public health college in Nigeria's second city of Kano, in the north, killing at least eight people, police say.
Kenyan jets hit al Shabaab bases in Somalia, kill 80: AU force
(Reuters) Kenyan fighter jets have attacked two bases belonging to Islamist al Shabaab insurgents in Somalia and killed at least 80 militants, African Union peacekeepers there said on Monday.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
VA is circling its wagons to ride out this storm
(Arizona Republic) It takes awhile for big, cumbersome bureaucracies like the Department of Veterans Affairs to correct institutional mistakes and redirect the big ship in a proper direction.
The Heavy Burden of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(New York Times editorial board) Post-traumatic stress disorder has reached staggering levels in the American military. An estimated 7 percent to 20 percent of all service members and veterans who have served in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq may have the disorder, and rising percentages of veterans from earlier conflicts are also afflicted.
Hacking Defense: Changing How DOD Innovates
(Adam Jay Harrison and Stephen Rodriguez in War on the Rocks) Product innovation in the U.S. Department of Defense follows an implicit rule: "Better, cheaper, faster-pick two."
Corruption IS A National Security Problem: Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan
(Rachel Kleinfeld in Real Clear Defense) For years, "realists" in foreign policy claimed that the kind of government inside another state didn't matter - foreign policy was only about what countries did outside their borders. As Iraq and northern Syria join in a de-facto jihadist statelet, Ukraine's east is dismantled, and Central American refugees pour into Texas, it might be time to rethink that logic.
Choices At The Top
(Dexter Filkins in The New Yorker) President Obama won the White House in part by promising to end the war in Iraq, and since then he placed his faith in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to help him do so.
Iraq Is a Terrible First Test for Obama's New Foreign Policy
(Kaveh Waddell in National Journal) The U.S. will partner with the Iraqi government to confront a terrorist threat, but Iraq's ineffective military and corrupt leadership make it an ineffective partner.
Maliki Isn't The Problem. Oil Is
(Nora Bensahel in Defense One) The fundamental political problem in Iraq isn't Maliki himself. It's the fact that Iraq is an oil state - and any new Iraqi leader, whether Sunni, Shiite, or Kurd - would likely govern in much the same way as Maliki has.
Commentary: Asia's Amphibious Re-awakening
(Defense News) When the US Marine Corps (USMC) recently conducted a small-scale landing on Peninsular Malaysia's South China Sea coast, a regular feature of the bilateral Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training exercise, they were carrying a torch for what Marines have been doing in the Western Pacific for over 70 years.
Commentary: Consolidate US Acquisition Agencies
(Defense News) The debate between the Obama administration and Congress over how to keep defense spending within the confines set by the Budget Control Act has fallen into a familiar ritual. The administration proposes a mix of cuts to "tooth" in the form of smaller force structure and retirements of older platforms, and cuts in the "tail" of excessive base infrastructure.
Editorial: Act Fast and Build Longer Strategy
(Defense News) The startling speed with which Iraq has become unhinged has sent shockwaves through the region, and Washington has struggled to influence the outcome in a country where it fought a bloody and costly war that Americans hoped had ended more than two years ago.
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