TODAY’S TOP 5
1. U.S. military to train more Ebola response teams
(Military Times) The U.S. military will train more medical personnel to respond to domestic cases of Ebola should they occur, a senior Defense Department official said Thursday.
2. U.S. airstrikes probably didn't take out terror targets in Syria, officials say
(CNN) The U.S. intelligence community now believes two key terrorist operatives targeted by the United States in the opening night of attacks in Syria are still alive and could be actively plotting, multiple officials tell CNN.
3. War Without Strategy
(Bing West in the Hoover Institution) Forty-three percent of voters ranked the economy as the top issue in the 2014 midterm election, versus 15% who cited foreign policy.1 Yet 62% said they were very concerned about terrorism, the largest percentage polled since 2007, before the war turned around in Iraq.2 So why is the public both concerned and yet not concerned?
4. Pentagon Request Shows Scant Science Supports White House's Ebola Assurances
(Foreign Policy) The Defense Department is seeking research that shows federal public-health officials and the broader medical community have a limited understanding of the Ebola virus, despite their assurances that the public should not panic about the deadly disease.
5. Former Navy SEAL Team Member Investigated for Bin Laden Disclosures
(New York Times) A former member of the Navy SEALs who wrote a best seller about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden is under criminal investigation for possibly disclosing classified material, according to federal officials and his lawyer.
ISLAMIC STATE
Dempsey: Iraqi Shiites must back expanded mission
(Military Times) U.S. military leaders want to expand the advise-and-assist mission into Iraq's Anbar province and put combat advisers on the ground to help support the fight against Islamic State militants.
Airstrikes against the Islamic State have not affected flow of foreign fighters to Syria
(Washington Post) More than 1,000 foreign fighters are streaming into Syria each month, a rate that has so far been unchanged by airstrikes against the Islamic State and efforts by other countries to stem the flow of departures, according to U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials.
Islamic State threat prompts new security warnings across U.S. military
(Military Times) Military facilities around the U.S. are on alert, urging troops and their families to take precautions amid continued threats of violence from the Islamic State group.
Why Islamic State threat is 'unprecedented,' but doesn't change much for US
(Christian Science Monitor) The Islamic State is a unique hybrid of terrorist group and nation-state that has shown remarkable strategic clarity and organization. But its threat to the America - and America's options for dealing with it - remain limited.
Islamic State fighters kill 220 Iraqis from tribe that opposed them
(Reuters) Islamic State militants executed at least 220 Iraqis in retaliation against a tribe's opposition to their takeover of territory west of Baghdad, security sources and witnesses said.
Islamic State releases photos showing fighting in Amiriyat al Fallujah
(Long War Journal) The images show fierce firefights between the Islamic State and Iraqi military personnel or their tribal allies. Several pictures showcase their snipers, while others focus on troops armed with PK machine guns, AK-47, or US-made assault rifles. Other pictures detail mortars being fired on Iraqi military positions, as well as M113 armored personnel carriers being used as vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices.
Dempsey: Iraqi Shiites must back expanded mission
(Military Times) Dempsey: Iraqi Shiites must back expanded mission
INDUSTRY
Pratt, Pentagon Agree on 8th F-35 Engine Lot
(Defense News) The Pentagon has signed an agreement with Pratt and Whitney for the eighth lot of F135 engines to power the F-35 joint strike fighter.
Lockheed's Next F-35 Batch Valued at $4.55 Billion
(Bloomberg) Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)'s latest contract for 43 F-35 fighters has a value of about $4.55 billion, with prospects for a deal for as many as 153 more aircraft about a year from now, according to the Pentagon.
Pentagon Officials To Meet With Industry Chiefs in Weekend Strategy Session
(Defense News) The Pentagon's top weapons buyer is meeting with a leading industry group and several top defense CEOs over the weekend to talk through his latest acquisition reform initiative.
Kendall Not Ruling Out Another KC-46 Charge For Boeing
(Aviation Week) Pentagon procurement czar Frank Kendall is confident Boeing will deliver the first 18 KC-46 aerial refuelers by August 2017 as planned, but staying on schedule could cost the company additional cash.
Airborne ISR market to reach $28B
(C4ISR & Networks) The global demand for aerial recon equipment is expected to grow.
With Purchase of French Shipyards, Damen Finally Shows Its Wares at Euronaval
(Defense News) Not every shipbuilder here at the Euronaval expo just outside Paris builds enormous ships, and there are quite a few shipyards specializing in smaller, more economical designs. One of the standouts is Damen, a Dutch-based shipbuilder exhibiting here for the first time. The firm has been steadily increasing its naval business worldwide, but why show here now?
Airbus developing ship-based UAV
(C4ISR & Networks) With help from a French shipbuilder, the company is adapting its rotary-wing UAV for ships,
Turkish Company Develops Anti-Fog Software for Copters
(Defense News) A Turkish software and information technologies company has said that it developed software that allows helicopters to fly in foggy weather conditions.
VETERANS
Senate to vote on advance funding for VA
(Military Times) When Congress returns next month, the Senate will vote on legislation to provide all Veterans Affairs Department funding a full year in advance, preventing government shutdowns or budget gridlock from interrupting veterans services.
Former Augusta VA doctor claims gastrointestinal backlog cover-up
(WRDW; Augusta, Ga.) Dr. Raymond Kostromin is speaking out about his former boss. "He's a good man. He worked hard there," said Kostromin.
New prosthetic limb may prevent chafing, swelling
(Military Times) Prosthetic technology has come a long way in the last few decades. But artificial limbs still are attached to stumps that can swell, chafe, inflame and. Now a lab has developed sensors that might help fix those problems.
Prepared for Ebola: Fayetteville VA Medical Center leaders say hospital ready to contain virus if it arrives
(Fayetteville Observer) The woman had flu-like symptoms and thought she had a fever when she walked into Lima Clinic at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center.
Online shopping privileges for all vets is likely, official says
(Military Times) Expanding online shopping privileges to all honorably discharged veterans isn't a matter of "if," but "when," the chief executive officer of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service said at a meeting in Washington on Wednesday.
Kelly emphasizes need for candor to new VA Erie director
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly said he had a "polite but professional" conversation with the incoming director of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Erie, one week after a congressional colleague criticized the promotion of David Cord over concerns about the official's openness.
CONGRESS
Levin May Hand Off To McCain: Continuity for SASC?
(Breaking Defense) This is a story of ifs. If the GOP wins the Senate. If the GOP wins they still have to woo six Democrats to get important legislation passed. If the Obama administration decides to play hardball after the election.
Reed Mulls Armed Services, Banking Gavels as Nelson, McCaskill Lay Low
(Defense News) With Democrats clinging to slim hopes of retaining a Senate majority, the would-be Senate Armed Services Committee chairman remains undecided on taking that gavel.
GOP lawmakers urge administration to suspend Gitmo transfers over ISIS concerns
(Fox News) Republican lawmakers called Thursday for the Obama administration to suspend detainee transfers from Guantanamo Bay following a Fox News report that as many as 20 to 30 former prisoners are suspected by intelligence and Defense officials of having joined forces with the Islamic State and other militant groups inside Syria.
McCain wants Ernst on Armed Services panel
(The Hill) Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Wednesday said he wants Republican Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst to serve on the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, citing her service in the Army National Guard.
Gates Blasts Lawmakers Over Sequestration
(Defense News) Former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates ripped Washington on Thursday over sequestration budget caps, saying Congress' inability to reach a budget compromise was causing "grave damage" to the US military, homeland security and other essential government operations.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
New Strategy Would Cut F-35s, Boost Bombers and UAVs
(Aviation Week) Today's U.S. power-projection forces, and those currently planned for the future, will not be able to operate effectively or efficiently against anti-access/area-denial (A2AD) weapons and doctrine being developed by China and other adversaries, according to a new report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) that details a new approach to defense strategy known as Third Offset.
Plant DNA and Micron Patterns: DLA Gets High-Tech Vs. Counterfeiters
(Breaking Defense) "There're a lot of chiselers out there," Vice Adm. Mark Harnitchek sighed. Congressional angst over counterfeit parts has understandably focused on ersatz electronics, many of them from much-mistrusted China, but as head of the Defense Logistics Agency, Harnitchek has found fakes in everything from air filters to rubber tubing. "There're folks that counterfeit those, believe it or not," Harnitchek told me.
War court censors word 'female' in legal argument
(Miami Herald) A controversy has roiled the war-on-terror prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for weeks now over the recent use of female guards to shuttle devout Muslim captives to legal appointments.
Union: Pentagon's civilian employees need better Ebola policy
(The Hill) The president of the largest federal employee union expressed concern Thursday over the lack of guidelines for Pentagon civilians deployed to West Africa or who will care for troops when they return.
DECA answers sales drop with 'value brand' and more
(Military Update) The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) faced a tough operating environment in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 as sales fell by 4.3 percent.
ARMY
Update: Ex-Warrior Training Center boss wore unearned Ranger, Sapper tabs
(Army Times) A lieutenant colonel relieved of his post as head of the Warrior Training Center at Fort Benning, Georgia, was not authorized to wear the Ranger and Sapper tabs displayed on his uniform, a base spokesman said Thursday.
For JBLM soldiers, three months in Asia present challenges unlike war zones
(Tacoma News Tribune) One thing Master Sgt. Trinidad Gutierrez never had to worry about on his four combat deployments was how he'd get overseas. Each time, he and his unit traveled to battle theaters in Iraq or Afghanistan, where they would take over an established base and begin their missions.
Probation for Fort Carson soldier convicted in solicitation case
(Colorado Springs Gazette) A Fort Carson soldier accused of asking more than a dozen girls and young women to watch him masturbate for money was sentenced Thursday to 10 years of sex offender intensive supervised probation.
Sergeant busted down for maltreatment of private
(Stars & Stripes) A military police dog handler found guilty of maltreatment of a subordinate was sentenced Thursday to 60 days' hard labor and busted down two pay grades.
Staff sgt. is reunited with the helmet that saved his life
(Army Times) More than two years after he was shot by the enemy in Afghanistan, Staff Sgt. Ryan Frye was reunited with the helmet that saved his life.
Alaska National Guard recruiters file lawsuit, claiming privacy violations
(Alaska Dispatch News) Nearly three weeks after media reports began to chronicle what appeared to be a pattern of predatory debauchery within the Alaska Army National Guard's recruiting and retention battalion, the recruiters named in the stories are suing in federal court in an effort to reveal how the story got out.
NAVY
Judge: Sailors' class-action suit can proceed over alleged radiation exposure
(Stars & Stripes) A U.S. federal judge has ruled that a class-action lawsuit filed by about 200 Navy sailors and Marines can proceed against Japanese utility TEPCO and other defendants who they blame for a variety of ailments from radiation exposure following a nuclear reactor meltdown 3 and a half years ago.
Pilot identified in fatal jet crash in California
(Associated Press) Authorities say a civilian pilot killed in a jet crash during a military training exercise near a California Navy base was a 45-year-old Utah resident.
Navy Upgrades Ship-Based Electronic Warfare
(DoDBuzz) The Navy is upgrading its suite of electronic warfare technology currently on surface ships across the fleet in order to keep pace with emerging threats, service officials said.
Revealing identity of SEAL who killed bin Laden disquieting to some commandos
(Tampa Tribune) The local commando community is not pleased that the man who says he killed Osama bin Laden is planning to reveal his identity and talk about his experiences in an upcoming Fox network documentary.
AIR FORCE
15 Air Force officers to be discharged after cheating
(Great Falls Tribune; Mont.) Of the airmen involved in the cheating investigation at Malsmtrom Air Force Base, most of them are now back on the job.
USAFE tests catchy new approach to airman health
(Air Force Times) Three years after the Air Force launched the Comprehensive Airman Fitness program - an attempt to help airmen balance their busy lives through targeted programs, activities and resiliency skills - leaders realized it hadn't taken hold.
Dover air base wings `on standby' for Ebola mission
(News Journal; Wilmington, Del.) Dover Air Force Base hasn't been tasked to support the U.S. effort in West Africa to combat Ebola - but the base is reviewing procedures and standing by in case orders to do so arrive.
Carlisle to take over ACC on Nov. 4
(Flightlines) The next head of Air Combat Command, Gen. Hawk Carlisle, will officially take over on Nov. 4, the Air Force announced this week.
MARINE CORPS
Defense asks for new judge in Iraq war crime case
(Associated Press) Defense lawyers called a military judge biased and unfair on Thursday and asked him to remove himself from the case of a Marine being retried on a murder charge in a major Iraq war crime case.
Officers who killed Allan DeVillena won't be charged
(Desert Sun; Palm Springs, Calif.) County prosecutors said Thursday that they will not file charges against two Palm Springs police officers who shot and killed an unarmed Marine in the downtown parking garage in 2012.
Marine banned from daughter's school after dispute over Islam homework assignment
(WTTG-TV; Washington, D.C.) A father and military veteran says he has been banned from a Charles County high school because he got into an argument with faculty over his child's homework assignment.
Time Lapse: Watch Terminal Lance's Marine author draw a comic strip
(Battle Rattle) Terminal Lance, the edgy comic strip that lampoons enlisted life in the Marine Corps, has become a household name since it launched in 2010.
AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN
Afghanistan Going off the Rails as U.S. Withdrawal Speeds Up
(Foreign Policy) While the world's eyes are trained on Iraq, Syria, and the fight against the Islamic State, a new report to Congress by the government's reconstruction watchdog warns that Afghanistan, where U.S. troops have been fighting the Taliban and other insurgent groups in the longest war in American history, remains dangerously unstable even as the American military withdrawal accelerate
Afghan President Calls On Taliban To Join Peace Process
(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has urged the Taliban to join in reconciliation talks, a call that was echoed by China's prime minister.
Afghanistan's Ghani drops Pashtun name from official documents
(Agence France-Presse) Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has removed his tribal Pashtun surname "Ahmadzai" from all official documents, a spokesman told AFP on Thursday.
Arab, Haqqani Network commanders reported killed in latest drone strike in South Waziristan
(Long War Journal) The US is reported to have killed a "senior Arab commander" in a drone strike today in Pakistan's Taliban-infested tribal agency of South Waziristan. The strike took place in an area where, less than two years ago, the US killed a Taliban commander who was supported by the Pakistani state.
MIDDLE EAST
Syria debate roils adminstration
(Politico) President Barack Obama's top national security aides are at odds over the U.S. strategy for Syria, engaged in a debate behind the scenes as the administration endures a rash of withering skepticism on foreign and defense policy.
Syrian regime denounces Turkey for allowing foreign fighters to enter Kobane
(Washington Post) Ten Iraqi Kurdish fighters crossed into the embattled Syrian border town of Kobane from Turkey on Thursday, drawing an angry response from the Damascus government, which accused Ankara of violating national sovereignty by allowing foreign troops to enter Syria.
Turkey's Influence in Middle East Ebbs
(Wall Street Journal) Not so long ago, a confident Turkey behaved as a natural leader of the Middle East, with friendly Islamist regimes mushrooming amid the rubble of the Arab Spring and its leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, mobbed by adulating crowds whenever he stepped on Arab soil.
EUROPE
New Russian Boldness Revives a Cold War Tradition: Testing the Other Side
(New York Times) When the White House discovered in recent weeks that its unclassified computer systems had been breached, intelligence officials examined the digital evidence and focused on a prime suspect: Russia, which they believe is using its highly sophisticated cyber capabilities to test American defenses. But its tracks were well covered, and officials say they may never know for sure.
Ukraine, Russia, EU agree to natural gas supply deal
(Reuters) Ukraine, Russia and the European Union signed a deal on Thursday that will see Moscow resume vital supplies of gas to its ex-Soviet neighbour over the winter in return for payments funded in part by Kiev's Western creditors.
France Denies That It's Ready to Deliver Warship to Russia
(New York Times) President Francois Hollande's government disputed on Thursday a Russian claim that France was preparing to hand over the first of two Mistral-class warships to Moscow in mid-November.
ASIA-PACIFIC
USFK: Troops cannot pay for the companionship of 'juicy girls'
(Military Times) The commander of U.S. troops in South Korea is dropping the hammer on that country's notorious "juicy bars," which use women as sex workers who cater to U.S. troops.
IG reports hundreds of housing code violations on US bases in S. Korea
(Stars & Stripes) An Inspector General's report has cited hundreds of potentially dangerous housing code violations, ranging from missing sprinkler systems to exposed copper wiring, in U.S. military housing in South Korea, although only 11 were considered serious.
Amid murder case, Philippines says US pact stays
(Associated Press) A security pact that allows thousands of American troops to join large-scale combat exercises in the Philippines is "imperfect" but Manila is unlikely to amend it, the country's top diplomat said Thursday.
AFRICA
Violent Protests Topple Government in Burkina Faso
(New York Times) The government of Burkina Faso collapsed on Thursday as demonstrators protesting President Blaise Compaore's plans to stay in office after 27 years surged through the streets of Ouagadougou, the capital, overrunning state broadcasters, setting fire to Parliament and burning the homes of the president's relatives.
Egypt stands ready to support Libya says Sisi
(Libya Herald) Egypt stands with the will of the Libyan people, declared Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in an interview with Saudi daily Okaz published Tuesday.
Liberia's Ebola Crisis Puts President in Harsh Light
(New York Times) The president waited until her family members were seated around the dining table before announcing, with no fanfare, the latest defection from her cabinet.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Opinion: Three Years After Don't Ask Don't Tell Some Troops Are 'Almost Equal'
(Chas Henry in USNI News) On September 20, 2011 - the U. S. military did away with the policy known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) and began allowing gay and lesbian military people to serve without having to hide their sexual orientation.
Four Things You Didn't Know About the U.S. Air Force's Role in Fighting Ebola
(Janine Davidson in the Council on Foreign Relations) With so much misinformation circulating about the scale and domestic danger of the Ebola threat, less attention has been paid to the U.S. military's effort to stem the disease's spread in Africa. Operation United Assistance is now well underway, drawing the joint armed services together with a wide range of interagency and multinational partners. While the headquarters of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division have been the most visible element of this operation, much of the behind-the-scenes work has been conducted by the U.S. Air Force. I spoke with Air Force participants to get a sense of this contribution:
Relearning Anti-Submarine Warfare
(James R. Holmes in The Diplomat) The U.S. Navy's post-Cold War holiday from history is drawing to a close-if it hasn't expired already.
Ron Capps on PTSD and Recovery from Serving in Five Wars in Ten Years
(Cicero Magazine Editors) A veteran of five wars, Ron Capps, who served both as a senior military intelligence officer and a U.S. State Department Foreign Service officer in conflicts from Kosovo and Rwanda, to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Darfur, provides a wrenchingly honest account of his experiences and his struggle with PTSD, which he suffered as a result of the horrors he had witnessed yet was helpless to prevent.
Is Gen. John Allen in Over His Head?
(Mark Perry in Foreign Policy) President Obama's point man in the fight against the Islamic State faces a ruthless foe. But his detractors at home -- even in the Pentagon -- may be his biggest enemy.
Time Is Running Out for Obama on Syria
(Jamie Dettmer in The Daily Beast) The idea that U.S.-backed Syrian rebels defeat ISIS and force Assad to the negotiating table has absolutely nothing to do with what's happening on the ground.
Superiority at any Price? Political Consequences of the First Offset Strategy
(Van Jackson in War on the Rocks) Military strategies serve political ends. Judgments about their effectiveness cannot be separated from the historical and geopolitical context in which they exist. The first U.S. offset strategy met the demands of strategic competition, but in its political context, failed in crucial respects. Any attempt to replicate this past "success" is therefore potentially valuable, but also fraught with hazard. Given the emerging trends in the global security environment, it makes eminent sense that the United States seek ways to offset its strategic vulnerabilities. In so doing though, it must be honest about what did not work in offset strategies past.
MG42 Machine Gun Was Hitler's Buzz Saw
(Paul Huard in Real Clear Defense) During World War II, American G.I.s called the German MG42 machine gun "Hitler's buzz saw" because of the way it cut down troops in swaths.
