About David Ogul

David Ogul is a freelance writer and editor based in San Diego who has worked for newspapers in Southern California for more than three decades.


Recent Posts By the Author


WEST: U.S. Intelligence Community Working With an 'Information Deficit''

WEST: U.S. Intelligence Community Working With an ‘Information Deficit”

Sailors wearing the Navy's Enlisted Information Dominance Warfare Specialist pin. US Navy photo

Sailors wearing the Navy’s Enlisted Information Dominance Warfare Specialist pin. US Navy photo

The United States will be hampered in its dealings with a resurgent China unless it can effectively use information it collects through surveillance to understand the nation’s mindset and intent, the director of intelligence for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday during an `Information Dominance Roundtable’ at WEST 2014. Read More

WEST: U.S. Military Will Rely More on Coalitions

WEST: U.S. Military Will Rely More on Coalitions

 Members from various participating nations of Exercise Cobra Gold 2014 stand in formation during the opening ceremony at Camp Akatosarot, Mueang district, Phitsanulok province, Kingdom of Thailand. US Marine Corps Photo

Members from various participating nations of Exercise Cobra Gold 2014 stand in formation during the opening ceremony at Camp Akatosarot, Mueang district, Phitsanulok province, Kingdom of Thailand. US Marine Corps Photo

Coalitions.

That was the theme of a West 2014 panel discussion with retired Gen. John R. Allen and retired Adm. James Stavridis on what the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan teaches us about the future Read More

China's Rise: WEST Day Three

China’s Rise: WEST Day Three

The Chinese navy intrudes on the maritime rights of its neighbors, bullies other nations and is determined to build a force strong enough to counter the U.S. Pacific Fleet, a U.S. Navy intelligence officer told an audience at the WEST 2013 convention in San Diego on Thursday.

China’s navy, said Capt. Jim Fannell, deputy chief of staff for intelligence and operations at the U.S. Pacific Fleet headquarters in Hawaii, is a force that “is focused on war at sea.”

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'We Can Ill Afford Not To Be Ready' : WEST Day Two

‘We Can Ill Afford Not To Be Ready’ : WEST Day Two

The commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet told a morning audience at the WEST 2013 convention that the Pentagon’s decision to rebalance its focus to Asia and the Pacific is strategically sound militarily and is vital in helping to ensure a stable world economy.

Adm. Cecil D. Haney noted that 15 of the world’s 20 largest seaports are in Asia and the Pacific, and $5.3 trillion in global trade passes through the South China Sea alone. “Clearly, we, the United States of America, have an interest in that area,” Haney said.

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Sequestration Dominates: WEST Day One

Sequestration Dominates: WEST Day One

Sequestration dominated the first day of WEST 2013 at the San Diego Convention Center on Tuesday, with Adm. James A. Winnefeld, Jr., Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, offering a sober assessment on the limits of American military power should the additional $500 billion in military cuts go into effect.

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