US Navy Photo
SAN DIEGO — In the Navy, the BlackBerry is about to go the way of sound-powered phones and signalmen.
The ubiquitous handheld device is being phased out by Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command for thousands of Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) users by the end of April. Read More
Pfc. Christina Fuentes Montenegro prepares to hike to her platoon’s defensive position during patrol week of Infantry Training Battalion near Camp Geiger, N.C. on Oct. 31, 2013. US Marine Corps Photo
SAN DIEGO — When asked for his thoughts about the pending integration of women into the military’s male-only special operations forces, retired Adm. James G. Stavridis thought back a generation. Read More
The following is the Dec. 3, 2015 Congressional Research Service report, Women in Combat: Issues for Congress. Read More
Pfc. Christina Fuentes Montenegro prepares to hike to her platoon’s defensive position during patrol week of Infantry Training Battalion near Camp Geiger, N.C. on Oct. 31, 2013. US Marine Corps Photo
All military occupational specialties in all four services — including infantry and special operations forces — will be available to women beginning next month, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced today. Read More
The following is the Nov. 19, 2015 Congressional Research Service report, U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF): Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
Riverine Command Boat (RCB) 805, assigned to Commander, Task Group (CTG) 56.7, transits through the Persian Gulf during patrol operations on Nov. 2, 2015. US Navy Photo
The following is the Nov. 6, 2015 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism Operations: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
A P-8A Poseidon aircraft departs Boeing Field in Seattle for Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla. on Nov. 20, 2014. US Navy Photo
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post stated the incorrect number of planned Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy. The U.K. anticipates building eight of the new ship class, not five.
LONDON — Five years after a cash-strapped Great Britain retired the last of its Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol aircraft from frontline duty, Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday announced a belated replacement for the vital capability—in the shape of nine Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft. Read More
Screen grab from Syrian State Television
The deployment of a major Russian expeditionary force to Syria in late September resulted in a flurry of public attention and heated rumors. Read More
The expeditionary mobile base Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB-3) successfully completed launch and float-off at the General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) shipyard on Nov. 6, 2014. US Navy Photo
ONBOARD USNS LEWIS B. PULLER – The Navy’s newest Afloat Forward Staging Base may include special operations capabilities when it makes its maiden voyage to the Middle East in late 2016 or early 2017, if the Navy chooses to make the much-desired upgrades to the ship after a year-long test and certification period.
One lesson Saudi Arabia took from its 2009 encounter with Houthis in Yemen, raiding its border posts and harassing tribes in that region, was the value of Saudi special forces in those conflicts. Since then it has built up those capabilities as part of its evolving military doctrine, Prince Sultan bin Khaled al Faisal said Thursday. Read More
