The following is an April, 2014 report from the Department of Defense on the projected impact of so-called sequestration cuts from the Budget Control Act of 2011 on the U.S. military. Read More
Category Archives: Veterans Affairs
Opinion: How James Schlesinger Changed the Pentagon for the Better
James Schlesinger on the Feb. 11, 1974 cover of Time.
James Schlesinger was at once a lifelong Washington creature and a man who rose above politics, achieving the heights of power in both Republican and Democratic administrations. Read More
2013 Prowler Crash That Killed Three Found to Be Result of ‘Pilot Error’
The scene following the March, 11 crash of a EA-6B Prowler outside of Harrington, Wash. taken by Stan Dammel, manager of the nearby Odessa Municipal Airport.
A U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Manual Investigation (JAGMAN) into the March 11, 2013, crash of a VAQ-129 Grumman EA-6B Prowler that killed three sailors in rural Washington has found that the accident was the result of pilot error. Read More
Document: 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review
The following is from the executive summary of the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, released on March, 4 2014.
The United States faces a rapidly changing security environment. We are repositioning to focus on the strategic challenges and opportunities that will define our future: new technologies, new centers of power, and a world that is growing more volatile, more unpredictable, and in some instances more threatening to the United States. Read More
Senate Panel Examines Aftermath of Military Sexual Assault
Members of the Senate Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee said repeatedly during a Wednesday hearing that their work on reforming the way the Department of Defense treats military sexual assault cases was not over—further questioning the so-called “good soldier defense” in weighing an accuser’s testimony against a superior. Read More
McCain Grills Bob Work Over LCS Program in Tuesday Nomination Hearing
Robert Work at the Pentagon. US Navy Photo
The Senate Armed Services Committee held a confirmation hearing for incoming deputy secretary of defense Bob Work on Tuesday. Read More
Hagel Kicks Off Pentagon-wide Review of Combat Commendations
President Barack Obama presents the Medal of Honor to Capt. William D. Swenson on Oct. 15, 2013. US Army Photo.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is kicking off a department-wide review of how the U.S. military awards battlefield commendations to American service members. Read More
Opinion: Congress Needs to Look Hard at Military Pay
Popular support of the U.S. military over the last few decades has helped lead to an increase in personnel-related costs across the force. If left unchecked, these increasing costs will overwhelm the Defense Department budget. Yet, there is no political will in Congress to implement change. Read More
Former Naval Reactors, USNA Superintendent McKee Dead at 84
Adm. Kinnaird R. McKee at the 1984 commissioning USS Henry M. Jackson (SSBN-730). National Archives Photo
Retired Adm. Kinnaird Rowe McKee — the former head of Naval Reactors and the U.S. Naval Academy superintendent who oversaw the introduction of women to the school — died on Dec. 30.
He was 84. Read More
SECDEF Hagel: Budget Deal ‘Step in the Right Direction’ But ‘Tough Decisions’ on Horizon
The last minute budget deal reached by the House and the Senate restores readiness shortfalls for the Pentagon and provides a firmer base of fiscal stability for the Department of Defense, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told reporters in a Thursday press conference. Read More
