U.S. Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, brief reporters at the Pentagon, Arlington, Va., Aug. 28, 2018. DoD photo
THE PENTAGON — The new commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) claims the Strait of Hormuz is under Iran’s control, but Pentagon leaders say the U.S. Navy has no intention of altering any operations in the region.
Army Lt. Gen. Austin S. Miller testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 19, 2018. DoD Photo
The nominee to lead American and coalition forces in Afghanistan said the key to safely withdrawing U.S. and coalition troops lie in reaching a political solution among the disparate parties and not simply disrupting Taliban operations or hunting down terrorist groups like the Islamic State, al Qaeda or the Haqqani Network. Read More
A U.S. Marine with Task Force Southwest (TFSW) provides security for Marine advisors during an advising mission with 1st Brigade, Afghan National Army (ANA) 215th Corps as the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces conduct Operation Maiwand 12 at Camp Shorserack, Afghanistan, March 12, 2018. US Marine Corps Photo
The United States, NATO and coalition partners indirectly created more warlords “who were just as bad as the terrorists themselves” for Afghans by pouring huge amounts of money into grandiose projects without proper oversight and coordination, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction said Thursday. Read More
The aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and their strike groups are underway, conducting operations in international waters as part of a three-carrier strike force exercise on Nov. 12, 2017. US Navy photo.
ABOARD USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH — As the Navy looks at shaking up its deployment patterns to become more responsive to world events and more unpredictable to adversaries, one key benefit may be more time available for high-end training closer to home. Read More
From the left, Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Defense Secretary James Mattis; and David Norquist, Defense Department comptroller and chief financial officer; give testimony on the DoD budget posture on May 9, 2018. DoD photo.
Defense Secretary James Mattis called Moscow’s strategy of threatening to use low-yield nuclear weapons to get its way “bellicose and cavalier,” and he said the administration’s plan to develop America’s own low-yield nuclear weapons and deploy them on submarines would checkmate the Kremlin. Read More
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Afghanistan with the US Secretary of Defense James Mattis. The two met with President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and other high-level officials. Discussions focused on the NATO-Afghanistan partnership, including the ongoing NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in support of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. DOD photo.
The defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told a Senate committee today that the war in Afghanistan is not yet near a point of resolution but that there are “clear and achievable” goals in the near-term. Read More
Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, waits to be seated during the Senate Armed Services Committee reconfirmation hearing in the U.S. Senate Hart Building in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Sept. 26, 2017. DoD Photo
Congressionally-imposed spending caps for training and defense modernization and a spate of accidents are challenging the military’s ability to project power to potential adversaries, said the nation’s top military leader Tuesday. Read More
Creating a means for quickly de-escalating tense operations is the goal of a recently signed communications agreement between military leaders from the United States and China. Read More
Gen. Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Brookings Institute Feb. 23, 2017 in Washington, D.C. DoD Photo
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in developing the latest plan to defeat the Islamic State needs to avoid options, “that would solve one problem only to create another.” Read More
Gen. Joseph Dunford testifying before Congress on March 17, 2016. DoD Photo
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the next military strategy document will be kept classified, a recommendation often called for in House and Senate armed services committee hearings that began in the fall on “defense reform.” Read More
