Tag Archives: hagel

Iraq and Afghanistan Dominate Senate Budget Hearing

Iraq and Afghanistan Dominate Senate Budget Hearing

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel testifies before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense about the Defense Department's FY15 budget request June 18, 2014. DoD Photo

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel testifies before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense about the Defense Department’s FY15 budget request June 18, 2014. DoD Photo

With aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) and its battle group and amphibious transport dock USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19) in position in the Persian Gulf, senators on Defense Appropriations Subcommittee asked very few questions about the budget but plenty on the rise of insurgents in Iraq, if will Afghanistan face the same fate in two years and what can the United States do about both on Wednesday. Read More

Hagel Defends Littoral Combat Ship Cap

Hagel Defends Littoral Combat Ship Cap

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Department of Defense Comptroller Robert Hale testify before the House Armed Service Committee on March 6, 2014. Department of Defense Photo.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Department of Defense Comptroller Robert Hale testify before the House Armed Service Committee on March 6, 2014. Department of Defense Photo.

Defending the decision to cap the littoral combat ship (LCS) buy at 32, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Wednesday “it was a big, big question whether we want a sixth of our Navy” in those vessels. Read More

Pentagon Caps LCS at 32 Hulls, Hagel Directs Navy to Evaluate ‘Capable and Lethal’ Frigate Designs

Pentagon Caps LCS at 32 Hulls, Hagel Directs Navy to Evaluate ‘Capable and Lethal’ Frigate Designs

USS Freedom (LCS-1), left, and USS Independence (LCS-2) in 2012. US Navy Photo

USS Freedom (LCS-1), left, and USS Independence (LCS-2) in 2012. US Navy Photo

The Pentagon will cut the final number of the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) by 20 — from 52 to 32 — and shortly begin a study on a new frigate for the service, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told reporters at a Fiscal Year 2015 Defense Department budget preview on Monday afternoon. Read More

Update: Shutdown's Impact on the Pentagon.

Update: Shutdown’s Impact on the Pentagon.

THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED TO INCLUDE A TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE. The following is a Oct. 17, 2013 Pentagon press briefing on the impact of the government shutdown on the military with Secretary of of Defense Chuck Hagel and Pentagon comptroller Robert Hale. Read More

Document: Assessing U.S. Defense Strategic Guidance

Document: Assessing U.S. Defense Strategic Guidance

From the Aug. 13, 2013 Congressional Research Service Report: Assessing the January 2012 Defense Strategic Guidance (DSG)

On January 5, 2012, President Obama announced a new defense strategy entitled “Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense,” and commonly referred to as the defense strategic guidance or “DSG”. The DSG was significant at the time because it was explicitly intended to reshape future Department of Defense (DOD) priorities, activities, and budget requests for the following decade. That reshaping meant, in part, reducing defense spending by about $487 billion over 10 years, to meet the initial budget caps set in the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011.2 And it meant in part refining DOD’s 10-year strategic outlook in response to changes in the global security environment and the end of the decade of warfare that followed the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Read More

China Will Not ‘Barter Away’ Core Maritime Interests

China Will Not ‘Barter Away’ Core Maritime Interests

 

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Chang Wanquan hold a joint press conference at the Pentagon, Aug. 19, 2013. DoD Photo

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Chang Wanquan hold a joint press conference at the Pentagon, Aug. 19, 2013. DoD Photo

China’s military head maintained the right of the country to defend its maritime claims during a Monday press conference at the Pentagon.

Chinese Minister of National Defense Gen. Chang Wanquan told reporters through a translator China would not “barter away our core interests. And no one should underestimate our will and determination in defending our territory, sovereignty and maritime rights.” Read More

Two Options for Pentagon's Future

Two Options for Pentagon’s Future

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel answers reporters' questions during a Pentagon press briefing on July 31, 2013. Department of Defense Photo

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel answers reporters’ questions during a Pentagon press briefing on July 31, 2013. Department of Defense Photo

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said the Pentagon has to choose between a small high tech force or a larger one with antiquated equipment if the services are forced to live in a budgetary world dictated by the mandatory budget cuts known as sequestration, he told reporters in a Pentagon briefing on Wednesday. Read More

House to Hagel: Downgrade the UAV and Cyber Medal

House to Hagel: Downgrade the UAV and Cyber Medal

US House Leaders are calling for Secreatary of Defense Chuck Hagel to reduce the ranking of a new medal for unmanned aerial vehicle pilots and cyber troops. US Navy Photo

US House Leaders are calling for Secreatary of Defense Chuck Hagel to reduce the ranking of a new medal for unmanned aerial vehicle pilots and cyber troops. US Navy Photo

Almost 50 House leaders called on Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to lower the precedence of a new medal designed to recognize the warfare contributions of unmanned aerial vehicle pilots and cyber troops, The Hill reported Monday. Read More