Mark T. Esper answers questions from members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., July 16, 2019. US Army Photo
This post was updated with additional information from the Pentagon.
Army Secretary Mark Esper has been confirmed to serve as the next secretary of defense in a 90-8 vote in the Senate on Tuesday. He was sworn in during an Oval Office ceremony on Tuesday evening. Read More
U.S. Marine Corps AAV-P7/A1 assault amphibious vehicles assigned to Combat Assault Company, 3rd Marine Regiment, unload service members during an amphibious landing demonstration as part of Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise at Pyramid Rock Beach on Marine Corps Base Hawaii July 29, 2018. US Marine Corps photo.
New Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger outlined his largely naval priorities for the Marine Corps, and he’s willing to shed some key tenets of the Marines’ amphibious force planning in recent years – including the demand for 38 amphibious warships to support a 2 Marine Expeditionary Brigade-sized forcible entry force. Read More
U.S. Secretary of the Army Dr. Mark T. Esper enters the room before his confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C., July 16, 2019. Esper was nominated for Secretary of Defense by President Donald J. Trump on July 15, 2019. (DoD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Amber I. Smith)
CAPITOL HILL – Maintaining a technological edge, improving the lives of military families and continuing to present potential adversaries with an assured strong U.S. response to hostile acts would be among Secretary of the Army Mark Esper’s priorities if the Senate approves his nomination to lead the Department of Defense.
U.S. Marines with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, currently attached to 4th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, conduct morning accountability before dawn on April 5, 2019 during Exercise Balikatan at the Navy Education Training Command, Philippines. US Marine Corps Photo
CAPITOL HILL – The next commandant may need to reduce the size of the Marine Corps and focus on a smaller number of priority missions, to ensure that the service can stay ready to meet its requirements under the National Defense Strategy in a resource-constrained budget. Read More
Adm. Bill Moran, the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, speaks with sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73). US Navy Photo
When Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson took charge of the Navy in 2015, the service was still largely a support element for the larger U.S. effort in the Middle East. When Richardson leaves this summer, his successor will be at the helm of a service that is being grown and reshaped into a key role for the U.S. military’s drive toward high-end warfare in a new era of great power competition. Read More
Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group participates in a strait exercise in the Atlantic Ocean on April 7, 2019. US Navy Photo
THE PENTAGON – The Navy’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget request includes tectonic shifts in how the Navy does business – swapping a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier for unmanned surface vehicles and other technologies – and it comes even as the service is reevaluating what sized fleet and what mix of ships the Navy needs to meet future challenges. Read More
USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) during an underway on Dec. 2, 2018. US Navy Photo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Defense analysts expect President Donald Trump’s Fiscal Year 2020 national security budget will request about $750 billion, a funding level they consider barely enough to sustain the Pentagon’s current operations. Read More
The following is the recently released U.S. National Intelligence Strategy 2019. Read More
Chinese president Xi Jinping and Russian president Vladimir Putin greet participants of Joint Sea-2014 exercise at Wusong naval port in Shanghai, east China, May 20, 2014. Xinhua Photo
Without predictable funding and realistic concepts of operations, the National Defense Strategy doesn’t meet the challenges of a rising China expanding in the Indo-Pacific and an aggressive Russia in Eastern Europe, the co-chairmen of the panel reviewing the document warned the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. Read More
The following is a Nov. 14, 2018, document, “Providing for the Common Defense: The Assessment and Recommendations of the National Defense Strategy Commission.” Read More
