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Goodbye, 2019.
2019 is almost behind us, and we can hear your collective sighs of relief. From non-stop top-level Pentagon turnover, to 180-degree policy shifts and program cancellations via presidential tweet, to the rise of the Space Force, DoD news came at us all fast and furious over the past year. So recapping the most important stories of 2019 was a big challenge. Nonetheless, your Holiday Season Editor humbly has persisted. Find below five stories that both captured big news, and helped readers get a grip on the major issues that will face DoD next year.
OSD & Joint Staff Grapple With Joint All Domain Command and Control
DoD’s shift towards a new way of war, called multi-domain operations (MDO), started a few years ago primarily within the Army, and then the Air Force. The services have been trying to flesh out the generic concept: a seamless battlefield presence crossing the air, land, sea, space and cyber domains where troops and weapon systems are linked 24/7 to ubiquitous sensors and can react almost instantly to put effects on targets. Breaking D has been at the forefront of the major story since Day 1. Theresa’s Nov. 14 story about Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2), the newly agreed DoD term for the complex C2 network that will hold MDO together, not only breaks news — that DoD and military leaders recognize they now have to corral the service’s disparate MDO approaches — but also presages the challenges they will face next year in doing so.
All East Coast Carriers In Dock, Not Deployed; Hill Asks Why
Paul’s Oct. 28 piece puts together all the pieces in the stormy saga of the USS Harry S. Truman and the Navy’s troubled carrier fleet that lie at the heart of the service’s efforts to rethink both the size and the composition of its overarching fleet architecture. The story shows the consequences of President Trump’s micromanagement of the Truman’s fate, but also clearly articulates the long road the Navy will have next year as it grapples with downsizing and improving readiness.
Trump’s Ukraine Intervention May Violate FCPA, Arms Export Laws: Experts
In this Sept. 26 article, Colin breaks major news that no other media outlet has yet delved into. If Trump’s actions in the Ukraine deal are found to have violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, he would be facing criminal charges that do not disappear when he walks off the White House lawn. With the impeachment process underway, and the presidential election next year, this story is not going to go away.
Fear & Loathing In AI: How The Army Triggered Fears Of Killer Robots
Sydney’s March 6 analysis of why the Army has only itself to blame for one of the worst political firestorms it faced this year — and will continue to be bedeviled by in years to come as the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots gains international traction — is both a cautionary tale and a continuing lesson on why words matter.
Space Force & Beyond: Gen. Raymond’s 3-Ring Space Circus
Theresa’s June 28 piece is not only prescient, but also clearly explains the complex game of space bureaucracy bingo being played as Gen. Jay Raymond attempts to jump all the hurdles to stretching the former Air Force Space Command into the new(ish) Space Command and even newer Space Force over the next year.
