Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Contributing Editor, Breaking Defense
Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. has written for Breaking Defense since 2011 and served as deputy editor for the site's first decade, covering technology, strategy, and policy with a particular focus on the US Army. He’s now a contributing editor focused on cyber, robotics, AI, and other critical technologies and policies that will shape the future of warfare. Sydney began covering defense at National Journal magazine in 1997 and holds degrees from Harvard, Cambridge, and Georgetown.Stories by Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Army Reserve Chief Stultz @ SAC-D: "I’m not satisfied our modernization strategy is going to meet my needs for the immediate future, no sir" SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: At 10 o’clock today, the Administration’s push to pass the Law of the Sea treaty will come before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. If history is any guide, that’s as far as it will ever get. Committee chairman Sen. John Kerry declined to give odds on ratification, saying that would be “premature”: “I just…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: The American military is intrigued by the offensive uses for cyber-warfare, but it is struggling to figure out how to do it. What impact can cyber weapons have on the battlefield? What organizations should take the lead? And who makes the decision to pull the trigger? “We’ve been thinking 90% defense, 10%…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Ayotte re sequestration (http://aol.it/K5YGSp): "It is the elephant in the room …. we cannot afford to kick this can to the lame-duck." SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: While the Littoral Combat Ship is not suited for the front lines of a war with China, it would provide vital protection to US supply lines in such conflict, said Under Secretary of the Navy Robert Work, and against Iran, LCS would be in the battle from “day one,” with eight LCSs ultimately operating…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON — The House passed a defense budget Friday that exceeds the deal cut by Congress and President Barack Obama last summer, and that would have to be paid for with cash taken from poverty programs, health care and the federal workforce.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON — A judge may have found unconstitutional the law that allows people to be held indefinitely without trial by the military, but the House of Representatives voted Friday to keep it anyway.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: Google will soon make public information about virtually every ship at sea, giving the current location and identity even of American warships. Meanwhile, the company is consulting with the Navy and others about security issues. UPDATED: (3:30 p.m.) Clarified Google Uses Satellite Technology, Not Building Satellites Google paid several million dollars for…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: In an era of shrinking budgets, the military’s future is less about buying new hardware than making better use of what it already has, the armed forces’ top officer said yesterday, and that kind of change requires focusing not on equipment but on people. “It’s the human dimension that will get us…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Pakistan reopens US supply lines to Afghanistan, drops demand for apology for friendly-fire deaths, gets more $$$: http://econ.st/LacJLL. SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: During a decade of relentless focus on counterinsurgency, the military has let other skills erode, skills it will have to struggle to get back even as budgets tighten. In particular, the capacity of the US and allied navies to hunt enemy submarines has suffered even as potential adversaries like China and Iran…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: To squeeze the most it can out of every training dollar in an era of shrinking budgets, the Army Reserve will rely more on simulators and long-distance learning to replace traditional drill weekends, outgoing Chief of Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Jack Stulz said today. Those efficiencies, in turn, will free up funds for ambitious…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
WASHINGTON: On a fine spring day in the nation’s capital, I’m not the only one to succumb to the temptation to work from home instead of heading into an airless office building. But cybersecurity experts warn that when I log into the AOL server to upload this article, I’m also opening a door for malware…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
CAPITOL HILL: The vice-chiefs of the Army and Marine Corps warned legislators today that sequestration would force the military and the nation to break enlistment contracts with up to 225,000 troops who would have to be precipitately discharged to save money. “We would absolutely not be able to keep faith with our people,” said Gen.…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Army Reserve Chief Stultz @ SAC-D: "I’m not satisfied our modernization strategy is going to meet my needs for the immediate future, no sir" SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: At 10 o’clock today, the Administration’s push to pass the Law of the Sea treaty will come before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. If history is any guide, that’s as far as it will ever get. Committee chairman Sen. John Kerry declined to give odds on ratification, saying that would be “premature”: “I just…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: The American military is intrigued by the offensive uses for cyber-warfare, but it is struggling to figure out how to do it. What impact can cyber weapons have on the battlefield? What organizations should take the lead? And who makes the decision to pull the trigger? “We’ve been thinking 90% defense, 10%…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Ayotte re sequestration (http://aol.it/K5YGSp): "It is the elephant in the room …. we cannot afford to kick this can to the lame-duck." SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: While the Littoral Combat Ship is not suited for the front lines of a war with China, it would provide vital protection to US supply lines in such conflict, said Under Secretary of the Navy Robert Work, and against Iran, LCS would be in the battle from “day one,” with eight LCSs ultimately operating…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON — The House passed a defense budget Friday that exceeds the deal cut by Congress and President Barack Obama last summer, and that would have to be paid for with cash taken from poverty programs, health care and the federal workforce.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON — A judge may have found unconstitutional the law that allows people to be held indefinitely without trial by the military, but the House of Representatives voted Friday to keep it anyway.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: Google will soon make public information about virtually every ship at sea, giving the current location and identity even of American warships. Meanwhile, the company is consulting with the Navy and others about security issues. UPDATED: (3:30 p.m.) Clarified Google Uses Satellite Technology, Not Building Satellites Google paid several million dollars for…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: In an era of shrinking budgets, the military’s future is less about buying new hardware than making better use of what it already has, the armed forces’ top officer said yesterday, and that kind of change requires focusing not on equipment but on people. “It’s the human dimension that will get us…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Pakistan reopens US supply lines to Afghanistan, drops demand for apology for friendly-fire deaths, gets more $$$: http://econ.st/LacJLL. SydneyFreedberg
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: During a decade of relentless focus on counterinsurgency, the military has let other skills erode, skills it will have to struggle to get back even as budgets tighten. In particular, the capacity of the US and allied navies to hunt enemy submarines has suffered even as potential adversaries like China and Iran…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: To squeeze the most it can out of every training dollar in an era of shrinking budgets, the Army Reserve will rely more on simulators and long-distance learning to replace traditional drill weekends, outgoing Chief of Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Jack Stulz said today. Those efficiencies, in turn, will free up funds for ambitious…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.WASHINGTON: On a fine spring day in the nation’s capital, I’m not the only one to succumb to the temptation to work from home instead of heading into an airless office building. But cybersecurity experts warn that when I log into the AOL server to upload this article, I’m also opening a door for malware…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.CAPITOL HILL: The vice-chiefs of the Army and Marine Corps warned legislators today that sequestration would force the military and the nation to break enlistment contracts with up to 225,000 troops who would have to be precipitately discharged to save money. “We would absolutely not be able to keep faith with our people,” said Gen.…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
