Mark Esper, Washington Insider, Will Be Quiet Army Secretary

Mark Esper, Washington Insider, Will Be Quiet Army Secretary
Mark Esper, Washington Insider, Will Be Quiet Army Secretary

WASHINGTON: Third time’s (hopefully) the charm for the Trump Administration when it comes to candidates for Army Secretary. After the withdrawals of Vincent Viola, a billionaire with no government experience, and Mark Green, a Tennessee politician with a controversial track record, Trump has picked an experienced Washington insider, Mark Esper. Esper probably is unlikely to…

Carter’s Confirmation Hug: SASC Shows He May Be A Strong SecDef

Carter’s Confirmation Hug: SASC Shows He May Be A Strong SecDef
Carter’s Confirmation Hug: SASC Shows He May Be A Strong SecDef

WASHINGTON: Nomination hearings are never just about the nominee. But today’s Senate lovefest for Ash Carter was remarkably dominated by two men who weren’t in the room: President Obama — in whose defense Carter was actually pretty tepid — and King Abdullah II of Jordan. The Obama White House has simultaneously “micromanag[ed]” the military and…

LCS Lives: Hagel Approves Better Armed Upgrade

LCS Lives: Hagel Approves Better Armed Upgrade
LCS Lives: Hagel Approves Better Armed Upgrade

PENTAGON: The controversial Littoral Combat Ship dodged a big torpedo today, when outgoing Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel approved the Navy’s plan for a larger, better armed and better protected version of the ship. Critics had called for a radical redesign or an entirely new ship. The “modified LCS” simply adds new weapons, electronics, and armor to…

‘Enormously Energetic’ Carter May Replace A Weary Hagel

‘Enormously Energetic’ Carter May Replace A Weary Hagel
‘Enormously Energetic’ Carter May Replace A Weary Hagel

WASHINGTON: If confirmed as Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter will be “more energetic” than outgoing Sec. Chuck Hagel, a top Pentagon official said today. The rational and mild-mannered Jamie Morin, the Pentagon’s director of cost assessment and program evaluation (CAPE), of course put it more politely than that in his remarks this afternoon at the…

DoD To Silicon Valley, VCs: How ‘Bout Some Help!

DoD To Silicon Valley, VCs: How ‘Bout Some Help!
DoD To Silicon Valley, VCs: How ‘Bout Some Help!

PENTAGON:  For decades the tech gurus of Silicon Valley have pretty much left Pentagon business alone, letting the military stumble along and try to buy their wares within five years of their coming out. Take the story of former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. James “Hoss” Cartwright, hungry for an iPad that could handle classified information. Couldn’t be…

Forbes ‘Incredibly Optimistic’ On NDAA, Sequester — Not SecDef

Forbes ‘Incredibly Optimistic’ On NDAA, Sequester — Not SecDef
Forbes ‘Incredibly Optimistic’ On NDAA, Sequester — Not SecDef

In an era of partisan bitterness and gloom, Rep. Randy Forbes is feeling good. “Maybe I’m just too optimistic,” the chairman of the House subcommittee on seapower told me over the phone on his drive back to Washington last night. But after some positive feedback from GOP leadership, he said, “I’m incredibly optimistic” that Congress…

Defense Secretary: Does Anyone Want This Job?

Defense Secretary: Does Anyone Want This Job?
Defense Secretary: Does Anyone Want This Job?

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration is reaping what it sowed. Toss out someone without good cause and few people will want to work for you once word gets around. Former defense policy undersecretary Michele Flournoy ducked out last week. Now Jeh Johnson, head of the Department of Homeland Security and former top lawyer at the Pentagon,…

Hagel On Way Out; Can White House Listen To Criticism?

Hagel On Way Out; Can White House Listen To Criticism?
Hagel On Way Out; Can White House Listen To Criticism?

UPDATED: Flournoy Pulls Herself Out Of SecDef Running WASHINGTON: Beset by a drubbing at the polls, a wildly troubled world, doubts about his strategic abilities, and after one of the weakest and most troubling nomination hearings in post-World War II history, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is now on his way out the door. The White House…

Hagel Lists Key Technologies For US Military; Launches ‘Offset Strategy’

Hagel Lists Key Technologies For US Military; Launches ‘Offset Strategy’
Hagel Lists Key Technologies For US Military; Launches ‘Offset Strategy’

[UPDDATED with Hagel memo & expert comment] REAGAN LIBRARY: After months of build-up, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel formally launched the military’s quest for a combination of new technologies to maintain America’s military supremacy over the next 20 years in the face of Russian and Chinese challenges. In a speech before the second Reagan National Defense Forum here, Hagel divulged…

Nuclear Woes Drive $7.5B Increase; DepSecDef Work Takes On Nuke Oversight

Nuclear Woes Drive $7.5B Increase; DepSecDef Work Takes On Nuke Oversight
Nuclear Woes Drive $7.5B Increase; DepSecDef Work Takes On Nuke Oversight

PENTAGON: It isn’t official but Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work hinted today that the United States will undertake a fundamental reordering of its national security budget by paying for new nuclear submarines, new nuclear bombers and new ICBMs in new accounts set aside just for them. “This is something we have discussed in the department,” Work…

Hagel To Unveil Counters To China, Russia

Hagel To Unveil Counters To China, Russia
Hagel To Unveil Counters To China, Russia

WASHINGTON: Offset strategy. Doesn’t exactly make your hair stand on end or make you go wow. Does it have to do with international arms deals and tradeoffs companies and countries make to win business? No. In fact, the offset strategy Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel should unveil in the next few days may be one of…

Hagel: Army Role Won’t ‘Erode’; Can Even ‘Broaden’ To Pacific Missile Force

Hagel: Army Role Won’t ‘Erode’; Can Even ‘Broaden’ To Pacific Missile Force
Hagel: Army Role Won’t ‘Erode’; Can Even ‘Broaden’ To Pacific Missile Force

[UPDATED with Congressional comment] Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel reassured the Army today that its role is not “eroding” or “diminishing,” despite shrinking budgets, the rebalance to the watery Pacific theater, and the Obama administration’s commitment to “no boots on the ground” against self-proclaimed Islamic State. Instead, echoing comments by the Army’s own leaders, Hagel said…

Syrian Ops Mean DoD ‘Budget Problems:’ CJCS Dempsey

Syrian Ops Mean DoD ‘Budget Problems:’ CJCS Dempsey
Syrian Ops Mean DoD ‘Budget Problems:’ CJCS Dempsey

PENTAGON: The services’ draft budgets delivered to the Office of Secretary of Defense early this month are probably being shredded in light of the campaign in Iraq and Syria against the terrorist group known as ISIL. “If you’re asking me, are we going to have budget problems, the answer is yes,” the president’s top military advisor told reporters this…

Pentagon Struggles To Save New Programs: Kendall

Pentagon Struggles To Save New Programs: Kendall
Pentagon Struggles To Save New Programs: Kendall

[UPDATED with Hagel, Shaffer comments] NATIONAL PRESS CLUB: The four armed services only submitted their draft 2016 budgets to the Office of the Secretary of Defense “basically yesterday,” Undersecretary Frank Kendall said this morning — and he’s already “concerned.” As the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer, Kendall sees worrying signs. With the automatic budget cuts known as…