Law Of The Sea: US In, China Out? Dems Push Ratification

Law Of The Sea: US In, China Out? Dems Push Ratification
Law Of The Sea: US In, China Out? Dems Push Ratification

WASHINGTON: Leading legislators from both parties welcomed today’s UN tribunal ruling against Chinese claims in the South China Sea. But while Republicans focused on China’s misdeeds, Democrats consistently brought up an American omission: The United States has never ratified the very treaty empowering the tribunal to stand up China, the UN Convention on the Law of…

Show Me The Money: HASC Chairman Thornberry On NDAA

Show Me The Money: HASC Chairman Thornberry On NDAA
Show Me The Money: HASC Chairman Thornberry On NDAA

CAPITOL HILL: Congress will pass the annual defense bill, and that bill must increase defense spending, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said this morning. While Rep. Mac Thornberry was characteristically cautious about details, he made those goals clear enough to the audience at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “The bottom line is we’re…

What’s Eating Bill McRaven: Is Congress Too Ignorant Of The Military?

What’s Eating Bill McRaven: Is Congress Too Ignorant Of The Military?
What’s Eating Bill McRaven: Is Congress Too Ignorant Of The Military?

The US military is still at war but Washington is not. The resulting tensions are eroding the fundamental compact between America’s warrior and political classes. The recent op-ed by retired Adm. William McRaven, former head of Special Operations Command and the man who led the strike against Osama Bin Laden, might have caused a national furor…

Adam, Mac, & John: Rep. Smith Reaches Out To Sen. McCain On NDAA

Adam, Mac, & John: Rep. Smith Reaches Out To Sen. McCain On NDAA
Adam, Mac, & John: Rep. Smith Reaches Out To Sen. McCain On NDAA

WASHINGTON: As the House and Senate head to conference with an $18 billion gap between their drafts of the defense bill, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee is taking pains to align himself with the Senate. Speaking to the Defense Writers’ Group this morning, Rep. Adam Smith drew clear battle lines between himself…

Non-Fatal Accidents Double For Marine Corps Aircraft

Non-Fatal Accidents Double For Marine Corps Aircraft
Non-Fatal Accidents Double For Marine Corps Aircraft

CAPITOL HILL: The rate of non-fatal accidents has doubled in Marine Corps aviation since last year, and the Marines are turning to outside experts to figure out why. So-called Class C mishap rates — nonfatal incidents that cause $50,000 to $500,000 in damage or loss of work time — have occurred in 2016 at double their previous…

Presumptive CSAF Goldfein’s Top Five: Mackenzie Eaglen

Presumptive CSAF Goldfein’s Top Five: Mackenzie Eaglen
Presumptive CSAF Goldfein’s Top Five: Mackenzie Eaglen

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the nomination of the new Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. David Goldfein, today by voice vote. He is almost certain to get full Senate approval soon. This will round out the rare and noteworthy turnover of the entire slate of Joint Chiefs over the past year, including the National…

‘Limited’ Missile Defense Must Remain So: Philip Coyle

‘Limited’ Missile Defense Must Remain So: Philip Coyle
‘Limited’ Missile Defense Must Remain So: Philip Coyle

Some members of Congress are rightfully calling for reform to the U.S. national missile defense program, but the change they suggest – removing the word “limited” from current U.S. policy – will carelessly expand the program and waste billions of dollars. If we’re serious about improving national missile defense, Congress must reform the objectives of the…

Don’t Retire U-2, Again! Sen. Feinstein, Rep. Schiff Urge Air Force To Postpone

Don’t Retire U-2, Again! Sen. Feinstein, Rep. Schiff Urge Air Force To Postpone
Don’t Retire U-2, Again! Sen. Feinstein, Rep. Schiff Urge Air Force To Postpone

WASHINGTON: Either Lockheed Martin’s legendary U-2 spy plane does things that Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk drone can’t, or it doesn’t. If the U-2 doesn’t, then, the Air Force argues, it should be retired by 2019. After several flip flops in recent years, that is the service’s current position: We need to retire the U-2 because we’re upgrading the…

Presumptive Air Force Chief Appears To Shift On B-21 Cost Info

Presumptive Air Force Chief Appears To Shift On B-21 Cost Info
Presumptive Air Force Chief Appears To Shift On B-21 Cost Info

UPDATED: Adds Air Force Statement  WASHINGTON: The administration’s nominee for Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen. David Goldfein, came before the Senate Armed Services Committee this morning promising to improve Air Force relations with Congress. And Goldfein delivered, to the point of apparently agreeing with a pleased SASC chairman John McCain that the service should…

Cyber Attack On Satellite Could Be Act Of War: HPSCI Ranking

Cyber Attack On Satellite Could Be Act Of War: HPSCI Ranking
Cyber Attack On Satellite Could Be Act Of War: HPSCI Ranking

CAPITOL HILL: In a rare public event, the No. 2 member of the House Permanent Select Intelligence Committee (HPSCI), Rep. Adam, said a cyber attack on a US satellite could be considered an act of war. While this may sound like common sense to some, the question of whether using cyber to interfere with or disable…

11 GOP Vote Against McCain’s $18B NDAA Add; AIA Briefs Trump

11 GOP Vote Against McCain’s $18B NDAA Add; AIA Briefs Trump
11 GOP Vote Against McCain’s $18B NDAA Add; AIA Briefs Trump

WASHINGTON: If you want to know just how fractured the Republican Party is, even in the relatively staid Senate, just look at today’s bipartisan vote knocking down Sen. John McCain’s amendment to add $18 billion in defense spending to the National Defense Authorization Act. The vote, technically a cloture motion, saw 11 Republicans voting nay, four…

Open DoD’s Doors To Cyber Talent, Carter Asks Congress

Open DoD’s Doors To Cyber Talent, Carter Asks Congress
Open DoD’s Doors To Cyber Talent, Carter Asks Congress

UPDATE with Hill reaction WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Ashton Carter today asked Congress to help the Pentagon’s quest for talent in specialized areas such as cyber warfare. Among many other reforms, this latest iteration of Carter’s “Force of the Future” initiative requests changes to existing law to: Let cyber and other technical experts join the military at higher…

White House Threatens Veto For Senate NDAA; McCain $18B Add Vote Soon

White House Threatens Veto For Senate NDAA; McCain $18B Add Vote Soon
White House Threatens Veto For Senate NDAA; McCain $18B Add Vote Soon

WASHINGTON: Worried by Sen. John McCain’s efforts to slash the general officer corps, abolish Frank Kendall’s job and restrict the size of the National Security Council, the White House today threatened to veto the Senate defense policy bill. Accusing the Senate Armed Services Committee of trying “to micromanage DOD” by taking those and other measures, the…

US Must Do More In South China Sea, Urges Sen. McCain

US Must Do More In South China Sea, Urges Sen. McCain
US Must Do More In South China Sea, Urges Sen. McCain

SINGAPORE: In a clear message to the Obama Administration, our Pacific partners and to China, Sen. John McCain says the US military is not doing enough to challenge Chinese claims in the strategic South China Sea. Nor is the US doing enough to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, a vital economic objective in the…