French Pilots Over Libya Decline US Intel; Clearance Just Too Slow

London: French air forces flying strike missions in Libya against Gaddafi’s loyalists are not using detailed imagery and intelligence provided by US airborne surveillance aircraft, according to statements made today by French pilots involved in those sorties. Since the first day of NATO air strikes in Libya, French combat air crews have been struggling to…

NATO Chief: Unity Needed To Survive Europe Budget Crisis

National Harbor: Strong, sustained cooperation for future military investments is the only way NATO will survive the massive budget cuts being pushed through by many of its partner nations, a top alliance official said today. Cooperation between NATO nations on building and maintaining its arsenal is critical “because there is no other choice”, Gen Stephane…

U.S. Should Help Secure Libyan WMD, House Intel Chief Says

Washington: The United States must help secure caches of Libyan military hardware, including chemical and biological weapons, so they do not fall into terrorist hands, the head of the House intelligence committee said today. “There are things that should still be done” by American forces in Libya, despite the fact that the U.S. handed over…

Libya Won’t Be Blueprint For Future Wars: General

Washington: The American battle plan executed in Libya will not be the blueprint for how the U.S. military wages war in the future, the Army general who was in charge of that effort said today. There were key lessons that U.S. forces did pick up during the Libyan mission that DoD can use in future…

Marines Create Group To Push For More Amphibs

Washington: The Marine Corps says it needs more amphibious ships. Now, thanks to a new working group, they will finally have the numbers to prove it. The working group, started today by Marine Corps Combat Development Command, will take information from upcoming amphibious exercises and use that data to as it presents the service’s arguments…

Small Group of U.S. Troops Hit Tripoli; State Department Tennis Shoes?

After repeated assurances that the U.S. military would not put “boots on the ground” to support the rebellion against Libyan dictator Muamar Gaddafi, a top military spokesman announced Monday that four American service members are on the ground in Tripoli. But they aren’t there to lead the fight against Gaddafi. The military personnel are part…

New Army Chief Warns On Deep Force Cuts

Washington: In his first speech as the Army’s new Chief of Staff, Gen Ray Odierno warned that large, rapid reductions to the service would put the nation at risk. Odierno officially took the reins from former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, who is replacing Adm. Mike Mullen as the Chairman of the Joint…

Amos Keeps Pushing For More Amphibs

Washington: Anyone who has tracked the defense budget battles inside the beltway knows the rhetoric can get repetitive if you listen long enough. The services versus the Pentagon, the services versus each other or the department versus other government agencies — the details differ, but the sentiment basically the same. Each program, be it a…

Want to Win Wars? Send the Army, Says Odierno

Washington: Wasting no time, Army Chief of Staff nominee Gen. Ray Odierno made it clear his vision for the Army once he takes the reins. If you want to win a war, you send the Army to do it. Not the Marines, the Air Force or the Navy. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee…

America’s Third Air Force: Future of the Marines

The future of the Marines, which has been hotly debated ever since Defense Secretary Robert Gates referred to it as our “second land army” days after he announced the closure of Joint Forces Command, may well lie more in the air than on the sea. If you want to glimpse that future you could look…

Deep DoD Budget Cuts Now Will Cost Much More Later

Politicians will say it’s easy to cut the defense budget. Just wring out the waste, fraud and abuse and… voila! Unfortunately for them, there’s no line in the Pentagon’s budget labeled “waste, fraud and abuse.” And so, when cuts are made, they often wind up reducing investment in specific capabilities sorely needed by those in…