Harder, faster, smarter: Pentagon special ops official on SOF of ‘tomorrow’
Speaking at SOF Week, the head of DoD’s Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict office said there’s no time for endless tech briefing slides, for example.
US special ops official lays out ‘strategic’ reason for Israel to better protect civilians
Chris Maier, assistant secretary of defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, said how the Israeli military operates "has concerned us at times."
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Turning R&D into reality to meet the challenges of the modern battlefield
Knowing when to build on commercial systems and when to develop something new can be the difference between parity and information dominance.
Special operations forces ‘big fan’ of Replicator, especially for Pacific missions
Chris Maier, assistant secretary of defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict, said that as "students of the Ukriane conflict," that fight has underscored that "mass matters."
What Really Matters In The Defense Authorization Act & What Didn’t Get Done
Most coverage of the annual defense policy bill has focused on program changes: more ships (including six icebreakers!), no change to F-35’s, more RDT&E, no JSTARS recap, a growl (but no more) on ZTE, and many more (the bill and report run 2,500 pages). Less discussed, but of more import in the long run, are the […]
Five Rules for Defense Spending
In 1796 Thomas Jefferson said there were two types of American political parties, “One which fears the people most, the other fears the government.” In domestic politics the contemporary American political divide is equally wide and Americans should not expect their elected leaders to change course one iota. National defense is different. There is a […]
Special Ops Office Needs To Grow; Meet Adm. McRaven’s Favorite Pundit, Linda Robinson
WASHINGTON: When Linda Robinson speaks, special operators listen. The “silent professionals” are — for good reason — traditionally tight-lipped. The chief of Special Operations Command, Adm. William McRaven, proved that again today during a panel at the Wilson Center, giving eloquent non-answers to questions about what might transpire in Syria, Afghanistan, and Yemen. But McRaven […]
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Keeping sensitive information safe in a new AI era
Why edge and endpoint security can’t be an afterthought.
Special Operations: What New Powers They Need From Congress & Pentagon
WASHINGTON: America’s commandos have been darlings of the Congress, Pentagon, and the media since 9/11. Now, as Special Operations Forces reorient from Iraq and Afghanistan to lower-profile missions worldwide in places like Mali, they will need new sources of funding and new legal authorities — changes that may rub both Congress and the four armed […]
Adm. Bill McRaven: SOCOM Struggles With CR, Sequester
[UPDATED with comments from Maj. Gen. Michael Repass, SOCEUR]WASHINGTON: Even the celebrated Special Operations Command is feeling the budgetary bite of Washington dysfunction, SOCOM chief Adm. William McRaven said today. “I haven’t gone through the list yet,” McRaven told reporters accosting him after a speech, but SOCOM will make cuts “just like the services” (the […]
Special Operators Try Again To Get More Dough, Control; Battles Likely With Hill And JCS
WASHINGTON: After a decade of war in which they played a key role and were rewarded with a doubling of their forces and budget, Special Operations leaders want still more — more people, more money and more authority to decide where their troops go and what they do. Those goals are likely to clash with […]
Direct Action Mission Likely To Decline for Special Operators
WASHINGTON: Over the next few years, Special Operations forces will gradually revert to the role that has been their bread and butter for much of their existence: training and assisting local forces around the globe to strengthen partners militaries. The global Special Operations presence will be large, some 12,000 troops around the world, according to […]
The state of play in military space
The military space sector is evolving fast. Get the latest from Space Force and industry officials on what’s next for acquisition, policy and training in a new Breaking Defense eBook.