Mark Lippert Leaves NSC for SEALs
Now here's something you don't see every day: Mark Lippert, chief of staff of the National Security Council and a close friend of President Obama, has decided to leave the administration to return to active duty in the Navy. George Stephanopoulos reports: When Barack Obama came to the Senate, Mark Lippert -- a veteran Senate aide and newly-minted Naval Reserve officer ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on October 1, 2009 11:25
C6ISR
Kevin Coleman ends an interesting post on the difficulties facing the new Cyber Command with the observation that: As everyone knows C4ISR stands for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance. It appears the time has come to add collaboration and coordination to C4ISR and update it to C6ISR. If that happens, we must make every effort to streamline the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on September 28, 2009 11:02
The Neuroscience of “Enhanced Interrogation”
Wired reports that studies show that "enhanced interrogation", far from being a reliable source of information, can actually make someone less of an intelligence asset because the stress involved changes the biochemistry of the brain:“There is a vast literature on the effects of extreme stress on motivation, mood and memory, using both animals and humans,” writes Shane O’Mara, a stress ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on September 22, 2009 11:23
Debating Afghanistan
An interesting sidebar to the debate sparked by the leak of General McChrystal's Afghanistan strategy review is the question of how such debates should take place to begin with. Peter Feaver complains that the president has been rushed by leaks. Pat Lang is irked by the fact that the likely leaker wore a military uniform, possibly even a general's stars. Meanwhile, ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on September 21, 2009 15:36
NYT and the Farrell Rescue
[caption id="attachment_41922" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Corporal John Harrison (left) was killed in the SAS-led operation to rescue British journalist Stephen Farrell (right), which was launched after officials received intelligence that he was about to be moved into Pakistan's tribal areas"][/caption] Tunku Varadarajan argues the New York Times has a moral obligation for getting two people killed by sending Stephen Farrell into ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on September 15, 2009 13:39
‘Free’ Medical Care for Military
Amongst the many stories circulating about the suddenly-famous Rep. Joe Wilson (who once used caffeine!) is that he's opposed to government provided health care for non-citizens in the United States in violation of our immigration laws* yet he and his son shamelessly take it just because they're in the National Guard! Indeed, this is apparently their "dirty little secret." He's passionate! ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on September 11, 2009 07:48
Quote of the Day – Iraq Edition
"After almost 6 1/2 years, and 4,327 American dead and 31,483 wounded, with a war spiraling downward in Afghanistan, it would be indefensible for the U.S. military -- overextended and in need of materiel repair and mental recuperation -- to loiter in Iraq to improve the instincts of corrupt elites. If there is a worse use of the U.S. military ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on September 4, 2009 06:53
Army’s New Parachute
Back in the days when men were men, Army paratroopers jumped with 'chutes like the T-10 Charlie or the Dash One Bravo. Now, they've switched to wimpy little 'chutes that provide soft landings. Nathan Hodge: Today’s soldiers are weighed down with a ton of gear, and the Army wanted a new parachute that could carry a paratrooper with a total jump weight ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 29, 2009 09:00
Petraeus Air Force Joke
[caption id="attachment_41252" align="alignright" width="400" caption="Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, lectures in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan / Getty"][/caption] General David Petraeus made a funny at the expense of the Air Force in his remarks at the Marine Corps Association Foundation dinner last month: Come to think of it, in fact another bedrock element of the Marine Corps is unquestionably having ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 27, 2009 08:12
Scott Speicher Remains Found
Captain Scott Speicher's remains have been found more than eighteen years after he was shot down during Desert Storm. The remains of the first American lost in the Persian Gulf War have been found in Iraq, the military said Sunday, after struggling for nearly two decades with the question of whether he was dead or alive. The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on August 2, 2009 08:18
Mmmm, C-Rats
They just don't make pound cake like they used to: [caption id="attachment_39955" align="alignright" width="350" caption="Col. Henry A. Moak Jr. digs in to an Army ration pound cake from 1973 at his retirement party. (Staff Sgt. Sun Vega/U.S. Army)"][/caption] Forty years later, Henry A. Moak, Jr., still loves his pound cake. The Army colonel popped open an old military 'C' Ration can of ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 27, 2009 12:47
Quote of the Day – COIN Edition
"[General Stanley] McChrystal is not inclined to draw attention to his storied history as a special operator. But when he tells you that it's impossible to kill your way out of this war, you believe him -- because Lord knows, he's tried." - Andrew Exum, reporting back to Abu Muqawama after a month working on a project for ISAF in ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 24, 2009 11:12
Medal of Honor a Posthumous Award Only?
The Conservative Wahoo makes an interesting point: "Are There No Live People Worthy of the Medal of Honor?" News yesterday of the upcoming posthumous award of the Medal of Honor to SFC Jared Monti, USA for conspicuous gallantry in Afghanistan. I am humbled and awed any time I read of the bravery and selflessness of those who earn this most ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 24, 2009 08:21
DoD Schools as Reform Model?
Tim Harwood looks at a recent National Center of Education Statistics report [PDF] titled "Achievement Gaps: How Black and White Students in Public Schools Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress." In particular, he highlights the fact that "Black students at the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) have consistently scored at the top or ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 19, 2009 07:41
Institutionalizing Imperialism?
In a speech to the Atlantic Council this morning, Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, argues that we need an "international FEMA" to coordinate complex contingency operations across the various agencies of the American government and institutionalize lessons learned. You can listen to the audio at the link. What struck me about the presentation, as I outline at some ...Posted in Outside The Beltway on July 15, 2009 14:26
