Previewing the Budget

By Brian W. Everstine
Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Feb. 2 previewed the Defense Department’s $582.7 billion Fiscal 2017 budget request, which is less than last year’s $585 billion request though he said it includes increases in strategic areas. The budget quadruples funding for...

A-10 Supporters in Hog Heaven

By Brian W. Everstine
The Pentagon has switched course and now plans to keep the A-10 fleet operational until 2022, when it will replace the aircraft with F-35s on a squadron-by-squadron basis, said Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday during a speech previewing the...

Investing in Game-Changing Tech

By Brian W. Everstine
The Defense Department’s Fiscal 2017 budget request will include $71.4 billion for new “game-changing” technological advances that sound like they were ripped from the pages of science fiction. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the Pentagon’s Strategic Capabilities Office will create...

Increasing the European Commitment

By Brian W. Everstine
The dramatic increase in funding for the European Reassurance Initiative reflects sustained assurance to allies and a way to bolster NATO’s much-needed defense capabilities following Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, President Obama said in a? Feb. 2 statement. The Defense Department’s...

More Money, Less Problems

By Jennifer Hlad
The discussion about the defense budget needs to change, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on seapower and projection forces told reporters Feb. 2. “What really concerns me is the continued discussion of national defense as if...

SEAL to Receive Medal of Honor

By Brian W. Everstine
President Obama this month will award the Medal of Honor to a Navy SEAL involved in a December 2012 rescue of an American doctor held captive by the Taliban, according to a White House statement. Navy Senior Chief Special Warfare...

A Complex Battlefield

By Jennifer Hlad
While the militaries of democratic countries go to great lengths to abide by the Law of Armed Conflict, terrorist groups and non-state forces purposely abuse those rules for their own gain, which creates an extraordinarily complex battlefield for today’s troops,...

BACN Hits 100,000 Mark

The Battlefield Airborne Communications Node, known as BACN, reached 100,000 combat flight hours on Jan. 30, according to a release. The program, which was designed to improve interoperability among air, space, and surface systems, forwards and translates voice and data...

Arming More Airmen

By Jennifer Hlad
Air Force installations around the US are beginning to arm more security forces airmen, as part of a response to recent shootings on and off base. The security forces staff arming program, unit marshal program, and the Law Enforcement Officer...

WASP Bill Gains Steam

By Jennifer Hlad
Legislation to allow Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs) to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery has gained support in both the House and Senate, as well as endorsements from several military organizations. Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) introduced a bill...