In the face of repeated major exploitations of critical U.S. networks, it is past time for the U.S. government to recognize that traditional security systems such as perimeter entry controls or whitelists are no longer adequate. As the SolarWinds hack proved, any security system can be penetrated with enough time and effort. Cybersecurity must be based on “zero trust,” which assumes that threats exist continually both inside and outside a network or cloud environment. A strategy of zero trust must [ Read More…]

A groundbreaking new model for schooling underway in North Las Vegas is increasingly gaining national attention. When it became clear that the Clark County School District would not be open for in-person schooling at the start of the year and height of COVID spread, the forward-thinking leadership of the City of North Las Vegas took a radical step – they contracted with a capable nonprofit organization to operate in-person microschools every day in its recreation centers and libraries. Thus, the [ Read More…]

The U.S. is squandering a major opportunity in the fight against the opioid epidemic by failing to take strong steps to identify and seize opioids shipped to America from China and elsewhere overseas. At issue is the centerpiece of comprehensive legislation enacted in 2018 to address the opioid epidemic – the Synthetics Trafficking and Overdose Prevention Act (STOP Act). Interim final regulations issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on March 15, 2021 should be strengthened as it remains far [ Read More…]

The U.S. Army’s objections to Block II upgrades of the Chinook helicopter seem to be softening. On Wednesday of this week, Army Chief of Staff James McConville told the House defense appropriations subcommittee that his service needs the additional lift provided by the upgrades, and is mindful of the industrial base impacts if the upgrades do not go forward. The industrial fallout really would be significant, potentially shutting the main production line at the biggest industrial complex in southeastern Pennsylvania [ Read More…]

Given the growing threats posed by Russia and China to U.S. security and tightening defense budgets, it makes sense to protect highly successful acquisition programs wherever possible, if only as a hedge against uncertainty. One such program is the Coast Guard’s Legend-class National Security Cutter (NSC). Despite the demonstrated value of the NSC, strong bipartisan Congressional support for these ships, and the fact that the NSC supports thousands of high paying manufacturing jobs across the country, the Coast Guard is [ Read More…]

The U.S. Army’s competition to find a successor for the Bradley fighting vehicle is attracting some heavy hitters from industry. The most unusual team is an alliance of truck-maker Oshkosh and South Korean industrial conglomerate Hanwha, offering an evolved version of Hanwha’s K21 vehicle. What makes the team unusual is that Oshkosh has never built a tracked combat vehicle and Hanwha has a very minimal footprint in the U.S. defense market. The idea they would be able to best world-class [ Read More…]

In an era of great power competition, the U.S. military has had to relearn a number of strategic facts. Perhaps the most important of these is the central role that sealift has played in the United States’ ability to project power abroad. During the Cold War, the U.S. was able to not only deploy large forces overseas but move and sustain entire armies around the world. Today, 90 percent of U.S. forces are based on CONUS. They will have to [ Read More…]

After protracted domestic unrest in 2020 in the form of massive protests attempting to oust Belarus’ president Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the country’s government is teetering on the verge of collapse. Moscow has rushed in to fill the vacuum. Lukashenka has suddenly fallen in line with Moscow’s agenda, despite years of resistance to encroaching Russian economic influence. Now it is probable that Russia is facilitating a soft takeover of the former Soviet republic. Moscow’s twenty-first-century ambitions to expand its sphere of influence [ Read More…]

Boeing has issued the first diversity report on its workforce ever produced in the company’s 105-year history. It showed that 22.9% of workers were female, including 31.8% of executives. Relative to the general population, Asian Americans are statistically over-represented among the ranks of Boeing workers at all levels, while African Americans and Latinos are under-represented. The company is committing to a series of inclusiveness initiatives aimed at raising the level of African American employment while fashioning a culture that is [ Read More…]

The U.S. Army is pursuing development initiatives that could provide it with long-range fires capable of precisely targeting enemy assets a thousand or more miles away. Some air-power proponents don’t like the idea, saying it replicates capabilities already resident in the heavy bomber force. However, there are numerous reasons why the Army initiatives would be value-added in future conflicts, not the least of which is the declining survivability of bombers in contested air space. It may well be that the [ Read More…]