LexNextThe Lexington
Policy Blog
- Early Lessons From The U.S. Army’s Campaign To Conquer COVID-19 (From Forbes)
The U.S. Army has done a remarkably effective job of responding to COVID-19. It has minimized the spread of the viral infection within its ranks, and helped local communities to cope with a surge in cases. So what lessons have Army leaders learned to date from their campaign to defeat the virus? Here are eight: (1) listen to soldiers in [ Read More…]
- Daniel Gouré, Ph.D.
- Private Companies Getting Us Through the Lockdown (From RealClearDefense)
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught all Americans about the importance of critical infrastructure and essential workers to our survival, as individuals and as a nation. Clearly, our health care system, encompassing hospitals, medical supply providers, pharmaceutical companies, scientists, doctors, nurses, technicians, support staff, and emergency response personnel, is at the top of the list. So too are the companies and [ Read More…]
- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
- How Aerojet Rocketdyne Manages To Play An Outsized Role In The U.S. Defense Supply Chain (From Forbes)
U.S. policymakers in recent years have become increasingly concerned about the fragility of the defense supply chain. Critical suppliers can become choke-points in the production process if their operations are impaired and no alternate source exists. A case in point is Aerojet Rocketdyne, one of only two major domestic sources of space and missile propulsion following a wave of sector [ Read More…]
- Five Glaring Errors: The U.S. Postal Service’s Bailout Request Numbers Do Not Add Up
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) wants an $89 billion federal bailout that it says is necessary because of the COVID-19 crisis. But unlike formerly profitable small businesses, hospitals and even local governments, USPS’s finances were a mess for more than a decade before COVID-19 hit. USPS’s projected near-term financial losses do not stand up to basic financial scrutiny, i.e., they do not add up. Even more troubling, USPS has not publicly documented why it needs such a large bailout, withholding [ Read More…]
- How The Navy’s CMV-22B Osprey Helps Make Distributed Maritime Operations A Reality (From Forbes)
The Navy is implementing a warfighting concept called Distributed Maritime Operations that disperses its warships over vast areas in order to optimize their offensive and defensive options. That will required it to change how it provides logistical support to the fleet at sea. The CMV-22B Osprey being developed to replace aging Greyhound “carrier onboard delivery” aircraft is well-suited to this task. Unlike Greyhound, it can land on vessels other than aircraft carriers, and it has far greater reach and speed [ Read More…]
- Cybersecurity Is An Important Part Of The Military’s Response To COVID-19 (From RealClearDefense)
The U.S. has shown that it can fight wars on multiple fronts: first, a global struggle against violent extremists, and now, the spread of a deadly virus in the homeland. At the same time, the military has continued to conduct a range of critical missions. One of these missions is working to ensure that military networks have sufficient cybersecurity capacities, including the ability to protect essential communications systems and data networks that support virus response efforts. In response to the [ Read More…]
- Will COVID-19 Reveal Hidden Gems In U.S.-Israeli Defense Industrial Cooperation?
FMF Reform In September 2016, a Security Assistance Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the United States and Israel, in which the US agreed to allocate $38 billion in foreign military financing (FMF) to Israel throughout the decade from 2019-2028. This figure is up from 30.0 billion in the previous decade. The agreement was criticized by Israeli industrialists, because it dictated that, unlike in past agreements, the amount of FMF would gradually be restricted for the exclusive purchase of US-made [ Read More…]
- Pentagon Study Would Cut Aircraft Carriers, Undermining Most Useful U.S. Warfighting System (From Forbes)
The Pentagon’s cost assessment and program evaluation shop, widely known as CAPE, has apparently proposed that the number of aircraft carriers in the U.S. fleet be reduced from eleven to nine. That would effectively reduce the number of carriers that could be forward deployed to two or three on a typical day. So on the days when only two are available, which regional commander needs to go without? Indo-Pacom? Centcom? The European Command? Large-deck, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are uniquely versatile [ Read More…]
- Leidos Discovers Its Business Model Adapts Surprisingly Well To Coronavirus (From Forbes)
If you were going to invent an enterprise that could cope well with a global pandemic, it would probably look a lot like Leidos. The $12 billion provider of IT, science and engineering services to federal customers is largely insulated from a flagging commercial economy, and its “capital light” business approach transitioned readily to telework when the crisis arose. Nonetheless, Chairman and CEO Roger Krone told me this week that he is “amazed” how quickly the company adjusted to the [ Read More…]
- Sequester Key Workers And Make This The Power Industry’s Finest Hour (From POWER Magazine)
It is important for power producers, utilities and grid operators to make sure critical employees, such as control room operators, are healthy and to have them live on-site until the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided. These highly skilled workers must work near one another in order to keep the electricity flowing and avoid blackouts. Having them infected with COVID-19 must be avoided as it presents a Hobbesian choice: risk workers’ lives or shut down the facility and put the pubic in [ Read More…]
- How Coronavirus Could Permanently Transform The U.S. Military (From Forbes)
Much of official Washington seems to believe that once the coronavirus crisis passes, the nation can get back to normal. That might turn out to not be the case. There may never be a reliable vaccine to ward off COVID-19, just as there has never been a vaccine for the common cold. Even if there is, it will take a long time arriving–maybe years. In the meantime, the military will have to adjust its training and operations to minimize the [ Read More…]
- Coronavirus Crisis A Good Time To Ask Why We Hate Big Tech So Much
The left, right and center of the American political system have all decided to apply the federal government’s full regulatory power to the U.S. information technology (IT) sector, and that might be a clue that we all need to reassess our position. As the coronavirus spreads, jeopardizing livelihoods and the economy at large, it may also be time for the government to reassess its relationship with robust private sector job creators, and stop seeking to tie them down and punish [ Read More…]
- Coronavirus Makes The National Security Case For Rebuilding U.S. Maritime Power Compelling (From Forbes)
The coronavirus crisis will lead to a great deal of reflection on how America deals with the rest of the world, particularly China. One area where Washington needs to reclaim lost ground is the commercial shipbuilding and shipping industry, where the U.S. has retreated while China has grown by leaps and bounds. Today the U.S. builds less than 1% of the world’s oceangoing commercial vessels, and only 1% of U.S. trade is carried on U.S.-flag vessels. Meanwhile, the biggest carrier [ Read More…]