Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
Army Acquisition “System” Crushes Another Program Issue BriefThe Iraq war has revealed grave deficiencies in America’s Army. The active-duty force is too small to sustain a protracted counter-insurgency campaign. The service lacks vital language skills and cultural knowledge. Its tactical intelligence capabilities are mediocre at [Read More...]
Democrats Warm To Defense Industry As Republicans Turn Away Issue BriefTwo developments last week lend credence to the idea that the national political parties are trading places in their approach to the defense industry. On April 3, the Bush Administration’s Navy Secretary assailed shipbuilders, complaining of unreliable cost [Read More...]
Reconnaissance Assets Undercut By Pentagon Infighting Issue BriefThe U.S. intelligence community faces daunting challenges. Threats have become more elusive. Collection priorities have shifted to languages and cultures that few Americans understand. Security restrictions impede recruitment of personnel. With so many real problems to overcome, you’d [Read More...]
Saving CSAR: Combat Search-and-Rescue At Risk Issue BriefIn the years since 9-11, Air Force combat search-and-rescue helicopters have saved about 500 soldiers, sailors and airmen from dangerous situations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Having a dedicated fleet of helicopters that can quickly evacuate wounded or endangered [Read More...]
Fate of Surface Navy Rides on Littoral Combat Ship Issue BriefWhen the cold war ended, the U.S. Navy faced a crisis of relevance. For the first time in living memory, no Red Navy or Imperial Fleet challenged America’s control of the high seas. Having spent the entire 20th [Read More...]
Media Meltdown: Is The Notion of “News” Dying? Issue BriefQuick quiz: Which sector of the economy is facing such a bleak outlook that some analysts doubt it will ever recover? Housing? Autos? Wrong — it’s the news business! If you thought your favorite news outlet was a [Read More...]
Air Force: Great At Winning Wars, Not At Communicating Issue BriefThere was a time when proponents of air power were too blunt for their own good. British Air Marshall Hugh Trenchard complained that Billy Mitchell tried “to convert his opponents by killing them.” Gen. Curtis LeMay told a [Read More...]
The Logic of Maritime Domain Awareness Research StudyThe United States and it allies face a diverse array of security problems in the emerging global landscape, ranging from terrorism and insurgency to arms trafficking and illegal migration. Many of these problems have a maritime dimension that [Read More...]
It Can’t Happen Here Issue BriefBack in the 1960s, before Britney and Ludicris were even born, Frank Zappa was the most outrageous act in popular music. Zappa delighted in lampooning the complacency of middle-class America, most memorably in his a capella song, “It [Read More...]
Joint Common Missile: Why Argue With Success? Issue BriefHere’s a fantasy. Imagine three military services agreed on the need for a versatile air-to-ground missile that could precisely destroy a wide range of elusive targets — everything from camouflaged armored vehicles to terrorist speedboats. Imagine they found [Read More...]