Early Warning Blog
QDR (II): Health Care Costs Hamper Gates Reforms
Recognizing that the resource spigot will be closing, the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) organized a special cost group to find ways of saving money. This group has identified runaway health care costs as a critical issue. During the Bush years (2001-2008), military health care costs rose 144 percent, faster than in the general
Joint Stars: Is Air Force Letting Down Soldiers?
One reason defense secretary Robert Gates decided the Air Force needed a change of leaders last year was his perception the service was too slow in providing intelligence to U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. His concern was mostly about the availability of Predator unmanned surveillance aircraft, but there's a new
A Low-Cost Solution to Missile Defense
N is for net-centric and the Air Force’s latest move to get ahead in the ballistic missile defense game depends on it. The Net Centric Airborne Defense Element (NCADE) is a modified AMRAAM air-to-air missile primed to chase and hit enemy ballistic missiles. Fighters such as the F-15, F-16, F-22 and future F-35 could
End of Empire (I)
If you think the Obama Administration's plan to hold defense spending steady over the next few years sounds feasible, consider this. The national debt has increased by nearly a trillion dollars since election day, and the deficit of tax receipts below federal spending will equal 13% of the economy this year. Just the interest on the
QDR (I): More Social Work for America’s Soldiers
The new Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) will drag the United States even further down the dead-end road of seeking security through nation building and social engineering. Gone from the list of military objectives that will guide force development is the one about fighting and winning the nation’s wars (except for the two legacy conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan).
Lockheed Lobbyists Bystanders in F-22 Vote
After spending big money to promote its F-22 Raptor during the early months of the Obama Administration, prime contractor Lockheed Martin barely lifted a finger to support the plane in last week's crucial Senate vote. The company decided shortly after defense secretary Robert Gates decided to kill F-22 in April that it was going to
Gates’ War on the F-22
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ continuing war on the F-22 would benefit from less passion and more facts. The Secretary claims that studies prove that there is no need for additional F-22s beyond the currently planned 187. FACT: Numerous sources have testified before Congress that all known studies indicate the number should be no less than 240 and even as high as 381. The Secretary asserts that the F-22 is a “silver bullet” capability, one good for only one or two scenarios.
Vickers on the Future
Pentagon guru Michael Vickers is Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict, but he’s much more than just a top counterinsurgency expert. For over a year his office’s portfolio has included advising on the full range of integrated capabilities for force application – Pentagon-speak for nearly everything the military does, from nuclear missions to special ops.
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