Make Or Break Arguing complexity is killing aerospace, Darpa seeks simpler and faster design process By Graham Warwick

DeM Banter: something will have to give... Aviation Week & Space Technology November 5, 2012 Pg. 76 By Graham Warwick No one could accuse the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of lacking imagination. But to rethink the entire design, development and manufacturing process used by aerospace for decades is ambitious, even for the agency …

Defense In 2013: By Kevin Baron, Gordon Lubold and John Reed

DeM Banter: don't have much to say...in days we will know...but the authors need to be careful, their unbiased bias (or is it bias unbiased) is showing...along with their epidermis... ForeignPolicy.com November 2, 2012 Who wins, depending on who wins. No matter which man wins the presidency, the Pentagon is going to keep taking that …

Inside The Geriatric Unit: US Air Force Struggles To Keep Aging Aircraft Flying By Associated Press

DeM Banter: a little ink for the USAF and issues we share with the USN. Many issues here, from a lack of strategy to a decrepit acquisitions system that must adapt and change soon, but as noted by retired Gen Wald in an earlier post...we can to it all cheaper and more efficiently, but there …

Should ‘The Generals’ Get Fired More Often? By NPR Staff

view original / npr.org DeM Banter:   Reading Thomas E Ricks' book now... it sure it getting a lot of ink...any one else picked it up yet? One issue that has received little attention in this year's presidential race is the war in Afghanistan. But according to Thomas E. Ricks, we should be paying attention — specifically …

Colin Powell on why he doesn’t regret a thing by Nigel Farndale

telegraph.co.uk / view original / Nigel Farndale DeM Banter:  an American Hero... Reagan and Bush trusted him. Bill Clinton feared him. Opponents of the war in Iraq blamed him. But why didn’t Colin Powell seize power when he had the chance? Having read that General Colin Powell insists on punctuality, I arrive an hour before my appointment at …

Unmanned aerial vehicles Death From Afar: The Economist

DeM Banter: more discussion and debate...wonder when this will all come to a head? And what event will cause it? The Economist November 3, 2012 America uses drones a lot, in secret and largely unencumbered by declared rules. Worries about that abound, not least in the administration Drones are hardly synonymous with harmony. But in …

Think Tank Recommends Ways To Rein In Military Pay, Benefits By Kellie Lunney

DeM Banter: something has got to give...no? If Mil Pay is to be adjusted, does this make sense? GovExec.com November 1, 2012 The government must reform military pay and benefits to help the Defense Department rein in spending, according to a new report from a left-leaning think tank. The Center for American Progress praised Pentagon …

Open Seas: The Arctic is the Mediterranean of the 21st century. By James Holmes

DeM Banter: is this anything? I tend to think so. It's not hard to envision the US being wrapped around the axle with climate change while other nation exploit opportunity. In the past, U.S. leaders who felt the tug of the sea -- notably Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, and Alfred Thayer Mahan -- glimpsed …

The American Boy by Theodore Roosevelt (and the Art of Manliness)

DeM Banter: The Art of Manliness, a stellar blog that has grown into books, a storefront and beyond. I started reading the blog years ago....and introduced Luke to it. As the years go on, Luke asked me if I had continued to read....and I had to admit it slipped from my "crosscheck." Well, it's back... …