Should you worry or is US military at the ready? By PAULINE JELINEK

DeM Banter:  Funny the question never really gets answered in the article does it. What's implied is no... we should not worry...or maybe the DoD does not know what "ready" means ..of course that is not what the Services are say...it's what Barry M. Blechman of the Stimson Center says...funny I have not run into him around …

The Reshaping of Pacific Defense: Interview With PacAF Gen. Hawk Carlisle By ROBBIN LAIRD and ED TIMPERLAKE

DeM Banter:  Fighting Crisis, Complexity, and Confusion (C3) with Communication, Collaboration, and Creative Thinking...the three Cs... View Original / ROBBIN LAIRD / ED TIMPERLAKE /Breaking Defense / 27 Nov 13 We interviewed Gen. Hawk Carlisle, the commander of Pacific Air Forces, at the Air Force Association’s Pacific Forum in Los Angeles, about the challenges facing the U.S. and its allies in shaping a 21st …

America forgetting lessons of Iraq, Afghanistan, general says in Colorado Springs speech By Tom Roeder

DeM Banter:  Another case of being "smarter than history?"  Do we really see a fight with China?  Or do we see more issues in the Mid-East?  I certainly know which one is "easier" to plan for..."H.R." McMaster...another great Hoover Fellow... gazette.com / View Original / November 24th, 2013 Herbert Raymond "H.R." McMaster, now a two-star general of some renown, returned …

Defense Senior Civilian Vacancies On the Rise By Sandra I. Erwin

DeM Banter:  So I've got a few resumes out..."what are we going to today Brain...????" View Original Defense industry leaders are growing uneasy over the number of unfilled senior civilian posts at the Pentagon. Many of the current vacancies have not been filled because the Obama administration has not yet named candidates. Others are positions …

Special Report – The Pentagon’s doctored ledgers conceal epic waste BY SCOT J. PALTROW

DeM Banter:  Leadership challenge?  The implication is this is simply too hard...or that's what one would get from reading the article...really? Who is accountable? The Services? It was an OSD decision to place all of this under one roof--so is it OSD and the SecDef? Or is is some guy name Matt Foley "35 years …

How big an Army do we need? BY MICHAEL O’HANLON

DeM Banter:  Are we indeed NOW smarter than history?  Interesting times...any bets on how long until we turn this around (will it be too late) ?  And...isn't the sequester the ultimate non-decision decision ever? Need more coffee.... Los Angles Times / View Original / 18 Nov 2013November 15, 2013Almost every time this country finishes a major …

Can the Defense Budget Shrink Without Risking National Security? By Eric Schnurer

DeM Banter:  Nice thought piece... but I would offer; if it were so easy... it would have been done by now.  I know I keep beating on this...but WHAT DO YOU WANT THE US MILITARY TO DO?  This is the job of the Executive to develop and deploy a National Security Strategy.  There will be …