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DeM Banter: Interesting times...it would seem no one wants a to pay for a strong military until they want a strong military...at that point it might be too late. The strategic warning signs of conflict are screaming...but it looks as if we will simply ignore those. Where do we chose to invest our very limited …
Continue reading "Five Takeaways from a Decade of War By James Kitfield"
DeM Banter: It's all about strategy...do we have one? It's not easy, it won't make everyone happy...but without one we have no true priorities, no objective, no real way to know what to fund, what to build, what to defend. Interesting read...link to the full report at the bottom. http://www.aei.org / View Original / October 31st, 2013 When President …
Continue reading "A Strong and Focused National Security Strategy by Jim Talent and Jon Kyl"
DeMarco Banter: A book recommended by Neil Stott, of Cambridge University's Judge Business School...and now by The Economist....will need to pick it up, but it sounds as if any member of the US Federal Government should read as well... Strategy: A History. By Lawrence Freedman. Oxford University Press USA; 751 pages; $34.95. Buy from Amazon.com EVERYONE, it seems, is …
DeM Banter: IF this could work...and IF this were the only thing needed... would the culture of the DoD accept it? IF this could take hold... it is only a small drop in a massive bucket. A couple lines that are of concern..."unconventional warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan have “distorted” the skills of the U.S. …
DeM Banter: I'm still looking for the ah-ha moment...where it all begins to make sense...anyone? Bueller? http://www.defensenews.com / View Original / October 22nd, 2013 Though the discussion was about building the Army that will exist beyond 2020, many attitudes and approaches were met with real-time frustrations from service members, foreign militaries and industry leaders. The goal is to go …
Continue reading "Looking to the Future: Army 2020 By Lance M. Bacon"
DeM Banter: How much is enough? We seem to be running headlong into a 1984-esqu dystopian society and what is shocking is there is not more of an outcry. We need a "roles and missions" conversation and a constitutional review. If we could be more transparent in how we discussed and how we illustrate success …
Continue reading "Our Fear of Al-Qaeda Hurts Us More Than Al-Qaeda Does By David Rohde"
DeM Banter: Not sure I agree with Ricks...there has been a good bit of introspect and study on just about everything over the past decade of war....except leadership...and on that topic all I can speak to is the USAF and corporatly we are at a place where we don't even feel we need a leadership …
Continue reading "Can the military learn from its mistakes? BY THOMAS E. RICKS,"
DeM Banter: There is a standard... I know we don't like to talk about it but we need to... there are expectations of leaders...no matter what network TV says, the press, or anyone else... a comment like: “What I think is happening is that in a combat setting where you value competence, sometimes character got a …
Continue reading "Spate of military misconduct cases worries Pentagon brass by David S. Cloud"
DeM Banter: And the hits just keep coming... The USAF has core values.... Service, Excellence, and Integrity... I have always had my own... Honor, Respect, and Loyalty...and...Integrity has to be a baseline...Wonder what our nation's core values are? Something to ponder today... http://www.nytimes.com / View Original / October 23rd, 2013 BERLIN — The diplomatic fallout from the documents harvested …
Continue reading "Anger Growing Among Allies on U.S. Spying By Alison Smale"
DeM Banter: Increasingly having to go to foreign papers for data... or maybe it is just me...and then there's this...as we leave the AOR...what will be the US legacy? Islamabad, www.telegraph.co.uk / View Original / October 22nd, 2013 Amnesty International says US may be guilty of war crimes over its use of drone strikes after finding evidence of civilian deaths …
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