Winslow Wheeler: US Navy Status Quo Culture — Lessons Not Learned, Substituting Pork and Lies for Effective Weapons Systems + US Flag Officer Lack of Integrity RECAP

I recently finished reading Roger Thompson’s Lessons Not Learned: The U.S. Navy’s Status Quo Culture (Naval Institute Press, 2007).  I urge those who think we enjoy now and will enjoy in the future some sort of superiority on the seas to read this book.  You will find tidbits that you contest, but you will also …

NIGHTWATCH: China Putting Troops Into Africa, Middle East & Africa Unraveling — Truth Still a Casualty

China-Mali: For the record. China has offered to send more than 500 soldiers to the UN force seeking to contain Islamist militants in Mali .  This would be China’s largest UN peacekeeping contingent. Iraq: An attack at a military checkpoint at Taji, north of Baghdad, on Thursday killed 11 people, including four soldiers, and wounded …

References: NATO Transformation Process Documents — and Gaps + Peace from Above RECAP

Connected Forces Initiative (latest NATO HQ initiative, should prioritize future ACT work, currently under initial study) After 2014, NATO is expected to shift its emphasis from operational engagement to operational preparedness. This means NATO will need to remain capable of performing its core tasks – described in its Strategic Concept¹ – and of maintaining its …

Marcus Aurelius: SECDEF on Furloughs — and No Answer to Question Why Not Contractors First….

Latest info from SECDEF on furloughs: a.  BLUF:  11 days, 1 day per week, starting 08 Jul and continuing through end FY13. b.  Appeared to waffle by providing non-answer to employee’s question as to whether mandated savings could be obtained by cutting contractors rather than direct-hire civil servants. c.  Never pinned blame where it belongs:  …

Mini-Me: Air Force Nuclear Rotten; Nuclear Budget Waste to Point of Treason — Where, We Ask, Does the Buck Stop on This Nonsense?

Huh? AP Exclusive: Air Force sidelines 17 nuclear missile officers; commander cites ‘rot’ in system WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel demanded more information Wednesday after the Air Force removed 17 launch officers from duty at a nuclear missile base in North Dakota over what a commander called “rot” in the force. The Air Force …

Marcus Aureleus: From 1 to 10 Camouflage Patterns – Study in Washington Redundancy & Waste — USAF Denies Spending $500M on Digital Cloak to Create Invisible Airmen

With 10 patterns, U.S. military branches out on camouflage front By David A. Fahrenthold, Washington Post, Published: May 8, 2013 In 2002, the U.S. military had just two kinds of camouflage uniforms. One was green, for the woods. The other was brown, for the desert.Then things got strange. Today, there is one camouflage pattern just for …

Marcus Aurelius: Manifesto on Behalf of the Second Amendment

Provided by a retired Marine colonel and apparently written by a former Servicemember and/or law enforcement officer, following is among  very best articles on Second Amendment issue that I’ve ever read.)  Snell: Waking the dragon — How Feinstein fiddled while America burned By Barry Snell, barry.snell@iowastatedaily.com | Posted: Friday, May 3, 2013 12:00 am Along with …