Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks’ daily take on national security.
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Staff Sgt. Andrew Garrett, 122nd Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler, carries his MWD during the 2015 Emerald Coast K-9 Clash, Sept. 4, 2015, at Hurlburt Field, Fla. The two-day competition began at dawn on Friday with the “Iron Dog” endurance event, which began with a 6-mile ruck march in which the dog handlers carried a heavy ruck sack on their backs. That challenge was followed by a 1.5-mile run, culminating with a 1-mile “buddy carry.” (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ryan Conroy/Released) Dogs: Sometimes you need to help them
Even if you are tired too.
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51L-tAAgCJL Book excerpt: ‘The Final Mission of ‘Extortion 17’ in Afghanistan
This chapter documents the never-before-revealed final minutes of Extortion 17’s fateful mission into Afghanistan’s Tangi Valley.
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Yamato1945 Will the USS Gerald Ford be remembered as the doomed Yamato of the carrier era?
What matters most is not how lethal a carrier is, but what threats it can endure.
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Reading_rainbow2ndlogo Reading rainbow: Listing the lists
Some of H.R. McMaster’s greatest hits, and more.
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soldierreadinglist I am pleasantly surprised to see that two of my books are on the Army’s reading list
Fiasco's relevance endures.
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51DECk6s88L Book excerpt: Why the U.S. Army can’t do mission command, even when it tries to
The most troubling aspect of the Army’s bureaucratic mindset is the relegation of commanders from the role of leader to manager/administrator-in-chief
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vietnam pbs Vietnam: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick take a long look at the war that took our sunshine away
Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's new Vietnam War documentary is an opportunity to reexamine the noble intentions behind America's poorly executed war effort.
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Frederick_Kroesen_VCSA Kroesen strikes out again: Are diversity and political correctness really what’s hurting the Army’s educational system?
Diversity, along with more rigorous academic standards, would greatly improve military education.
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dunkirk_film_poster ‘Dunkirk’: I finally saw it
My wife and I had some downtime in Portland, Maine, before I gave a talk there, so we dropped in to see “Dunkirk.”
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Comic_Book_-_Batman_251_Cover_(1973) Edgar on Strategy (I): Please allow me to introduce myself, I’m an anti-strategist
What we are trying to do, and why it's so hard to get there.
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41G59x-2cmL._SX327_BO1,204,203,200_ Tom is speaking in Belfast, Maine, tonight
The lessons of Churchill and Orwell for the modern world.
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170831-N-KL846-150 VIDOR, Texas (Aug. 31, 2017) Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class Jansen Schamp, a native of Denver, Colorado and assigned to the Dragon Whales of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, rescues two dogs at Pine Forrest Elementary School, a shelter that required evacuation after flood waters from Hurricane Harvey reached its grounds. The mission resulted in the rescue of seven adults, seven children and four dogs. U.S. Fleet Forces Command sent personnel and assets to bolster Northern Command's support of FEMA's assistance to federal, state and local authorities ongoing relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Hurricane Harvey formed in the Gulf of Mexico and made landfall in southeastern Texas, bringing record flooding and destruction to the region. (U.S. Navy Video by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Christopher Lindahl/Released) Hurricane Harvey dogs
Two puppies rescued from the flood.
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20151030_Syrians_and_Iraq_refugees_arrive_at_Skala_Sykamias_Lesvos_Greece_2 What is moral injury, and how does it affect journalists covering bad stuff?
The psychologically debilitating hazards of crisis reporting impacts reporters who cover combat.
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Task Force Flying Dragons Aviators Fly to Operating Base Fenty Here we go again in Afghanistan
The newly announced Afghanistan strategy differs only in style, not substance, from the strategies of the past, and certainly from the current strategy.
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Makin Island Deployment USMC should drop the F-35 and V-22 — and perhaps the F-18 while it’s at it
Plus, more on the future of the UCAV carrier.
