Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks’ daily take on national security.
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A Soldier assigned to 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, conducts a helocast insertion into the Pacific Ocean near Marine Corps Training Area Bellows, Hawaii, on May 16, 2017. A UH-1Y “Super Huey” helicopter assigned to the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 provided aerial support for the Soldiers. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Armando R. Limon, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division) An interesting proposal to reduce suicide among people leaving the military
A lot of suicides occur when the new vet is transitioning from military to civilian life, writes Marine Sgt. James Galloway.
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Aust_soldiers_Finisterres Australian Brig. Ryan: Russ Glenn gets our mission command right — but we still have lots of work to do, especially in professional military education
Tom challenged me to reflect on Russ Glenn’s recent article in Parameters, about the theory and application of mission command in the Australian Army.
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800px-Pyle_pirate_plank_edited A submarine skipper reflects on the impact of ‘Loss of Confidence’ reliefs
Tom’s run a lot of news lately about reliefs.
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U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Victor Green, Camp Lemonnier military working dog handler, and his dog, Koko, cool down between detecting improvised explosive devices during a training exercise on Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, June 9, 2017. CJTF-HOA personnel conduct security force assistance to counter violent extremist organization operations, support aligned regional efforts, and protect U.S. interests in Djibouti. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Staff Sgt. Lindsay Cryer) Koko’s a hard-working bomb dog
You'd be tired too.
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South_China_Sea_claims_map Could the Chinese Communist Party survive dropping South China Sea claims?
The Chinese Communist Party’s very existence may rest on defending their claims in the South China Sea, and the party’s leadership knows it.
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Map_of_World_War_II_Japanese_American_internment_camps The next internment: Would Chinese in the U.S. be rounded up during a war?
Present U.S. leadership seems both to make war more likely through its bellicose rhetoric and to heighten the risk that the conflict would lead to violence against the American-Chinese population.
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6317453729_2ddcd0bcdc_o Reliefs, ousters, and military mischief-making by a general and various others
An Army two-star was acting inappropriately with a female captain, despite warnings from his chief of staff and his command sergeant major.
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women_at_the_siege_of_the_alcc3a1zar_in_toledo_-_google_art_project What are the chances of a second American Civil War? (A Best Defense update)
Last time out, in early March, when we discussed this, the consensus number for national security experts was at about 30 percent, with some outliers at 60 percent and even 95 percent.
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Couperet_à_débiter_les_lapins_04 You want military innovation? OK, let’s start by cutting the defense budget
“Limited resources tend to drive innovative,” argues retired Air Force Lt. Col. Dan Ward, an expert in defense acquisition.
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HOLLYWOOD, CA - MAY 25: Actress Gal Gadot arrives at the Premiere Of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Wonder Woman" at the Pantages Theatre on May 25, 2017 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) ‘Wonder Woman’: Wonderful war movie
The strength of the film is really in the ideas.
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South Carolina National Guard Air and Ground Expo 2017 OK, Metz concludes that Army leaders are failing small units by overburdening them. Do generals do the same with strategy?
Remember the item I ran recently about an article by Capt. J. Scott Metz in which he stated that our allies now are better at small unit tactics than we are?
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170522-A-RH707-231C ‘Mission Command 2.0’: A review
Anthony King's essay in the new issue of Parameters, titled “Mission Command 2.0: From and Individualist to a Collectivist Model,” is accurate and insightful.
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US Navy guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald arrves at its mother port US Naval Yokosuka Base, Kanagawa prefecture on June 17, 2017. The US and Japan launched a major search operation to find seven missing American sailors on June 17 after their navy destroyer collided with a container ship, crushing the side of the military vessel. / AFP PHOTO / Kazuhiro NOGI (Photo credit should read KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images) A skipper’s thoughts on the Fitzgerald
Final judgments on causes and blame will have to wait completion of the investigation, but there’s sufficient information to raise some early questions.
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Screen Shot 2017-06-23 at 9.57.44 AM Yes, there are times when it’s better for a country to be neutral than to be your ally
That seems counterintuitive. After all, in war, you need all the friends you can get, right?
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Wild Horses of JRTC Honorary war dog of the week: A wild horse hanging out at Fort Polk, La.
He’s lying down and doesn’t wish to be bothered by a bunch of noisy Humvees.
