Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks’ daily take on national security.
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Healy leaving dry dock Navy to civilian leadership: Screw off
Speaking of admirals, the Navy, apparently in defiance of Congress, quietly promoted one of its admirals who had retired after running afoul of an Inspector General investigation.
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S.C. National Guard Army Aviators Attend HAATS This is Colorado, not the Shah-i-Kot Valley
But it sure looks like Afghanistan.
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A scene from 'In the Clutches of the Gang', a Keystone Cops silent comedy directed by George Nichols and Mack Sennett. Left to right : Ford Sterling (on phone), Edgar Kennedy, George Jeskey, Al St John, Hank Mann, Rube Miller, and Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle (1887 - 1933). (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) Flynn’s big flip: The general doesn’t know much but the move increases pressures
The news that Michael Flynn has asked for immunity in exchange for testifying before Congress is interesting, but there may be less to it than meets the eye.
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US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on March 17, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images) The Trump handler diaries (II): What transpired when dog caught American car
Bottomless line: I HATE being Trump’s handler.
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MARINE AIR-GROUND TASK FORCE TRAINING CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. – Marine Working Dog Sgt. Linda, a patrol explosion detection dog with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, rests after a long day of kicking tail and barking names in a heloborn raid conducted by the Battalion Landing Team during Realistic Urban Training, March 12, 2017. RUT is a land-based exercise that provides an opportunity to integrate unique skills and develop the MEU’s collective proficiency in challenging and unfamiliar environments. The MEU maintains a high level of readiness to be where needed, when needed, and the units undergo demanding unit-level certification cycles to be proficient in every critical mission area Good working dog, tired after a long day
Her name is Linda, and she’s a Marine bomb dog.
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TX If you want to have a decent military 10 years from now, support education now
we can expect the slashes to the education budget to halt the little educational momentum we have achieved in the last couple of decades.
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test Book excerpt: A Marine officer looks back on his time advising an Iraqi battalion
The United States has made a habit of trying to remake the Muslim world.
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Stella,_Jacques,_The_Rape_of_the_Sabines,_mid_17th_century More academic news: Now you can get a master’s degree in military ethics
The Master of Arts (M.A.) in Military Ethics program formalizes a field of study that contends with questions of how advancing military technologies relate to the common humanity of both enemy and ally.
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USS_Yorktown_(CV-5)_is_hit_by_a_torpedo_on_4_June_1942 An old salt picks his 4 favorite American admirals—and explains why (Part I)
The four flag officers on my personal list of great American naval leaders have, in addition to the usual attributes, two odd things in common.
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MOSCOW, RUSSIA - MAY 08: A little boy inspects a billboard showing a winking Russian President Vladimir Putin and a bear as well as a t-shirt that reads: "I'm a friend of Putin" at Victory Park ahead of celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany and the end of World War II on May 8, 2015 in Moscow, Russia. The city of Moscow will celebrate the anniversary on May 9 with a Victory Day international military parade and other events that most European leaders are snubbing because they accuse Russia of involvement in the war in eastern Ukraine. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) How Russia stumbled into a winning strategy to undermine the West
As the Kremlin’s strategists look across the globe, they have reason to rejoice.
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Screen Shot 2017-03-29 at 9.43.45 AM Hats off to ARMY magazine
It is good to see a military magazine running on all cylinders.
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51UiXAphGgL Book excerpt: Defense Secretary Mattis discusses his favorite books, and why
General James Mattis has accumulated perhaps one of the largest personal libraries of an active-duty military officer ever known in the modern world.
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8151496998_16a3156fb1_o Do NCOs need to write better?: Hell no, says former enlisted guy who is a writer
If I were preparing my future NCO Corps for anything, it would be advanced math and computer skills.
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Country music star Craig Morgan, with band and guest musician U.S. Air Force Gen. Paul J. Selva, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, perform a song during a USO show at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, March 25, 2017. Gen. Selva, along with USO entertainers, visited service members who are stationed outside the continental U.S. at various locations across the globe. This year’s entertainers included mixed-martial artist Dominick Cruz, chef Robert Irvine, U.S. Olympic Swimmer Katie Meili, and mentalist Jim Karol. (DoD Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. James K. McCann) You know your band is doing well
When you afford to have a four-star on rhythm guitar.
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danica Why I don’t like to be thanked for my service — and why getting out is good
I didn’t volunteer to make a sacrifice.
