Pentagon

The Pentagon’s Long, Slow Process of Getting New Tech Is About to Change

It takes what feels like an eternity for the Pentagon to adopt new technology. Often a system is already outdated by the time it is ready for combat. “It takes us a really long time to build anything new, usually between five to eight years for new technology to get to our warfighters,” Col. Bruce […]

Mattis an impressive person but is he right for SOF and the future of War?

The Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) is the principal defense policy advisor to the President. Under the direction of the President, the Secretary exercises authority, direction, and control over the Department of Defense. The Secretary of Defense is not a Joint Chiefs of Staff on steroids. It’s a policy implementation role, final authority, and principal liaison to the […]

Pentagon chief draws fire over ‘dangerous’ plan to relax military recruiting standards

Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s new proposal to relax the military’s recruiting standards for fitness and body composition is fraught with potential problems both politically and practically, observers say. Carter floated the idea during a speech in New York on Tuesday, suggesting current recruiting standards may be “overly restrictive” and result in the military rejecting people […]

Islamic State uses religious texts to substantiate coming loss in Mosul

The Islamic State relies on religious precedence to absolve responsibility for the individual and group. As such, they’re finding authority to run from the battle. Nearly everything that the Islamic State does, in their view, has some kind of canonical precedent. They wish to create their own currency, based on the Quranic meaning of currency, […]

10 soldiers have asked Army for transgender recognition after policy shift

Within weeks of the Pentagon allowing transgender service members to serve openly, Army officials said 10 soldiers have formally asked to be recognized as their new, preferred gender. The small number represents only those who have publicly said they are transgender, and doesn’t include soldiers who may be considering or beginning gender transition or those who […]

Defense Clandestine Service: HUMINT compliment to National Intelligence

The Military wants its spies that can go where traditional ones cannot. The world is becoming flush with proxy wars and fewer permissive environments. The world saw how potentially cumbersome GRS attached to American spies can be during meetings in “13 Hours.” But, they also felt the lack of tactical and situational awareness those spies […]

What if terrorists got their hands on explosives and a drone?

Our air traffic control system successfully monitors thousands of aircraft per day. Yet, no such system for monitoring drones exists, yet. And UAVs are not required to report their location, as aircraft does. Even so, drones are quickly becoming ubiquitous in our society, making it less likely for us to know if the flier has ill intentions, until it’s too late. A group of no-goodniks could easily fly an explosive-laden drone, or half a dozen of them, into an office building, a park, city square, or even a stadium full of spectators.

Saudi Arabia appears to be using U.S.-supplied white phosphorus in its war in Yemen

A Saudi Instagram account shows a shell with the words “Martyr Jamil Hadi” written on it. Additional images show that Saudi forces are using several systems for firing white phosphorus munitions, including tank rounds, mortars, howitzers and rifle grenades. The most recent footage — posted Sept. 9 — shows a U.S.-developed M198 155mm Saudi howitzer with the telltale sea-foam green white phosphorus rounds nearby ready to be loaded and fired.

The Pentagon Worried About Spreading Poisonous Debris in Iraq Strike

On Sept. 13, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, the top U.S. Air Force officer in charge of operations in the Middle East, announced that American jets — including deadly A-10 ground-attackers and lumbering B-52 bombers — had blown up a giant chemical weapons site in Iraq. According to the general, Islamic State terrorists had been using the converted pharmaceutical plant […]

US Special Forces to back Turkish troops in Syria

The special forces deployment comes as Washington accused Damascus of blocking aid to besieged cities and warned it will not boost military cooperation with Russia unless Moscow is able to convince President Bashar al-Assad both to halt attacks on rebel groups and allow humanitarian access.

U.S. military commanders are ‘pissed off’ about the mission creep in Syria

The U.S. has teams of special operations troops on the ground in Syria to support some Sunni Arab militias in fights against ISIS. Other Sunni Arab groups receive money and weapons from the U.S. In some situations, they fight alongside al Nusra militants against common enemies like ISIS.

That ambiguity will frustrate the Russians.

“The Russia would like to make it black and white, and say ‘U.S., you tell your guys to separate form Nusra.’ But I can’t see the U.S. being that black and white about it,” Lopour said.