SOCOM Puts Laser Spotlight on AC-130 Gunships

There has been a lot written about expensive US Defense Department efforts to use aircraft-mounted laser beams to shoot down ICBMs or destroy vehicles on the ground. But US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is using non-lethal, and certainly much cheaper, commercial technology to combat fratricide in Afghanistan. Afghan troops were firing weapons at Americans. SOCOM…

Is Obama’s Drone Program Legal? Former Senior CIA Lawyer Isn’t Saying.

Memoirs often offer former senior US government officials an outlet to comment on programs about which they largely were silent while in office. When it comes to the legality of the Obama administration’s armed-drone program, such candor is needed. But, in his new memoir, the CIA’s former top lawyer is mostly mum on the topic.

A Visual Look Inside DoD’s 2015 Budget Proposal

Deciphering the Pentagon’s 2015 spending proposal has been difficult, but Defense News has some charts the could serve as a decoder ring. Out friends at VisualDoD helped us compile data from the Defense Department’s spending plan to create these detailed graphics, which tell a story on their own. First, the chart at the top of…

Air Guard Reminds Us, The A-10 Is Still Flying

The Air National Guard loves the A-10 Warthog, that’s no secret. After all, the Guard and Reserve fly more than 150 of the 340-plus aircraft in the Air Force’s inventory. Earlier this week, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced something we all knew was coming: The Air Force wants to retire the entire A-10 fleet of…

The 2011 HAC-D Hearing That Pushed Gates Over the Edge

A March 2011 fight with Congress over war funding confirmed to then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates that his decision to retire three months later was indeed the right one, he said in his new book. Gates recalled the contentious March 2, 2011, House Appropriations defense subcommittee (HAC-D) hearing in “Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War.” At…

Budget Shows Lawmakers More Invested in Afghanistan Than Rhetoric Indicates

Debt ceilings. Fiscal cliffs. Government shutdowns. Nuclear options. With those kinds of noisy debates driving most weeks on Capitol Hill, one could be excused for wondering if lawmakers already have washed their collective hands with the Afghanistan war. But when searching for an answer, as the old saying goes, just follow the money.

Here’s What Was Left on the NDAA Cutting Room Floor

Choosing to do something is an action. But, sometimes, so is choosing to not do something. That’s generally true with Congress. Which is why it’s always instructive to consider what lawmakers opt to exclude from legislation. The recently passed 2014 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is no different. Left out of the compromise version of…

MRAP: From Symbol of Iraq War to Symbol of Washington ‘Waste’?

The massive 14-ton, blast-resistant vehicles called MRAPs became the symbol of America’s misadventure in Iraq. And now, the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected trucks are, one US senator says, the symbol of Pentagon and congressional waste. Sen. Tom Coburn, a self-described “fiscal hawk,” on Tuesday unveiled his “Wastebook 2013,” which identifies a long list of federal government…