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America Needs to Rethink Relocation Challenges for Its Afghan Fighters

12/18/2025 By James Durso After NATO forces evacuated Kabul in August 2021, the U.S. government implemented Operation Allies Welcome to remove Afghan allies, including interpreters, embassy staff, and others who worked alongside U.S. forces. The program provided humanitarian parole and resettlement opportunities for those evacuated during the chaotic airlift from Kabul. Included in “others who worked alongside U.S. forces” were 10,000… Read more »

Mission Debrief: The 2011 Libya TRAP Mission

12/17/2025 High over the Libyan desert on March 21, 2011, a critical malfunction sent a U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle plummeting towards the sand. The two crew members ejected into hostile territory, landing miles apart. While the Weapons Systems Officer was quickly recovered by friendly rebel sympathizers, the pilot, Major Kenneth Harney, found himself in a desperate situation. Alone, he… Read more »

Putting the Osprey in the Dock: What the GAO Gets Wrong on V 22 Safety and the Real Drivers of Mishaps

12/15/2025 By Robbin Laird The GAO’s recent report on Osprey safety draws attention to real mishaps and genuine concerns, but its framing, methods, and omissions risk reinforcing an outdated caricature of the V‑22 rather than illuminating the actual safety problems the force faces. A more rigorous and operationally grounded assessment shows that the Osprey’s long‑run mishap record sits near the middle… Read more »

Harald Malmgren: Architect of Modern Trade Policy and Global Economic Thinker

12/15/2025 The passing of Harald Malmgren in February 2025 marked the end of an era in international economic diplomacy and policy analysis. A trusted advisor to U.S. presidents, a visionary academic, and one of the cornerstones of modern trade negotiation strategy, Malmgren’s legacy spans over six decades of shaping global economic discourse. Born on July 13, 1935, in Boston, Massachusetts, Harald… Read more »

Infrastructure as Battlespace: The Return of Direct Defense in Europe

12/13/2025 By Robbin Laird In 2020, Murielle Delaporte and I published a book examining what we termed "the return of direct defense" in Europe. Our central argument challenged conventional thinking about European security: defending Europe in the 2020s requires moving beyond traditional military deterrence to embrace a broader strategic concept that places infrastructure, resilience, and supply chains at the center of… Read more »

The Embassy Reinforcement Exercise within Steel Knight 2025: The Osprey-Super Stallion Tandem and the Insertion Force

12/06/2025 CAMP PENDLETON, California By Robbin Laird On Friday December 5, 2205, I was at Camp Pendleton and watched the air insertion element of the Embassy Reinforcement Exerice which is part of Steel Knight 2025. In the sprawling urban training complex at Camp Pendleton, I witnessed the aviation insertion component of one of the Marine Corps' most demanding missions: rapid embassy… Read more »

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The LVC Dynamic: A Key Force for Change in Combat Pilot Training

09/29/2025 The landscape of military aviation training stands at a critical juncture. As combat aircraft have evolved into increasingly sophisticated platforms bristling with advanced sensors, networked communications, and complex mission systems, the challenge of preparing pilots to operate these systems effectively has grown exponentially. The emergence of fifth-generation fighters has fundamentally altered the calculus of pilot… Download PDF Now »

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Michael W. Wynne: Champion of Defense Innovation Across Sectors

12/08/2025 Michael W. Wynne’s wide-ranging career has influenced American defense innovation from every angle, military service, executive leadership in industry, transformative public service, and a continuing role as an advisor and… Read more »

When Safety Data Contradicts the Narrative: Why Doesn’t the Narrative Change?

12/05/2025 By Robbin Laird The V-22 Osprey continues to generate controversy in defense media, but a recent opinion piece in Stars and Stripes argues that the aircraft has become a victim… Read more »

An Update on FCAS: A December 18 Deadline for Decision?

12/04/2025 By Pierre Tran Paris – The chief executives of Airbus Defence and Space and Dassault Aviation are seen to be holding the future of European military cooperation in corporate hands,… Read more »

The Second Marine Air Wing: The Ready Force in Transition

12/03/2025 By Robbin Laird This week I am visiting Third Marine Air Wing and observing their Steel Knight exercise. And what I will learn will complement what I have observed over… Read more »

Remembering Dr. Alain Dupas: Visionary of Space Policy and Exploration

12/01/2025 Dr. Alain Dupas, born on October 11, 1945, in Paris, and passing on June 12, 2022, in Meudon, France, stood as one of Europe’s most influential voices in space policy,… Read more »

The Kill Web Imperative: A Strategic Analysis of the Paradigm Shift in Combat Pilot Training

11/26/2025 Military aviation stands at a decisive inflection point. For the past two decades, air power development was largely defined by the demands of counterinsurgency and crisis management in the “land… Read more »

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VMM-162 Supports Anti-submarine Warfare Exercise

11/28/2025 U.S. Marines with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 162, U.S. Marines with VMM-162 support an anti-submarine warfare exercise during Atlantic Alliance 25 at Surface Combat Systems Center Wallops Island, Virginia,… Read more »

22nd MEU(SOC)

11/26/2025 U.S. Marines and Sailors with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) and the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17), Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready… Read more »

USS Tripoli to Japan

11/24/2025 The America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) arrived at Commander, Fleet Activities Sasebo in Sasebo, Japan June 23, 2025. The American Forces Network produces and delivers unique, immediate… Read more »

How The U.S. Army Can Enhance Joint Operations

11/21/2025 U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 35 series military occupation specialty can play a crucial role in gathering and analyzing intelligence on targets in joint operations. These assessments can support the… Read more »

BALTOPS 2025

11/19/2025 The German Navy Berlin-class replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main (A1412) refuels the Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20) during exercise Baltic Operations 2025 (BALTOPS 25)… Read more »

Protecting Undersea Infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

11/17/2025 Off the coast of Gotland, Sweden, scientists from the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) are deploying cutting-edge acoustic sensors to see if they might help NATO Allies… Read more »

Preparing MQ-9 for takeoff

11/14/2025 U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron prepare an MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft for takeoff at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, June 2, 2025. The… Read more »

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The Second Line of Defense team provides high quality publications with regard to key global strategic developments. You can purchase these on a number of booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

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The Global War in Ukraine: An Essay on the Changing Global Order

12/18/2025 On February 15, 2026, we are publishing the first of two books on the Global War in Ukraine. The first one is written as an essay which leverages the much… Read more »

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