By Robbin Laird I had the chance to work with Lt. General (Retired) Robling both when he was Deputy Commandant of Aviation from 2011-2012 and when he was the MARFORPAC commander from 2012 to 2014.   We started by looking back at his time as the MARFORPAC Commander, and the…

By Robbin Laird During my visit to Europe earlier this Fall, the surprise announcement of the Morrison Administration’s decision to shift from their French alliance to deliver a long-range diesel submarine to acquiring nuclear submarine capability through an alliance with the United States and Britain was made. I talked with…

By Robbin Laird During my recent visit to Warsaw to attend the Defence 24 conference on Polish defense, I had a chance to talk with Dr. Jacek M. Raubo, an Assistant Professor at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and noted journalist as well. We discussed a number of issues regarding…

According to a news release on the Finnish Ministry of Defence website, the Finnish government has released its latest defence white paper. At its meeting on 9 September 2021, the Government approved the Defence Report to be submitted to Parliament. The Report and its implementation ensure that Finland's defence capability…

By Robbin Laird My colleague John Blackburn has focused for some time on the importance of the Australian defence forces becoming more sustainable from Australian sources. He then broadened his look at resilience to the energy and then maritime sectors. This was PRIOR to the pandemic. With our societies facing…

By Robbin Laird Warsaw I am in Warsaw and have just attended the two-day conference held by Defence 24. According to the organization: “Defence24 Group, the publisher of Defence24.pl portal, is organizing a third edition of Defence24 DAY & SOFEAST conference, focused on the major issues in the areas of…

By Pierre Tran Paris - The temperature in the Indo Pacific region has risen for the Western allies in general and for France in particular. President Emmanuel Macron clearly sees a pressing need for a switch to a new principal partner after Australia cancelled a planned order for the French…

By Pierre Tran Paris - Europeans have dusted off the concept of a European rapid reaction force in response to a lack of U.S. cooperation with allies in the chaotic withdrawal from Kabul. The European Union’s pursuit of the concept of strategic autonomy may have won greater political support, but…