by Kenneth Maxwell Dante's "Inferno", the 14th century epic poem, where Hell is nine concentric circles of torment located within the earth. It is the most appropriate analogy for the seriousness of the national dilemmas and the international challenges that confront us To start at the outer circle of Dante's…
Crew members aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) conduct maintenance on U.S Navy EA-18G Growlers during exercise Valiant Shield 18, Sept. 19, 2018. Valiant Shield is a biennial, U.S. only, field training exercise with a focus on integration of joint training among U.S. forces. GUAM 09.19.2018 Video by Staff Sgt. Emili…
By Robbin Laird A recent conference sponsored by our partner Risk Intelligence and hosted by the Atlantic Danish Atlantic Treaty Organization focused on “Threat Perception 2018: The Northern European Perspective.” Programme - Threat Perception In effect, the focus of the conference was the nature of the challenges and ways ahead…
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SAOCOM 1A satellite launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. at 7:21 p.m. PDT. SpaceX completed the secondary mission of landing the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket at Landing Zone 4, which was previously called SLC-4W, at Vandenberg AFB. This was…
Sailors from Electronic Attack Squadron 138 (VAQ-138) perform post-flight operations for a U.S Navy EA-18G Growler as part of exercise Valiant Shield 18, on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Sept. 23, 2018. Valiant Shield is a biennial, U.S. only, field training exercise with a focus on integration of joint training…
By Robbin Laird During my current visit to Denmark, I have a chance to meet with Admiral (Retired) Nils Wang, a dialogue partner for several years in my visits to the country. He has provided the readers of Second Line of Defense with many key insights not only with regard…
Held biennially, Exercise KAKADU is a joint exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Navy and supported by the Royal Australian Air Force. In 2018 it included 23 ships, 21 aircraft, a submarine and more than 3,000 personnel from 27 nations, and delivered a range of activities both ashore in Darwin…
We consider the evolution of the Australian-Japanese relationship as one of the most critical ones which can affect the reshaping of deterrent capabilities and relations in the Pacific. Both countries are pushing out their defense perimeters to deal with the expanded reach of the Chinese. Both are introducing new capabilities,…
