The Challenge of Operating Integrated Manned and Unmanned Systems

11/14/2019

By John Conway

The concept of a ‘wingman’ is as old as military aviation itself. Providing mutual support within a formation, the purpose of a wingman was established to protect the flight lead and provide him or her with the additional mental capacity to manage the formation, operate the aircraft, and make decisions.

As the role developed, the most important tasks for the wingman were to help avoid an attack by an unseen enemy, contribute to the formation’s situational awareness, and watch out for obvious signs the leader had either missed something or made an error. At the very heart of the idea was an acceptance that the human is fallible and, in the heat of battle, task saturation was likely to result in mistakes and errors in tactical decision-making.

In the early years of aviation, a wingman would be positioned slightly behind the lead aircraft in close visual proximity to the wings of the leader. But as advances in technology introduced new inter and intra-flight data links, such as Link 16, and increased levels of integration with airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) systems such as the E-7 Wedgetail, formations became invariably separated beyond visual range of each other and able to benefit from the ‘god’s eye view’ of the world and shared situational awareness.

There are, of course, still times when a wingman is required to be in close visual range, but these are becoming more suited to non-tactical reasons such as transits through controlled airspace or through poor weather conditions.

So what started out as a role providing visual lookout support has now been transformed by the introduction of multi-sensor fusion displays and data links, with mutual support by proximity now measured in miles rather than metres. The fundamental purpose of a wingman has changed over the years from supporting and protecting the leader, to one which is focused on the greater concentration of firepower and more effective application and multiplication of force.

GAME CHANGER

Yet perhaps the most transformational aspect of the evolving wingman role is that of the unmanned ‘Loyal Wingman’, a wingman that does as it is told and does not get distracted by the fear and chaos of battle.

This is not to say a human wingman is fundamentally disloyal, nor does it undermine the importance of a human in dealing with the complexities of highly dynamic, multi-dimensional fights in the air. But it does unlock what the incoming Commandant of the US Marine Corps calls, “the game-changing opportunities with manned and unmanned teaming”.

The concept of the Unmanned Air System (UAS), or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), is nothing new nor is their use in missions which traditionally challenge human performance, fragility, and endurance. Often described as the dull, dirty, and dangerous missions, unmanned systems have provided the commander with a far broader range of options for the application of force against even the most challenging target sets. However, ongoing operational experience confirms unmanned systems on their own are not the panacea.

When Boeing Defence Australia announced its Loyal Wingman project at Avalon earlier this year it sparked significant discussion and, not least, progressed the argument for greater numbers of unmanned platforms in a far more mature and balanced way than hitherto.

The manned-unmanned narrative is now sensibly shifting towards “and” rather than “or”.  Manned and unmanned teaming – the US Army coined the term MUM-T – is a powerful concept which leverages the strengths and mitigates the weakness of each platform and concentrates the mind on the important operational aspects, such as imaginative new roles and the challenges of integration.

It should come as no surprise, then, to see the expansion of the loyal wingman concept in recent times into the other warfighting domains.

The ADF formally recognises five warfighting domains, sometimes referred to as environments: Air (to include Space), Land, Sea, Information and Human. The applications of unmanned systems in the land environment are moving beyond tactical flying drones, with BAE Systems Australia recently awarded a contract to support Australian Army plans to modify two M113AS4 armoured personnel carriers at the company’s Edinburgh Parks facility in Adelaide, using autonomous technologies developed in Australia.

Moreover, reports are now emerging from the US about recent developments in unmanned surface and sub-surface combatants, which are opening new ways of warfighting and creating opportunities to reconceptualise joint operations and move away from the platform-on-platform engagements which have traditionally characterised the battlespace.

Yet these ideas cannot get too far ahead of policy and the dollars, with manned and unmanned teaming driving a wholesale reconsideration of the US Navy budget. Despite an increasingly complex threat and the rapid developments in autonomous technologies, there is still much to be done to build consensus that the future lies in MUM-T.

ORCA

The Boeing Company was recently awarded a US$43m (A$63m) contract for the fabrication, test, and delivery of four Orca Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (XLUUVs) and associated support elements. The Orca XLUUV is described in open sources as a modular, open architecture, reconfigurable UUV with its own guidance and control, navigation, situational awareness, communications, power, propulsion and mission sensors.

Taking a closer look, this project appears to be the proverbial tip of the iceberg, with the US Navy in pursuit of a much broader family of unmanned surface and undersea vehicles based upon three core variants: Large Unmanned Surface Vehicles (LUSVs), Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicles (MUSVs), and Extra-Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (XLUUVs) such as the Orca. Reports suggest the USN is seeking to invest over US$600m (A$873m) in near term research and development for these programs and their enabling technologies.

While the platforms themselves are fascinating from a technology perspective, what is more significant is their wider employment in a distributed architecture when teamed with the manned surface and sub-surface fleets containing a greater proportion of smaller, agile platforms.

The new unmanned platforms are expected to carry a range of sensors and weapon systems almost certainly configured for anti-surface warfare and maritime strike. Yet the potential for broader counter-air missions set within the co-operative engagement framework opens up new possibilities and significantly leverages existing manned surface fleet capability as well as providing a means of enabling integrated fire control, with the air layer containing E-2D Hawkeye, F-35C, F/A-18F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers.

But as ever, the platforms are only half the story.

The distributed architecture alluded to earlier will require a complex web of advanced datalinks and communication systems to make it operate as a combat system. Designing and building this ‘kill web’ so that it can enable the delivery of manned-unmanned firepower across domains will be a huge challenge not least due to the laws of physics.

And then the ability to train, test, evaluate and validate tactics and procedures will add a whole new level of complexity to generate the ‘trusted autonomy’ required for warfighting. And that is exactly why we should do it.

It will be interesting to see whether the Commonwealth’s policy settings and budget profiles for the Australian warship continuous build program allows the headroom for the RAN and the broader ADF to explore the full potential for manned and unmanned teaming in the context of future joint operations alongside the US Navy, and indeed the USAF and US Army.

From its humble origins at the platform level, the opportunities and potential of the wingman concept can now be realised at the enterprise level, which will fundamentally transform Joint and Coalition operations.

The ‘force level wingman’ – game-changing indeed.

This Feature appeared in the September-October 2019 edition of ADBR.

An Update on the Japanese Self Defense Force

By Eugene Gerden

According to recent statements by senior representatives of the Japanese military as well as local defence analysts, Japan is steadily continuing along its path of active defence with the development of a new national defence budget for 2020.

According to statements by the official spokesperson for the Japanese Defence Minister Takeshi Iwaya, the new budget will allow Japan to significantly strengthen its military potential over the next several years – to protect its geopolitical interests in the region and to counter potential threats from China and North Korea.

The cost of programs in the defence budget is estimated at 5,5 trillion yen (about US$50 billion), which makes it the largest military budget in the modern history of Japan, since the end of WWII.

In fact, Japanese defence spending has been growing for the second year in a row. In 2019, its defence budget reached 5.3 Trillion yen (US$ 47.4 billion) or about 1% of Japan’s national GDP. Some local analysts believe these figures will continue to grow in the coming years and may reach 3-5% of its GDP within the next decade. That will be comparable to the volume of defence spending that has been recommended by NATO to its members.

One notable aspect of the new program involves resuming the building of aircraft carriers. The use of such ships will mark the first for Japan since the end of World War II. The design of these new aircraft carriers will be based on Izumo-Class multi-purpose destroyers (which were originally ordered as helicopter carriers by the Japanese Defence Ministry) and will serve as a base for F-35B aircraft.

Some Japanese military analysts have noted that Izumo-Class ships may prove useful during potential regional military conflicts, for example, with China over the disputed Senkaku islands.

In the meantime, the plan also provides for gradual replacement of Japan’s Hyūga Class naval helicopter destroyers. The design process for their modern analogues has already begun.

Military Aviation

Japan’s modernization and recapitalization plan included a massive renewal of its fleet of combat aircraft. Since the early 2000s, Japan has held its status as the second largest buyer of U.S. F-35 aircraft (behind the U.S. itself). These aircraft successfully replaced Japan’s F-15J / DJ Eagle models and have resulted in significantly raising the potential of the Japanese Air Force.

As for new purchases, by the end of 2019 at least nine more Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters will be supplied for the needs of the Japanese Air Force. Overall, by 2023, Tokyo plans to purchase up to 20 such aircraft (which are priced at US$130 million each) plus several F-35B short take-off and vertical landing units.

Particular attention will go towards continuing development of the 5th generation fighter. That will take place in cooperation with Lockheed Martin, although Tokyo intends to use its own technologies as much as possible. Some of these technologies will be provided by the Technical Research and Design Institute of the Japanese Ministry of Defense as well as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Corporation, which will also take part in the project.

According to some Japanese media reports, the total cost of the project may exceed 1.5 trillion yen (US$14 billion).

Deliveries of the new aircraft to the Japanese Air Force are scheduled to begin after 2030. They will completely replace the 90 F-2 aircraft currently in the Japanese military aviation fleet. Its armament will include cruise missiles capable of hitting ships with high efficiency.

Most Japanese military analysts consider this project as the most significant advance of Japan’s capabilities in the last several decades.
At the same time, in addition to the new fighter, will be design of specialized Electronic Warfare aircraft that will be capable of suppressing air defence and enemy communications. The use of such aircraft is intended to deter and prevent the launch of enemy missiles on Japanese military targets.

Defending Space Assets

Japan already has a strong civilian space programme and has successfully launched a number of satellites into orbit, and lately, the Prime Minister has been advocating for a special space-defence force to protect its satellites from possible targeting.

To that end, the proposed budget includes funds for a significant strengthening of Japan’s military space assets. The ministry has asked for 52.4 billion yen (US$484 million) to strengthen its outer space capability, including the establishment of a space operations unit within the structure of the Japanese Armed Forces.

Confirming the focus on strengthening defence capabilities in outer space, Prime Minister Abe confirmed on 17 September 2019, that Japan’s existing Air Defence Force may “evolve into the Air and Space SDF” in the future.

As the Japanese Yomiuri business paper recently reported, the space unit will be formed by 2020 and will include a highly sensitive radar, an optical telescope. and a special tracking system. The unit will be located on the Japanese Air Force base in the city of Fuchū, located in the western Tokyo Metropolis.

According to an official spokesman of the Japanese Ministry of Defence, the main task of the newly established military space unit will be to counter possible attacks of Japanese military targets by foreign satellites and to prevent collisions of Japanese spacecrafts with space debris.

The Japanese Ministry of Defence considers strengthening its space assets as one of its most important tasks in the field of defence, particularly given recent efforts by the United States, China, and Russia for more active use of outer space for military intelligence.

Land Forces

The new State Defence Program includes the establishment of a special electronic warfare unit for the land forces – using electromagnetic waves for army purposes. A new unit, consisting of 80 people, will be deployed at the end of 2020 at the Japanese Kangun base in Kumamoto. It will primarily focus on the monitoring of the activities of Chinese troops.

Budget Approval

Japan’s Defence Budget 2020 is expected to be approved by the Japanese Prime Minister Shinz¯o Abe after consultations with the Ministry of Finance.

Eugene Gerden is a FrontLine correspondent who specializes in military and defence.

© 2019 FrontLine Defence (Vol 16, No 3)

Providing Macronite to Revive the West

11/12/2019

By Robbin Laird

In the United States, we have tweeting Trump and the impeaching House of Representatives; in Europe they have Macronite.

We have had and continue to have a significant deluge of comments on President Trump and his approach to foreign policy with little that has a positive tinge to it; but what about Macronite?

How positive or significant is this for shaping the second creation of the West?

The first creation was lead by the United States after World War II with the laying down of the rules based order; the Post-Cold War period was more or less acting on the belief that the collapse of the Soviet Union allowed those rules of the game to be extended East.

But in fact, little noticed was the rise of 21st century authoritarian capitalist powers who were key anchors of globalization and have woven themselves into the fabric of the liberal democratic societies.

With the 21st century authoritarian powers working to write the rules of the game going forward rather than reinforcing the rules based order, what should and can the Western liberal democracies do?

In his recent interview with The Economist, the President of the Republic provided his answer and having done so, he deserves a serious examination of whether or not that resets the effort in a manner that can lead the way ahead.

He certainly has provided a wide ranging analysis of the current situation; but does the Macronite approach going forward provide a realistic way ahead to deal with the current crises?

Let us navigate through his interview and highlight some of his core points to get a sense of how he sees the challenge and gauge his approach to guiding the West to its next phase.

Europe was built on this notion that we would pool the things we had been !ghting over: coal and steel.

It then structured itself as a community, which is not merely a market, it’s a political project.

But a series of phenomena have left us on the edge of a precipice…. A market is not a community.

A community is stronger: it has notions of solidarity, of convergence, which we’ve lost, and of political thought.

What he underscores is the importance of Europe thinking of itself as a community and focus on its common destiny, rather than simply thinking of itself as a trading bloc.

But the challenge facing this core point is rather straightforward: is the European Union with the Commission as its driving force for integration really a custodian for the broader sense of community?

Does Europe need to recast even significantly how the nations can work together to shape community, rather than face a bureaucratic machine which is driving bureaucratically mandated commonality?

And notability, with the expansion of the European Union, there is no way that Western Europe with a 50 year period of working together has as much in common with the “new” states who have been under a 50 year domination by Communism.

This is proving to be a mix which may be more oil and water than providing strands for a single community.

Perhaps there is no single community?

Perhaps we are looking at clusters of states which pursue specific interests in common on particular issues; Rather than thinking of Europe as a community of forced unity.

Maronite is generated by a Europe first policy whereby the Americans are looking elsewhere in the world.

And the current American president is seen to be abandoning the European project.

And with the rise of China, and the preoccupation of the United States with the Pacific, America is focused elsewhere. Of course, there is the largely ignored question of how significant Chinese engagement economically with Europe has become, and whether or not Europe, either individually on the national level or collectively on the European Union level is providing a counter balance to what China has been able to do within Europe itself.

He very clearly focuses on the challenge which the 21st century authoritarian powers pose to Europe while the Americans reduce their commitment to the European project.

So, f!rstly, Europe is gradually losing track of its history; secondly, a change in American strategy is taking place; thirdly, the rebalancing of the world goes hand in hand with the rise—over the last 15 years—of China as a power, which creates the risk of bipolarisation and clearly marginalises Europe.

And add to the risk of a United States/China “G2” the re-emergence of authoritarian powers on the fringes of Europe, which also weakens us very signi!cantly.

This re-emergence of authoritarian powers, essentially Turkey and Russia, which are the two main players in our neighbourhood policy, and the consequences of the Arab Spring, creates a kind of turmoil.

It is hard to disagree with much in his analyses of the world but this is where it gets interesting.

Let us apply some Macronite to the challenges.

His first step: regain military sovereignty.

To do this, he argues for the reenforcement of the European project and having a more realistic assessment of dealing with a “brain dead NATO.”

Europe must become autonomous in terms of military strategy and capability. And secondly, we need to reopen a strategic dialogue, without being naive and which will take time, with Russia. Because what all this shows is that we need to reappropriate our neighbourhood policy, we cannot let it be managed by third parties who do not share the same interests

The problem with this can be put simply — it ignores the reality which he has painted earlier.

There is no common European defense because European defense threats are not seen the same way and there is a reverse trend — clusters of states focusing on their specific approaches within an umbrella set of institutions — NATO and the EU.

Does anyone believe that the Nordic states are waiting for France or Germany to defend them? 

Hardly.

They have enhanced their own cooperation and have deepened their working relationships with the United States and the United Kingdom and have done so in large part by embracing the latest US military technologies, something which Macron clearly rails against

But as Secretary Wynne once said — “Being the second best air force in a conflict is not where you want to be.”

And the United States still offers the best opportunity to not be a second best air force, for example.

And as for his working relationship with Berlin, given that Germany has no real commitment to its own direct defense, there is a question of whether France and Germany could defend a central front if challenged by the Russians.

NATO is only as strong as its member states.

This is certainly true and why Article III of the NATO Treaty is the bedrock for any Article V commitments. 

But then we are back to a key question: how convergent is French defense policy with other European states to contribute and to manage the common defense? 

Is it actually more convergent than is the United States itself?

He notes: I think that the interoperability of NATO works well.

But we now need to clarify what the strategic goals we want to pursue within NATO are.

But the first may be what the European alliances can provide; whereas the second is really left up to the cluster of nations willing to work on specific strategic lines.

Take the case of cyber offense, where France has nothing at all in common with Germany.

Indeed, as a leading French analyst put it to me when I asked him the question: Who are France’s allies in cyber offense?

“The Dutch lead the pack because they recognize that the Russians declared war on them with the shoot-down of the Malaysian airliner. Also crucial are the UK, Sweden and the Baltic states.”

He then goes on to mischaracterize what the Trump Administration is actually doing for European defense.

Even though the current Administration has significantly stepped up its operational commitments to deal with the Russians, this is what Macron has to say.

In the eyes of President Trump, and I completely respect that, NATO is seen as a commercial project. He sees it as a project in which the United States acts as a sort of geopolitical umbrella, but the trade-o$ is that there has to be commercial exclusivity, it’s an arrangement for buying American products. France didn’t sign up for that.

This is an indirect comment getting at the “F-35 threat” to Europe which is treated as strategic as the seizure of Crimea by many French analysts. 

And hence we see the brith of the Future Combat System and the coming fighter in 2040.

But as one German analyst put it: “I hope we have agreement with the Russians for avoiding conflict until 2040.”

In my opinion some elements must only be European.

This is where the Macronite impact could be signifiant, if Europe follows the Finnish approach.

Notably with regard to infrastructure, Europe has allowed the 21st century authoritarian powers to own significant infrastructure elements in Europe.

They are not alone.

This can lead to what John Blackburn, the Australian analyst, to a condition where “we are losing without fighting.” 

How to control our supply chains and infrastructure to the point whereby the authoritarian powers can not disrupt our capabilities in a conflict is a clear challenge.

And significant focus within Europe on this problem could follow from the Macronite impulse.

Of course, the Finns lead the way on this and not the French.

The underlying idea is that if we’re all linked by business, all will be !ne, we won’t hurt each other. In a way, that the inde!nite opening of world trade is an element of making peace.

Except that, within a few years, it became clear that the world was breaking up again, that tragedy had come back on stage, that the alliances we believed to be unbreakable could be upended, that people could decide to turn their backs, that we could have diverging interests.

And that at a time of globalisation, the ultimate guarantor of world trade could become protectionist.

Major players in world trade could have an agenda that was more an agenda of political sovereignty, or of adjusting the domestic to the international, than of trade.

The question of the future of globalization is clearly a key one to sort through at the second creation. 

And here Macron talks both European values and national sovereignty and assumes that the two blend together — but that is precisely the nexus of the challenge — they do not.

To re design globalization to work with trusted partners, to reshape manufacturing, to shorten supply chains, to deal with the political challenge of the 21st century authoritarian states, certainly starts with national solutions, but ones which recognize the semi-sovereign situation in which the modern democratic state finds itself. 

Maron highlights the challenge in his interview, but the question is how best to deal with national sovereignty in a semi sovereign world in which 21st century authoritarian powers are on the ascendancy?

And this is his trajectory with regard to one of the key authoritarian powers, Russia.

If we want to build peace in Europe, to rebuild European strategic autonomy, we need to reconsider our position with Russia. That the United States is really tough with Russia, it’s their administrative, political and historic superego. But there’s a sea between the two of them.

It’s our neighbourhood, we have the right to autonomy, not just to follow American sanctions, to rethink the strategic relationship with Russia, without being the slightest bit naive and remaining just as tough on the Minsk process and on what’s going on in Ukraine.

It’s clear that we need to rethink the strategic relationship. We have plenty of reasons to get angry with each other. There are frozen conflicts, energy issues, technology issues, cyber, defence, etc.

What I’ve proposed is an exercise that consists of stating how we see the world, the risks we share, the common interests we could have, and how we rebuild what I’ve called an architecture of trust and security.

And when asked how the Poles and Balts feel about this approach, he highlights that indeed there are “European” differences.

Having a strategic vision of Europe means thinking about its neighbourhood and its partnerships. Which is something we haven’t yet done. During the debate over enlargement, it was clear that we are thinking about our neighbourhood above all in terms of access to the European Union, which is absurd.

Macronite is about driving European solutions to its common neighborhood, but the challenge for France is that the Europe envisaged by the French president may not be the realistic project or outcome. 

As former Admiral James Stavridis commented after the release of The Economist interview:

NATO is far from brain dead, but it is suffering from the fallout of centrifugal forces pulling Europe apart. NATO has key missions in deterring Russia, the Arctic, cyber, and the Med — all directly affecting USA.

For the full Economist interview, see the following:

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/11/07/assessing-emmanuel-macrons-apocalyptic-vision

For the first article in this series, see the following:

president-macron-and-edith-piafs-cri-de-coeur-present-at-the-creation-round-2

The Williams Foundation Seminar on Fifth Generation Manoeuvre Requirements: Looking Ahead

By Robbin Laird

A week after the completion of the October 24, 2019 Williams Foundation Seminar, I had a chance to talk with Air Marshal (Retired) Geoff Brown about the main findings from the Seminar and the way ahead for the Seminar series.

Question: What do you consider the main findings from the seminar?

Air Marshal (Retired) Geoff Brown: We looked at how one could achieve fifth generation manoeuvre and one of the key issues is how the industrial working relationship could best support these efforts.

One of the key ideas was linking the industrial labs together in order to achieve better force integration development and support. And to get industry involved earlier in the process of building programs.

There are many key issues to work out but it is clearly important to shape a more effective collaborative working set of arrangements to get the kind of integrated force which we need.

Another key takeaway is that we already have a command operating as an integrated force which allows us to maximize our influence.

The Maritime Border Command has been able to achieve the kind of inter-agency cooperation which gives you the kind of capability which you want to have to maximize your effectiveness and enhance the probably of a good result.

Question: Where do we go from here?

Air Marshal (Retired) Geoff Brown: We need to relook at how we can integrate manned and unmanned platforms into integrated operations.

With our manpower limitations, we clearly need to find effective ways to incorporate remotes into the combat force.

And for the seminar after that we are looking to focus on cyber operations, and to do so from the standpoint of their integration into the ADF, not simply just as a specialized skill set.

We need to look at the incorporation of cyber into operations rather than as a stove piped activity dominated by the intelligence community.

We then discussed various case studies which might be the best way to get at the manned-unmanned teaming efforts.

Clearly, there are two key areas where the ADF is focused.

The first is the loyal wingman for the Air Force, and maritime remotes for the Navy.

Both might prove to be good areas for further exploration at the next seminar.

See the following as well:

The Australian Approach to Developing and Deploying Remotes Systems in the Maritime Environment: The Perspective of Cmdr. Paul Hornsby

The Integrated Distributed Force and Maritime Operations

The Future is Now: The RAAF & Boeing Australia Build F-35’s Unmanned Wingman

 

Visiting Checkpoint Charlie: Veterans Day, Armistice Day, and the 30 Year Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

11/11/2019

By Robbin Laird

I am in Berlin today for the International Fighter Conference 2019 which starts tomorrow.

I took the opportunity to revisit Checkpoint Charlie.

It is now a museum, but also a testament to the will of the West to defend liberal democracy against the Soviet Union.

I often visited West Germany in the 1980s when the political warfare over Euromissiles was a dominant reality.

The U.S. President was hardly popular and when you visit the Checkpoint Charlie museum it is easier to find remembrance of JFK’s visit than the historical moment when President Reagan challenged the Soviet leaders to “teardown that wall.”

I set up a working group in the mid-1980s at the Institute for Defense Analysis to discuss the prospects and how to shape a possible German reunification.

It was not a widely attended effort, but did prepare the way for the historical events.

The key agreement of the group was that if the new Germany was not part of the Western institutions, the European Union and NATO, then any agreement with the Soviets would not be worth the effort.

The concept in those days was that only an agreement that yielded a real outcome which could fit into the values of the liberal democracies really mattered.

Simply having an agreement to look like progress was being made was the wrong way to go because it would only help the authoriarians working to undercut consensus in our societies.

Seems a long time ago.

There was no desire to have a Soviet veto power over the future of Germany.

The Russians frequently insist that they had promises with regard to the fate of sovereign states in Europe; that somehow they had a veto power over which states could work with the West and which could not.

That simply is not true.

And that brings us to Berlin, East and West.

West Berlin was a fragment of liberal democracy in a sea of Soviet and East German authoritarianism.

The Stasi was a prevalent force and provided the atmosphere for any Western visitors to the “workers paradise” which could could be seen in East Berlin.

My first job in the Pentagon was to work for a man who had just served as the Brigade Commander in Berlin.


BG William C. Moore
25 Aug 1978 – 01 Aug 1980

According to Wikipedia:

“The Berlin Brigade of the United States Army was a separate brigade based in Berlin. Its shoulder sleeve insignia was the U.S. Army Europe patch with a Berlin tab, later incorporated.”

I functioned as his tutor on things Soviet and we had many discussions about his time in Berlin.

What impressed the most was the dedication of the Brigade.

As the General put it: “We are a speed bump which would be crushed as the Soviets prepared to move against the inner German border. But we need to do so in a way that would remind them that the United States was not going to yield an inch of German territory without a fight.”

Put in simple terms: “We are going all to die in a conflict; we need to do so with and for a purpose.”

That kind of courage and dedication can be forgotten when visiting Berlin today.

Turning Checkpoint Charlie into a museum is clearly a reminder of what U.S. servicemen and women contributed to the future of Germany.

But turning it into a museum and remembering the 30 year anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall also recalls the lessons learned from the Armistice Day being remembered in Europe.

The “war to end all wars” didn’t.

And the Fall of the Berlin Wall did not end to the East-West conflict.

And the 2008 and 2014 territorial seizures by Russia are clearly a reminder, that there are no wars that end all wars.

Checkpoint Charlie may be a museum; but it is a reminder that the East-West conflict is hardly over.

2014 is as significant as 1914 but simply has not been recognized as such.

Also, see the following:

1914 and 2014: Two Key Strategic Turning Points

1914 and 2014: Years of Trauma and Change

Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) Course 1-20: MAWTS-1

An end of course video featuring the highlights of Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course 1-20 in Yuma, Arizona, Oct. 28, 2019.

WTI is a seven-week training event hosted by Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1), which emphasizes operational integration of the six functions of Marine Corps aviation in support of a Marine Air Ground Task Force.

WTI also provides standardized advanced tactical training and certification of unit instructor qualifications to support Marine aviation training and readiness, and assists in developing and employing aviation weapons and tactics.

YUMA, AZ, UNITED STATES

10.28.2019

Supply Chain Vulnerabilities: “Losing Without Fighting”

11/10/2019

As John Blackburn has put it recently, if we do not pay much closer focus and care with regard to our supply chains, both civilian and military, we could find ourselves in the position of “losing with fighting.”

Air Vice Marshal (Retired) has focused much of his research and public efforts in Australia on dealing with supply chain vulnerabilities.

In a forthcoming interview, we discussed with him the concept of being in the position whereby the liberal democracies can lose without fighting to the 21st century authoritarian capitalist powers.

And apparently, the US Secretary of the Navy shares his concerns.

“The US navy secretary has warned that the “fragile” American supply chain for military warships means the Pentagon is at risk of having to rely on adversaries such as Russia and China for critical components.

Richard Spencer, the US navy’s top civilian, told the Financial Times he had ordered a review this year that found many contractors were reliant on single suppliers for certain high-tech and high-precision parts, increasing the likelihood they would have to be procured from geostrategic rivals.

Mr Spencer said the US was engaged in “great power competition” with other global rivals and that several of them — “primarily Russia and China” — were “all of a sudden in your supply chain, [which is] not to the best interests of what you’re doing” through military procurement….”

“In an effort to convince the private sector to invest in the US industrial base, Mr Spencer recently launched a “trusted capital” programme where he invited large private equity firms to bid on failing or non-existent supply needs in areas from ship maintenance to weapons manufacturing.”

For the rest of the article, see the following:

https://www.ft.com/content/b9260d54-fcf4-11e9-98fd-4d6c20050229

The featured photo: Richard Spencer’s efforts to boost the domestic supply chain have been hampered by government shutdowns and haphazard federal budgeting © Getty