2014-06-16 By Stephen Blank Bismarck famously observed that Europe as such represented merely a geographical notion, certainly not a unified political entity. The Western reaction to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea has again validated this acerbic insight. And amid the absence of any Western or European…
2014-06-16 By Louis Kratz September 9, 2001 was a beautiful fall day at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, as the newly confirmed Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics), Honorable Michael Wynne prepared to address the Department of Defense Program Manager Community at the Defense Acquisition University. Secretary Rumsfeld…
2014-06-16 We just released our latest Special Report. European Defense, the Arctic and the Future: Highlighting Danish Perspectives In this Special Report, Second Line of Defense looks at the evolving defense and security situation in the Baltics and in the Arctic. Russian actions in Crimea have returned direct defense to…
2014-06-09 by Richard Weitz For the third year in a row, Russia and China conducted a major bilateral naval exercise last month, following the previous joint drills off the coast of Russia’s Far East in July 2013 and those in China’s Yellow Sea in April 2012. The Russians called the…
2014-06-16 by Robbin Laird Inside the Beltway is a tough place to get real changes done. And innovation within the confines of the Pentagon is notably challenging. This decade will see significant innovation generated by the strategic and combat challenges facing American and allied forces and the introduction of several new…
2014-06-15 The Saudis brought an air combat package from Saudi Arabia to this year's Red Flag 2014 which represented a step change in capability. The Saudi F-15s came to the United States to train in one of the premier air combat training exercises in the world, Red Flag. [caption id="attachment_66413"…
2014-06-14 by Ed Timperlake On the eve of the 100th Anniversary of the beginning of World War I, there is a word describing German Army doctrine employed in their advance into neutral Belgium that resonates to this day: “Schrecklichkeit”. The word means “terror” or “frightfulness” a doctrine employed by the…
2014-06-13 The USS America is going to sea mid-July 2014. During a visit to the ship on June 12, 2014, Captain Hall, the CO of LHA-6, discussed the ship and its contribution. [caption id="attachment_66342" align="alignnone" width="207"] Leadership of LHA-6. Credit: Second Line of Defense[/caption] A key way to look at…
