2014-03-21 During the visit of the Second Line of Defense team to New River on February 10, 2014, we had a chance to sit down with Lt. Col. Spaid to discuss his experience with the Osprey, the MEU, and the way ahead. Lt. Col. Spaid is taking over at the…
2014-03-19 By Robbin Laird Harald Malmgren has recently underscored that any focus on the Crimea without looking at the global context makes no strategic sense. And indeed, the day to day focus on events the days before is exactly what leads to missing the context of what the Crimean dynamic…
2014-03-07 By Robbin Laird I have spent the past week in discussions with the staff of the US Pacific Air Forces or PACAF. I was able to sit down with Hawk Carlisle, the Commander PACAF towards the end of the week to pull a broader picture together from those conversations and…
2014-03-18 During a visit to PACAF at the end of February, Second Line of Defense had a chance to talk with General Hawk Carlisle and members of the PACAF staff about the evolving approach to the Pacific Area of Operations. Lift and tanking assets are key elements of the flying…
2014-03-18 By Ed Timperlake A recent news event triggered some thinking about the challenges of working within constrained waters. The news event was that the USS Tuxtun was crossing the Dardanelles en route to the Black Sea. According to a Russian news source (with a video contained within of the…
2014-03-18 While attending the Williams Foundation Seminar on Air Combat Operations: 2025 and Beyond, Dr. John Lee of the Kokoda Foundation provided a base line brief on how to understand the Chinese challenge, military and non-military to the region. The contribution of Aussie airpower and associated military capabilities was to…
2014-03-18 By Harald Malmgren In March, world attention turned to fast moving events in Ukraine which set in motion a direct clash between Russia, on one side, and the EU and US, on the other. Viewed as an unexpected, but isolated event in the Ukraine, press and media focused primarily…
2014-03-14 By Robbin Laird During my visit to Australia, I have had a chance to visit No. 33 Squadron, at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Amberley in the state of Queensland. The Squadron operates the KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT). My mentor and guide for my day at the…
