On March 5, 2012,Second Line of Defense had a chance to sit down and to discuss Bold Alligator 2012 with the Commanding General of 2nd Marine Air Wing. The General had organized meetings the Friday before with several of the key actors in the exercise from 2nd MAW. In later…
3/19/12 by Robbin Laird As Ed Timperlake has argued in a companion piece, the UK shifting from the F-35C to an F-35B/A mix would make inherently good sense. https://sldinfo.com/the-uk-rethinks-the-f-35c-decision-shaping-a-british-led-expeditionary-strike-group/ At the heart of the shift is the ability to gain significant flexibility with the use of the new UK carriers…
Mine Warfare In Bold Alligator-12 and Expeditionary Warrior-12 Scott C. Truver, PhD In a SLD interview (http://www.sldforum.com/2012/03/the-way-ahead-after-bold-alligator-2012/), COL Bradley Weisz, Deputy Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group TWO, highlighted the importance of mine warfare (MIW), particularly mine countermeasures (MCM), in the joint/combined-forces Bold Alligator 2012 exercise conducted in February. “Both ESG-2 and…
3/16/12 by Ed Timperlake The UK is rethinking its carrier aircraft decision. In large part this is because of the cost necessary to build traps and cats on the Queen Elizabeth class carrier. In part it is because of the impact of Libya and Bold Alligator in reminding strategists and…
Prior to the Bold Alligator 2012 exercise, we had a chance to talk with Brigadier General Owens, 2nd MEF, about the goals, purpose and orientation of the exercise. https://sldinfo.com/bold-alligator-2012-charting-the-future/ Later, we were able to sit down with the General in his office at Camp Lejeune to get his perspective on…
By Richard Weitz In a year of significant elections worldwide (the US, Germany, France to name a few), the Russian election started the ball rolling. Not unexpectedly, Vladimir Putin won the election and we are waiting to learn what Putinism 2.0 in the new global context will look like. A…
By Richard Weitz One of newly reelected President Vladimir Putin’s major challenges will be defense acquisition reform. In his February 20 Rossiiskaya Gazeta pre-election article on Russia’s military-industrial complex, Putin writes that "the goal for the decade is to equip our Armed Forces with next-generation armaments, which boast better visibility,…
Second Line of Defense sat down with the Deputy Commander for ESG 2 immediately after the BOLD ALLIGATOR Exercise. We had a discussion with Col Weisz prior to the exercise so this interview allowed the opportunity to get a sense of his evaluation of the exercise and get his recommendations…
