From Being a Greyhound Bus to Becoming a Strike Force: Bold Alligator 2012 Shows the Way

02/11/2012
02/11/2012 - During the week of Second Line of Defense interviews with the USN-USMC team in early January, the SLD team sat down with Captain Sam Howard and Col. Phil Ridderhof to discuss the exercise and the approach.  In effect, the USN-USMC team is developing an approach to maneuver warfare…

The Next AT-6 “Hail Mary”: The Saga Continues

02/09/2012
02/09/2012 by Ed Timperlake In an excellent piece of reporting Joseph C. Anselmo in Aviation Daily, on Wednesday February 8th 2012 reported an important breaking news story about another huge management shake-up at Hawker Beechcraft. “Robert S. “Steve” Miller was appointed CEO on Feb. 7, replacing longtime chief executive Bill Boisture,…

From Afghanistan, to Bold Alligator 2012, to the Future: The USMC Re-shapes Its Capabilities

02/08/2012
02/08/12 In a wide-ranging interview with Second Line of Defense’s Robbin Laird, the Commanding General of 2nd Marine Air Wing (MAW) provided an overview of how USMC aviation operates now and is evolving in the future. The bottom line for the role of USMC Aviation was underscored throughout the interview…

Obama’s Defense Budget Priorities and Choices Partially Revealed

02/08/2012
By Dr. Richard Weitz 2/01/2012 - On January 26, the Pentagon released its “Defense Budget Priorities and Choices” document. This 15-page brochure, along with the budget briefings provided by Senior DoD officials that day and subsequently, provided some information on how the new Defense Strategic Guidance will affect the Department’s…

Kazakhstan’s Nuclear Bank: Achieving Benefits at Acceptable Risk

02/01/2012
[caption id="attachment_12920" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 01/25/2012 - The world needs a multinational nuclear fuel bank and Kazakhstan is eager to host it. Kazakhstan has certain attributes that make it a welcome candidate to house one of perhaps several nuclear fuel banks. But Kazakhstan needs to…

ESG-2 Prepares for Bold Alligator 2012

01/31/2012
[caption id="attachment_32640" align="alignleft" width="150"] Col. Weisz during the SLD Interview (Credit: SLD)[/caption] 01/31/2012 - During the week of Second Line of Defense Interviews in early January 2012, Col. Bradley Weisz, Deputy Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group TWO, explains the approach being followed in support of BA-2012. The Colonel discusses the role…

New Defense Guidance: Needs Resources To Travel

01/31/2012
[caption id="attachment_12920" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 01/31/2012 - The authors of the Pentagon’s new Strategic Guidance must have been reading Second Line of Defense since they affirm many of the arguments made by SLD team. The only problem with the Guidance, which may prove fatal, is…

An Update on F-35 Manufacturability

01/30/2012
[caption id="attachment_32648" align="alignleft" width="300"] Frank Dougherty During the SLD Interview (Credit: SLD)[/caption] 01/30/2012 - During Second Line of Defense’s annual visit to the F-35 manufacturing facility, Frank Dougherty, Vice President, F-35 Production Operations provided an update on F-35 manufacturability.  Dougherty has extensive experience with both the F-22 and the F-16,…