France, Europe and The Mali Challenge

02/01/2013
2013-02-01 In a recent interview with the weekly newsmagazine, L’Express, Lt. General (Retired) Gaviard discussed France, Europe and the Mali crisis. Why are the European states reticent to engage with the French forces in the Serval operation? Historically, France always had a hard time convincing European countries to commit at…

Leveraging Amphibious Capabilities to Shape More Effective Global Capabilities

01/31/2013
2013-01-31 By Col. Bradley Weisz, Deputy Commander, Expeditionary Strike Group TWO, United States Fleet Forces Command, Little Creek, Virginia “I believe that our nation needs fast, austere and lethal expeditionary naval forces that can execute missions across the spectrum of conflict.  The Navy-Marine Corps team is that key.” In 2008, the…

The Challenge of Deterrence in the Second Nuclear Age: A Discussion with Paul Bracken

01/28/2013
2013-01-28 Recently, Second Line of Defense sat down with Professor Paul Bracken to discuss his new book entitled The Second Nuclear Age. https://sldinfo.com/paul-bracken-on-the-second-nuclear-age/ The book is an important statement of the challenge of deterrence in a proliferating nuclear world, one in which Americans see less value in nuclear weapons, but…

France and Mali: What Role for Coalitions?

01/27/2013
2013-01-27 According to a recent interview with a senior French military officer, the role of coalitions in shaping an effective approach was discussed. In the interview, the officer argued that an efficient command structure with a clear approach to engagement termination was central. He argued that NATO or EU command…

Shaping the Way Ahead for Airpower: General Hostage Focuses on the Future

01/24/2013
2013-01-24 Second Line of Defense and AOL Defense Board of Contributor Members Dr. Robbin Laird and Lt. General Dave Deptula USAF (Retired) sat down in mid December 2012 with General Mike Hostage, the Commander, Air Combat Command, with headquarters at Langley Air Force Base, Va. As the commander, he is…