April 16, 2012 During the visit to 2nd Marine Corps Air Wing in early March 2012, Second Line of Defense had an opportunity to sit down with General Walters to discuss his recent experience in Afghanistan. As commander of air operations for 2nd MAW (Forward), Walters had an opportunity to…
by Robbin Laird Recently, the USN-USMC team completed the largest “amphibious” exercise in more than a decade along with core allies. But what did people see? What did they recognize in the exercise and focus upon? Because it is called an amphibious exercise, outsiders who attended the exercise tended to…
by Ed Timperlake Current realities show the pressure of global dynamics, not wishful thinking, upon defense policies. As the North Koreans prepare to launch yet another missile, the U.S. and the Japanese are deploying forces to monitor and to defend if necessary. For what is the difference between a test…
By Ed Timperlake The F-35 is often simply referred to as a tactical aircraft, and a replacement for 4th generation or legacy aircraft. It is really something quite different. It represents a dramatic shift from the past. For the first time in history, individual F-35 pilots –A, B or C…
Bold Alligator 2012 was the largest Amphibious exercise in more than a decade. After a decade of land wars, the “return” of the USN-USMC team to littoral engagement operations is a core skillset, which needs to be highlighted and further, enhanced and developed. Because it is called an amphibious exercise,…
Second Line of Defense visited the USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE 5) while it was in port in Norfolk. The ship caught our eye while we were covering Bold Alligator 2012 because of the first operational engagement of an Osprey aboard a T-AKE ship. We will publish shortly an interview…
Shortly after the Bold Alligator 2012 exercise, Second Line of Defense sat down with Lt. Col. Boniface to discuss his experiences during Bold Alligator 2012. As the Osprey squadron commander involved in the exercise, he was in charge of the key toolset, the Osprey, which re-defined the ESG-MEB operationally. Two images…
Shaping Expeditionary Command and Control: From Javelin Thrust to Bold Alligator 2012 In an interview with Col. Kevin Iiams, currently the standardization officer for 2nd MAW, the Colonel discussed the evolving approach of the USMC to shaping expeditionary command and control capability. He discussed his previous experience in Javelin Thrust-11…
