Prior to the Bold Alligator 2012, Second Line of Defense visited with the planners and leadership of Expeditionary Strike Group 2. The ESG-2 team provided a core baseline to understand the approach and the objectives of the exercise. https://sldinfo.com/from-being-a-greyhound-bus-to-becoming-a-strike-force-bold-alligator-2012-shows-the-way/ https://sldinfo.com/esg-2-prepares-for-bold-alligator-2012/ https://sldinfo.com/planning-for-bold-alligator-2012/ We had a chance to come back after the…
by Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake The Libyan operations and Bold Alligator 2012 provide important inputs to re-thinking maneuver warfare from the Sea. Both operations involve amphibious capabilities and the leverage of sea bases to re-shape how the US and its allies can operate in a new approach leveraging the…
by Ed Timperlake, Editor, Second Line of Defense Forum I had the opportunity in December to see an advanced preview of the movie “Act of Valor,” an action thriller about US Navy SEALs, and my first impression was that it was sending a very powerful message to the enemies of…
China’s Evolving Military: SLD Coverage of Jamestown’s PLA Conference (Part 3) The third panel focused on China’s C4ISR modernization. The first speaker, Kevin Pollpeter, is the China Program Manager of Defense Group, Inc.'s of the Center for Intelligence Research and Analysis. He spoke about “Informationization and Joint Operations.” His key…
From Afghanistan to Libya to Bold Alligator 2012 to ... ? French Forces on Deployment By Murielle Delaporte and Robbin Laird February 20, 2012 - Defense debates rarely picture the folks who get into harm’s way to execute strategies and whose actions determine mission success or failure. The last decade…
by Robbin Laird As BA-12 was unfolding, the Iranian threat to mine the Straits of Hormuz was a real world event which seemed to remind folks of the need for amphibious capabilities and the sea basing approach. The Navy's biggest amphibious exercise in a decade, Bold Alligator, is not specifically…
Indonesia is a key player in shaping the future of Asian security. With significant security challenges due to its geography, topography and maritime character, a key element will be shaping capabilities for lift, and maritime patrol capabilities. An insightful perspective on why and how Indonesia is shaping its capabilities was…
SLD Coverage of Jamestown’s PLA Conference (Part 2) by Richard Weitz The conference’s second panel reviewed trends in China’s conventional force modernization. Moderator RADM Michael McDevitt, USN (Ret.), a Senior Fellow at the CNA Corporation and former head of their China program, said that how the PLA had gone about…
