2015-08-23 By Robbin Laird My last assignment when working at the Institute for Defense Analyses was supporting the staff for the 1995 Roles and Missions Commission. This Commission was headed by John White, who later was Deputy Secretary of Defense, and was formed to address a number of issues mandated…
2015-08-19 By Robbin Laird In my last piece based on my time with MARFORPAC and PACFLEET, I want to highlight some perspectives gained from talking with four members of the PACFLEET staff. I had a chance to talk with an learn for four senior members of the PACFLEET staff in…
2015-08-22 Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina Two F-35B joint strike fighter jets conduct aerial maneuvers during aerial refueling training over the Atlantic Ocean, Aug. 13, 2015. The mission of Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 501 is to conduct effective training and operations in the F-35B in coordination with…
2015-08-09 By Robbin Laird Pac Fleet operates in the largest area of operations for US forces. The immensity of the theater of operations, as well as the dynamics of change in the region, pose ongoing challenges of matching resources against tasks in protecting US interests and working closely with allies…
08/16/2015: 62nd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base accepting its first two F-35 aircraft. There will be 18 total F-35s joining the squadron over the next year. The jets will be flown by instructor pilots preparing for the first class of students in March 2016. The 62nd FS will…
2015-08-11 By Robbin Laird During my visit to PACFLEET at the end of July 2015, I had a chance to discuss the perspective of Colonel Jeffrey “Face” Hagan who is on the staff of Admiral Swift, the PACFLEET Commander. His role is to operate as link between PACFLEET and the…
2015-08-06 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake When Secretary Gates decided to put the F-35B on probation and Senator McCain became his powerful echo chamber we responded at the time on the pages of Breaking Defense that these actions were misguided. We have spent many hours with the pilots, maintainers,…
2015-08-08 Recently an Italian 767 Tanker refueled an F-35 in the United States. This was the first time a foreign tanker has refueled an F-35. The Italian tanker also operates as part of the European Air Transport Command and can look forward to tanking not only Italian and US F-35s…
