With the French Forces In Afghanistan: At Crucial Point of Transition

06/26/2012
06/26/12: Second Line of Defense’s Murielle Delaporte recently spent ten days with the French forces in Afghanistan on the ground.   We interviewed her today by phone, just after her return to Paris.  She returned on the same plane with the dead and wounded from the Taliban terrorist attack in Kapisa.…

Sustaining a Forward Presence: The Military Sealift Command

06/12/2012
by Robbin Laird In a series of articles for AOL Defense, I am going to look at several elements of re-shaping U.S. forces to enable an Asian pivot.  And intend to look at several neglected aspects of a sustainable power projection force for the 21st century. The U.S. can afford…

Multi-National Training: The Entry into Service of the A400M

06/11/2012
6/11/12: By Robbin Laird One of the more interesting presentations at the Airbus Military Trade Media Brief 2012 was by the head of training at Airbus Military. Ian Burrett, Head of Training and Aircrew Operations, Customer Services, provided an overview of the approach and the standing up of the baseline…

Enabling the Global F-35 Fleet: Shaping a Common Logistical Approach

06/08/2012
6/8/12: We have focused earlier on what is in the baseline F-35 in terms of capability. https://www.sldinfo.com/the-baseline-f-35/ One aspect of the baseline aircraft which we did not focus on in that discussion was the common global language built into every manufactured aircraft which comes off the assembly line. Because the…

The Logistical Impact of Seabasing

05/16/2012
In our series on Bold Alligator 2012, we examined various aspects of littoral operations highlighted in the exercise. And we did so with the future evolution of such capabilities in mind.  We will soon publish our analytical take on how to think differently with regard to littoral engagement  in light…

Admiral “Buz” Buzby on the Military Sealift Command: Providing Global Support for Forward Deployment

05/05/2012
5/5/2012 The Military Sealift Command is not the most visible element of the USN-USMC team, unless you are at sea and need their support.  Whether support directly from the ships or from the air assets they fly to provide for vertical replenishment, the more than 100 MSC ships are the…

Starting An Industry: From UID To RFID

05/02/2012
2012-05-12 by Murielle Delaporte An Interview with Michael Wynne, former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L) from 2003 till 2005 and Secretary of the Air Force from 2005 till 2008, with Mrs. LeAntha Sumpter and Rob Leibrandt. Ms. Sumpter is the Deputy Director, Program Development and…

The Military Sealift Command Plays the Fountain of Youth Role: The Ponce Back to Sea

04/24/2012
4/24/12 The USS Ponce (LPD-15) was launched on 20 May 1970. It was last in action off of the coast of Libya and was a member of the ARG-MEU, which was part of the transformation evident in the air operations off the shores of Tripoli. She faced the end of…