President Trump has already visited Paris; now President Macron is visiting Washington. It is a difference in styles, approaches and perhaps temperament, But President Macron has arrived in the midst of crisis within France and wider one within Europe. And both have one key political accomplishment – no one expected…
F-35B Lightning II pilots with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit perform flight operations aboard the USS Wasp (LHD-1) during Certification Exercise, April 13, 2018. The 31st MEU and Amphibious Squadron 11 conduct Certification Exercise as the final evaluation in a series of training exercises which ensures readiness for crisis response…
By Robbin Laird During my recent visit to Australia, with a clear focus on supporting the Williams Foundation effort to look at strategic transition facing the allied militaries, I had a chance to continue my discussions with Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, Chief of the Royal Australian Navy. The Vice Admiral…
By Todd Miller The wide open ground and air space of west central Nevada host Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon and the Fallon Range Training Complex (FRTC). Together they form the epicenter of air to air and air to ground training for the Naval Aviator. NAS Fallon is also a…
Marines with Combat Logistic Battalion 31, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, are now capable of “‘‘additive manufacturing,’“ also known as 3-D printing. This innovative process uses 3-D printing software to break down a digital model into layers that can be reproduced by the printer. The printer then builds the model from…
By Robbin Laird Last year, when visiting the Sikorsky West Palm Beach facility, I saw the CH-53K King Stallion being built, which is now in Europe and preparing to fly at the Berlin Air Show. Next month, the first CH-53K will arrive in New River, N.C., for the U.S. Marines…
On the occasion of the coming 100thAnniversaries of both the RAF and the RAAF, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier, the Chief of Staff of the RAF addressed the Williams Foundation Seminar on the shift from the land wars to high intensity conflict and highlighted he saw the challenges and…
By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake When journalists and many policy makers discuss an area like missile defense they often do so from the perspective of catalogue shopping. What items in the catalogue are of interest? And what do they cost? This is often reflected in presenting the reporting and…
