2014-08-10 By Robbin Laird Vladimir Putin has returned Russia to the world stage in rather dramatic fashion. The seizure of Crimea from Ukraine is the most obvious statement of Russian power, yet this seizure could obscure the broader strategy and focus of attention. Putin is really an energy czar, running…
2014-08-10 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Iraq 2014 is not Iraq 2003. Following the invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the US started on the path of the reconstruction of the country. A key approach followed, notably in the surge and thereafter, a counter-insurgency or COIN…
2014-08-04 Some years ago, the former head of the F-35 program and then director of the USAF Air Armaments Center at Eglin Air Force Base, General “CR” Davis highlighted the importance of new weaponry. In this case he focused on a legacy weapon, the AMRAAM. Maj. Gen. Charles Davis, director…
2014-08-08 By Ed Timperlake and Robbin Laird We have focused from the outset on the maintainability of the F-35 and the roll out of real world experience in shaping the maintenance regime. We argued earlier that letting the operators shape the operational path for the F-35 makes a lot of…
2014-08-04 By Ed Timperlake and Robbin Laird During our recent visit to Yuma Marine Corps Air Station, we talked with officers from both the VFMA-121 Squadron and MAWTS-1. VFM-121 brought us up to speed on the rollout of the F-35B to IOC next year; MAWTS-1 provided us a perspective on…
2014-08-08 By Robbin Laird The USS America is the largest amphibious ship ever built by the United States. The ship has been built at the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi and departed mid-July for its trip to its initial home part at San Diego, California and then will be…
2014-08-08 According to a USMC press release, the Marines are working with the Norwegians to enhance collaboration. U.S. Marines, in coordination with their Norwegian counterparts, are scheduled to conduct a pre-planned Single Ship Movement and offload of military equipment from a Maritime Prepositioning Force ship in the Trøndelag region of…
[maxgallery id="67887"] 2014-08-07 By Robbin Laird During my visit to 2nd Marine Air Wing in June 2014, I had a chance to meet with several of the members of the VMGR-252 squadron. In this interview, Sgt. Paul Millis, a Crew Chief, and Sgt. Thomas Chevalier, a power train maintainer. Both…
