The First Osprey Pilots Receive the Distinguished Flying Cross

07/29/2013
2013-07-29 By Robbin Laird Last year, I provided an update on Osprey from the perspective of several years of combat under its belt. http://breakingdefense.com/2012/08/23/the-osprey-after-five-years-leading-a-tsunami-of-change/ This year, my visit to New River Air Station brought into focus the maturing of the Osprey and the preparation of the USMC for the next…

Meeting the Challenges: The Future of Canadian Defense (Updated)

07/28/2013
2013-07-28  By Robbin Laird As an American defense analyst and journalist, I recently had a chance to review the challenges facing Canadian defense during a visit to Ottawa. During this interview with Editor-in-Chief, Chris Maclean, and Richard Bray, long time reporter and senior writer from FrontLine Defence magazine, we discussed…

Honoring American Aviators Operating in France in World War II: The Noirmoutier and La Pezade Memorials

07/26/2013
2013-07-26 By Donald Marvin Bohler In the summer of 2012, the head of the Noirmoutier Sister Cities International committee asked me if I could find the family members of the American B-17 crew who had crash-landed their 8th Air Force B-17, the “Battling Bastards”, on the beach at La Guériniere on…

Shaping a European Contribution to Asian Defense and Security: The Eurocopter Role

07/26/2013
2013-07-26 In American discussions of the re-shaping of Pacific defense, naturally the primary focus is upon the American role and contribution. Lost in such a focus often is how the Asian allies are shaping their defense and security futures and shaping those futures in part by building upon evolving European systems.…

F-35 Maintainers for the F-35A at Eglin: Rolling Out a New Capability

07/25/2013
2013-07-24 Recently, the F-35A maintainers received an award from the base command which highlighted their progress for the past year. According to a press release (July 17, 2013) from the 33rd Fighter Wing: The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program continues to garner accolades, as the 33d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron won the…