The Air Force Association Asks: Where is the Beef?

01/26/2012
01/26/12 We want to recognize the importance of an Air Force Association letter sent  to the Hill outlining their concerns about funding challenges undercutting the ability to have a new power projection strategy.  An impressive range of Air Force influentials weighed in and signed this letter and this is a…

Coalition Engagement in Bold Alligator 2012

01/26/2012
01/26/12 During the week of Second Line of Defense interviews prior to the beginning of the Bold Alligator 2012, Lieutenant Commander George Pastoor provided a unique coalition perspective.  Pastoor is a Dutch Naval Officer with Expeditionary Strike Force 2 and the lead planner for Bold Alligator. SLD: You are a…

BF-6 and BF-8 Land at Eglin AFB: The F-35 Moves Forward

01/25/2012
01/17/12 During Second Line of Defense visits in mid-January 2012 to the participants in Bold Alligator, we were able to focus on the meaning of the arrival of the new USMC F-35Bs to Eglin AFB.  Col. Arthur TOMASSETTI, vice commander of the 33rd Fighter Wing, Air Education and Training Command,…

USAF Background Paper on the Light Air Support Decision

01/25/2012
01/25/2012 by Ed Timperlake We are publishing a USAF background paper currently circulating on the Hill.  It validates everything we have written on Second Line of Defense for more than a year about the LAS competition. The USAF is circulating a paper on the Hill that clearly lays out for…

The Afghan-Pak Logistics Challenge in 2012

01/25/2012
[caption id="attachment_12920" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 01/25/2011 - The success of U.S.-NATO operations in Afghanistan depends on logistics capabilities and security. It is crucial to have secure and effective lines of communication through which supplies can reach the foreign contingents assigned to the International Security and…

An Iran-Centric Crisis?

01/24/2012
By Dr. Harald Malmgren 01/23/2012 - Iran is threatening to close the Straits of Hormuz.  Newly tightening financial sanctions on Iran’s banks and its central bank are suffocating credit for Iran’s fuel imports and oil exports.  Inside Iran there are widespread frantic efforts by businesses and people in the streets…

An Update on F-35 Manufacturability: The Global Perspective

01/22/2012
01/22/12 In a recent Inside the Navy report from Jason Sherman, it was reported that LRIPs 7 and 8 are to increase their orders by 40%. (Jason Sherman, “LRIPs 7, 8 to jump 40%,” Inside the Navy (1/09/12). The key driver in this upsurge is foreign orders.  Mentioned in the…

Reintegrating Taliban Fighters

01/20/2012
[caption id="attachment_12920" align="alignleft" width="150" caption=" "][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz 01/20/2012  There is widespread international support for reintegrating lower-level Taliban foot soldiers who may have joined the insurgency for money or other non-ideological reasons. Inducing many of these “accidental guerrillas” to leave the insurgency is a reasonable goal since neither…