Iraq 2012: President’s Speech Leaves Many Questions Unanswered

08/17/2010
[caption id="attachment_10829" align="alignleft" width="128" caption="(Credit Photo: the Hudson Institute)"][/caption] By Dr. Richard Weitz In his August 2 speech before a Disabled American Veterans conference in Atlanta, President Barack Obama said that the American role in Iraq was transitioning from Operation Iraqi Freedom, a military effort led by U.S. combat troops,…

The USCG Faces Personnel Reductions in the Face of the Gulf Oil Crisis

08/08/2010
By Retired Admiral Ed Gilbert The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is the smallest of our military services (“The runt of the military litter”, said one highly biased anti-military pundit.) Although it has 11 missions assigned by statutes, most of us see it executing the vital search and rescue mission, responding…

A Bad Day for Maritime UAVs

08/08/2010
[caption id="attachment_10706" align="alignleft" width="116" caption="Dr. Richard Weitz (Credit Photo: The Hudson Institute)"][/caption]   By Dr. Richard Weitz    A major attraction-getter at the recent Farnborough International Air Show, the biennial aviation event in southern England at which representatives from SLD attended, was a video displaying a laser weapon downing four unmanned…

TRANSCOM on Meeting the Challenge in Afghanistan

07/15/2010
During our visit to Transcom in March 2010, General McNabb provided a detailed overview on the challenges in supporting the deployed warfighter in Afghanistan, including supporting the surge ordered by the President.  Although the General did not put it this way, it was apparent that the con-ops approach of Transcom…

Re-visiting the USAF Tanker Impact on Con-ops

07/15/2010
Air Force Association White Paper Excerpts As the support functions ramp up, the USAF has relied more on the KC-10s to provide for the tanker gap.  And as the Administration moves forward to make a tanker decision, it is important to re-visit why tankers are so important to the US…