I had extensive conversations in the period of the counter-offensive with General Babaker, Chief of Staff of the Iraqi Forces, as well as the Defense and Interior Ministers with regard to how to build up their forces. This was a dialogue and a shaping effort to determine what would work.…
Ron Asmus's latest book, A Little War That Shooked the World, is a stern reminder of the reversibility of history, and the continued prospects for conflict in Europe that can affect the boundaries among states: "We had come to believe that war in Europe had become impossible and that we…
In the often-parochial policy debates inside the Beltway, it is often forgotten that US actions more than words have significance for its allies. Decisions by the Administration and Congress about key weapons programs –F-35, tanker, C-17 PBLs, etc – have decisive significance for allies as well.
For this first Cyberpoints, the topic of concern is USCYBERCOM and the delay in meeting the October 31, 2009 deadline set by the Secretary of Defense. Going into March, as far as public announcement is concerned, and confirmation of the Commander, LTG Keith Alexander, there is a missed deadline of…
The Haiti earthquake is an important reminder that the security of maritime ports is vital in order to maintain the logistics of aid and fast response in the wake of such a disaster.
With all the traffic we were always cognizant of the fact that if anything happened to the runway, we would be out of business. During the initial stage of the operation, the airfield was the center of gravity. With that in mind the oversight was critical, compelling us to lean…
Sea bases are assembled out of resource pools available to joint force commanders, and they’re tailored for specific missions. So if you look at Haiti, I think the first thing down there was the USS Truman carrying helicopters. The Truman effectively went down there as a transport deck to get…
Distributed operations are mostly outlying bases and living with the people out in their village and their township. One of the advantages of the airplane is the fact that it allows us to land literally at dozens of these places in a single day, move mail, food, water, and in…
