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…

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.…

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…

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…