Brazil’s Military Role in Haiti

06/19/2012
6/19/12: by Kenneth Maxwell The "Folha de Sao Paulo" reported on Monday, June 11th, 2012, that Brazil has spent almost R$2 billion in Haiti between June 2004 and May 2012. What began as an emergency military operation to provide security for six months with a cost estimated at R$150 million, reached almost R$…

A Marine Corps Perspective on the F-35: Getting on With It

06/17/2012
At a roundtable on the F-35 and allies held at the Heritage Foundation on June 7, 2012, Colonel Kevin J. Killea
provided a Marine Corps perspective on the program. Currently, he is the head of Aviation Weapons Requirements branch for headquarters United States Marine Corps.  He’s a graduate of both the…

Norway Moves Ahead with the F-35

06/15/2012
6/15/12: Norway today commenced the largest public procurement project in its history. The event was marked by Minister of Defence Espen Barth Eide authorizing the order for the first F-35A Lightning II for the Norwegian Armed Forces. The decision to move forward was reached following an extended dialogue with the…

The Why for the Norwegian F-35 Decision: The Arctic Dimension

06/15/2012
6/15/12: by Robbin Laird I personally have done quite a lot of work on Arctic security.  And in the course of working on the Arctic and dealing with Norwegians, Canadians and Danes, the F-35 and in the Norwegian case the Aegis systems came into play as well.  And in a…

A Congressional Staffer Perspective on the F-35: “Build Planes and Get Them into the Hands of the Warfighters”

06/15/2012
A key member of the panel at the Heritage Foundation event on the F-35 and allies was Anthony “Lazer” Lazarski, 
Military Legislative Assistant, Office of Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK).  Lazarski is a former USAF officer with operational experience in several type model series of aircraft, and a very knowledgeable practitioner…

Shaping a 21st Century U.S. Military

06/13/2012
6/13/12: By Robbin Laird [caption id="attachment_40496" align="alignnone" width="300"] Both the right and the left believe in realities that no longer exist. We could not do the 1991 air war today; we cannot man the oceans or provide for global presence with a maritime force operational NOW and planned for the…

Sustaining a Forward Presence: The Military Sealift Command

06/12/2012
by Robbin Laird In a series of articles for AOL Defense, I am going to look at several elements of re-shaping U.S. forces to enable an Asian pivot.  And intend to look at several neglected aspects of a sustainable power projection force for the 21st century. The U.S. can afford…