09/29/2011 by Robbin Laird The US is in a strategic upheaval over the nature of its futures and what future capabilities will remain after Afghanistan and the budget dynamics. A key element to keep in mind – if the US wants to remain a strategic player globally – is how…
By David Smith 09/28/2011 - For a week last month, US Marines of the 2nd Combat Engineering Battalion and Georgian soldiers of the 33rd Infantry Battalion joined forces in Operation Black Sand in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Deployed to Combat Outpost (COP) Shukvani, they cleared the Ladar Bazaar of improvised explosive…
By Dr. Richard Weitz 09/28/2011 - The current flap over the planned U.S. armed sales to Taiwan was entirely predictable. As long as Beijing insists on exercising control over Taiwan, the Taiwanese people insist on their right to exercise their political autonomy, and Washington insists on providing Taiwan with weapons…
09/27/2011 - The Second Line of Defense team sat down with Rear Admiral Lee to discuss his district, which runs from New Jersey through North Carolina. We met with him shortly before Hurricane Irene hammered the East Coast and many of the areas affected were in his district. [caption id="attachment_24295"…
09/27/2011 As the United States eventually gets around to looking at the world, a new strategy as well as a new approach to using the tools available to the national command authority will be necessary. Currently, the US is in strategic free fall. The Iraq engagement is ending, the Afghan…
By Dr. Robbin Laird 09/26/2011 - The United States is facing twin pressures of fiscal constraints and a drawdown and withdrawal from Afghanistan. The first highlights the need to reduce budgets; the second focuses upon the re-configuration of US forces. The need to reduce budgets in the context of a…
09/25/2011 - In early August 2011, Second Line of Defense sat down with Col. Sampsel and Secretary Wynne to discuss the transition in maintenance culture and its challenges for the F-35. Col. Sampsel is living through the transition and Secretary Wynne was one of the architects of the F-35 and…
An Interview with Major Debardeleben 09/27/2011 - During the annual Second Line of Defense visit to New River to discuss Osprey operations and experiences with the Osprey Nation, we had a chance to discuss the TRAP mission over Libya with the ACE commander and with one of the Osprey operators…
