By Robbin Laird During a July 2021 visit to 2d Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) I talked with LtCol J. Eric Grunke and LtCol Jessica Hawkins. Grunke just relinquished responsibility to Hawkins for the Marine Aviation Training Systems (MATS) ecosystem within 2d MAW; encompassing all aviation simulators and the necessary infrastructure. …
By Robbin Laird In an article which I originally published on Breaking Defense on September 11, 2011, I recalled those events from the perspective of being in the Pentagon that day. That article follows: Early on the morning of September 11th, I had an appointment in the Pentagon with a senior…
When I visited MARFORPAC in 2014, it was the beginning of what the Obama Administration called the “Pivot to the Pacific.” But that really did not happen as the Russians seized Crimea, and the wars in the Middle East ramped up. Those demand sets still weigh heavily on the U.S.…
By Matt Gonzales MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII In August, Marine Corps Systems Command led one of the largest command and control user evaluations since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. MCSC collaborated with the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, Navy and Coast Guard to execute Island Marauder…
By Robbin Laird My last visit to Hawaii and meetings with the MARFORPAC commander and his staff was in 2014. In August 2021, I visited again and spent several days in the Islands, during which I visited both MARFORPAC and PACAF. Since my last visit, what the Marines refer to…
By Pierre Tran Paris - Europeans have dusted off the concept of a European rapid reaction force in response to a lack of U.S. cooperation with allies in the chaotic withdrawal from Kabul. The European Union’s pursuit of the concept of strategic autonomy may have won greater political support, but…
By India Strategic New Delhi. In the first contact with the Taliban after the U.S. ended its two-decade occupation of Afghanistan, India on August 31 raised its “concern” that the country should not be used for anti-India activities and terrorism “in manner” and also discussed the early return of Indian…
By Petty Office Lee-anne Cooper M777A2 Howitzers were brought into action ready to fire. Tiger helicopters established battle positions ready to engage targets. But the Shadow 200 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and their targeting lasers were the stars of the show on exercise Dragon Sprint. The exercise was held at…
