02/15/2016: U.S. Marines with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa embed with a Spanish Legion company during a week-long exercise in the mountains of Almeria, Spain, Dec. 14-18. The combined military operations in urban terrain and mountain warfare training is another bilateral training opportunity strengthening the U.S. and Spanish military…
02/15/2015: As the second week of Red Flag wraps up, over 130 aircraft are taking to the skies for 16-1. Watch a variety of aircraft from multiple branches of the military and coalition partners focus on combat readiness as they head out the Nevada Test and Training Range. Credit:99th Air Base…
2016-02-10 By Paul Bracken Seeing North Korea again test an atomic bomb and long range missile is like watching a movie you've seen before. The UN Security Council will meet. New sanctions will be put on North Korea. China will condemn the events. And nothing, really, will happen. The White…
02/14/2015: The aviation element of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadrom (VMM) 166, departs for embarkation in preparation for the unit's Western Pacific/Middle East deployment, Feb. 12. The 13th MEU provides a forward deployed, flexible sea-based Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) capable of conducting amphibious operations, crisis…
02/14/2015: HMAS Melbourne deployed to the Middle East Region for Operation Manitou, Australia’s contribution to the US-led multi-national Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) on 9 August 2015. In her seven-month deployment, Melbourne made a significant impact on drug trafficking and enhanced maritime security in the region, seizing nearly one tonne of illegal…
02/14/2016: It is clear that at the critical point in the initial destruction of the Taliban, that the United States could have avoided a full blown engagement in Afghanistan. The problem with occupying a country with such a radically different culture from that of the United States will always be…
2016-02-12 By Scott Truver In the early morning of Feb. 18, 1991, the U.S. amphibious warship USS Tripoli (LPH-10) struck an Iraqi contact mine in the northern Persian Gulf, ripping a 25-foot by 23-foot hole in her starboard side below the waterline. The quick reaction of her commanding officer and his crew managed…
2016-02-10 By Richard Weitz U.S., Japanese, and South Korean diplomats are pushing Russia and China to adopt a hardline in response to the recent DPRK nuclear and missile tests. This pursuit is likely to be in vain, though fortunately Seoul and Washington have more direct options that they can pursue.…