2014-07-28 by Robbin Laird In a recent article published by Leatherneck magazine, I have reviewed the nature of the distributed laydown mandated by the National Command Authority and the challenge of ensuring that a distributed force can work effectively organically, with the joint force and with allies. The full article…
2014-07-23 By Robbin Laird During my latest visit to Second Marine Air Wing, I focused upon the USMC evolution of its use of the KC-130J. The Osprey has been a dramatic addition to the USMC and has made it the only tiltrotar assault enabled force in the world. What can…
2014-07-30 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake During our time at MAWTS-1, we had a chance to talk with Captain Justin “Lumbergh” Sing who represents the new generation of Osprey operators who have not transitioned from other platforms. I have not flown any other fleet aircraft. I went through the…
07/30/2014: KANGAROO FLATS TRAINING AREA, Northern Territory, Australia – Marines with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, and Soldiers with the Australian Army, participate in the fire team leaders course here. Credit: MRF-D:5/28/14 The Fire Team Leader is a crucial element in a deployed USMC force.…
07/30/2014: Forty-two ships and submarines representing 15 international partner nations steam in a close formation during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) Exercise 2014. Twenty-two nations, 49 ships and six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 26 to August 1, in and around…
2014-07-30 By Oscar Nkala French defense minister Yves Le Drian says his country will in early August deploy more than 3 000 soldiers to start military operations under its broadened trans-Sahel counter-terrorism initiative which is set to operate from a string of bases in Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Mali and…
2014-07-22 By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake Rather than looking into Putin’s soul and figuring out our next step in the Ukrainian crisis, it would be better to look carefully at the emergence of the next phase of 21st century warfare. War is always with us; but it mutates over…
2014-07-28 By Robbin Laird During my visit to 2nd Marine Air Wing in June 2014, I had a chance to meet with several of the members of the VMGR-252 squadron. [caption id="attachment_67857" align="alignnone" width="232"] Major Montgomery. Credit Photo: Second Line of Defense[/caption] In this interview, Major Mark Montgomery, a KC-130J…
