Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has convened the top U.S. military brass in Washington for a two-day conference to discuss progress in the war on terrorism, as well as other pressing defense issues.
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
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Jason Sherman is a reporter for Inside Defense. For more than two decades -- including stints with Defense News and Armed Forces Journal -- he has covered the Pentagon, defense industry, the military budget, weapon system acquisition and defense policy formulation as well as reporting on technology, business, and global arms trade. Jason has traveled to more than 40 countries, studied medieval history at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and lives in Brooklyn.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has convened the top U.S. military brass in Washington for a two-day conference to discuss progress in the war on terrorism, as well as other pressing defense issues.
U.S. military strategy documents lack a mature definition for "irregular warfare" -- a key component of the intellectual framework essential to recalibrating American forces to counter 21st century guerrilla operations -- and for that reason the Joint Staff should not seek to craft joint doctrine that addresses "irregular warfare" as a term or construct.
The Defense Department is upgrading Navy P-3 aircraft, originally designed to scour wide swaths of open ocean for Soviet submarines, to assist in the hunt for roadside bombs in Iraq.
In an 11th-hour bid to influence the shape of the fiscal year 2007 defense authorization bill, the Pentagon on Monday delivered to Congress a final bundle of "appeals" designed to sway lawmakers to support key weapon system plans and provide the required flexibility to significantly alter military force structure.
More than half of the Quadrennial Defense Review follow-on study efforts directed by the Pentagon earlier this year focus on dealing with "disruptive" technologies and innovations that could diminish the Pentagon's high-tech edge against future adversaries, according to a senior Pentagon official.
The Defense Department, in its push to better prepare U.S. forces for irregular warfare, is recalibrating a key analysis tool used to consider trade-offs between different weapon systems and force structure in the budgets of the military services.
In a development that could alter the shape of the Pentagon's new investment plans, the Joint Staff is poring over spending proposals submitted by the military services to examine whether capabilities urgently required by combatant commanders are being adequately funded, according to Pentagon officials.
The Defense Department is awaiting revised fiscal guidance from the White House that Army officials hope will significantly increase spending on ground forces between fiscal years 2008 and 2013, according to Pentagon sources.
Senior U.S. and Taiwanese defense officials are set to meet next week in Colorado as part of an annual conference organized by a private-sector group to facilitate discussions about arms sales to the self-governing island.
Navy strategists are planning a 12-city tour around the United States to meet with thousands of opinion leaders, local and state government officials, entrepreneurs, academics and journalists as part of a yearlong effort to craft a new maritime vision for the service, according to sources involved with what one calls a "conversation with the country."
In a new bid to boost U.S. military readiness levels, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld may ask Congress for expanded authorities to expedite the acquisition of new weapon systems and the refurbishment of worn gear.
The Defense Department is preparing an assistance package for Lebanon's army that is designed to increase ground force deployments across the country's southern region, allowing Lebanon to better challenge Iranian- and Syrian-backed Hezbollah fighters who have launched attacks from that part of the country against neighboring Israel.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is seeking congressional approval to establish a new assistant secretary for global affairs position as part of a far-reaching reorganization of one of the Pentagon's most important shops -- the office of the under secretary of defense for policy.
The Pentagon is establishing a high-level task force designed to marshal counterterrorism efforts across the defense bureaucracy, according to Pentagon officials.
The Air Force is proposing a $5 billion down payment for a next-generation long-range strike aircraft, money the service hopes will propel research and development needed to meet the Pentagon's goal of fielding a new bomber fleet by 2018, according to sources familiar with new Air Force investment plans.
The Marine Corps is planning steep cuts to one of its largest modernization programs -- the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle -- as part of a wider effort to recalibrate its forces to better fight irregular combatants, according to internal Pentagon budget documents.
The Navy and Marine Corps want to delay fielding of the Joint Strike Fighter by more than a year, according to Pentagon officials.
The Office of the Secretary of Defense is considering adding tens of billions of dollars to the Army's base budget in the Pentagon's new six-year spending plan in order to address funding shortfalls that service officials say could threaten the viability of U.S. ground forces, according to Defense Department officials.
The Defense Department yesterday announced delays involving major Air Force and Navy acquisition programs.
Congressional investigators are calling on the Defense Department to overhaul key elements of the U.S. military's marquee training initiative to better reflect reserve component training needs and to accredit training regimens for new mission areas like irregular warfare and combating weapons of mass destruction.