Sunday, April 28, 2024
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Tony Bertuca is chief editor of Inside the Pentagon, the flagship publication of InsideDefense, where he focuses on defense budget and acquisition policy. He previously worked for the Sun-Times News Group in his hometown of Chicago, IL, and at the New Hampshire Union Leader in Manchester, NH. Tony has also served as managing editor of Inside the Army. He has a master's degree in journalism from Boston University.
President Obama's new plan to leave 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, which was not immediately accompanied by a plan to pay for them, drew harsh criticism from GOP defense hawks, including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX), who demanded the president immediately submit a supplemental budget request to finance the new strategy.
The Pentagon has alerted Congress that U.S. Special Operations Command has an urgent need to replenish its stock of Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems, often called "suicide drones" because they are essentially small, flying warheads that can be steered by operators with the aid of an onboard camera.
President Obama is ordering 8,400 U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan through the end of 2016, a departure from plans to draw down to 5,500 driven by a resurgence of Taliban forces.
The week ahead features several House Armed Services Committee hearings on military readiness and Pentagon reform, while committee leaders are scheduled to make public appearances to discuss the fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill.
A letter has been drafted by a team of anti-war and anti-debt advocacy organizations from across the political spectrum encouraging members of Congress to oppose a controversial funding maneuver in the fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter today announced that transgender people will now be able to openly serve in the U.S. military.
A few must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter called Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Işık today to express condolences following the attack on the Istanbul Ataturk Airport that killed 41 people and injured more than 200.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) sought to defend his effort to alter the Pentagon's management structure to include more "cross-functional teams" during a Tuesday hearing with a panel of management experts, including retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former head of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill this week on proposed reforms the Defense Department, while retired Gen. Phillip Breedlove, the former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, is scheduled to speak at a think tank panel on the value of U.S. alliances in wake of the British vote to exit the European Union.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter spoke with his United Kingdom counterpart Friday to reaffirm both nations' commitments to NATO and ongoing joint acquisition projects, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, in the wake of a U.K. vote to exit the European Union that sent economic shockwaves across the globe.
President Obama has issued a statement reaffirming the United States' "special relationship" with the United Kingdom and NATO in wake of a referendum that will lead the U.K. to exit the European Union.
A few must-reads from this week's edition of Inside the Pentagon.
The Pentagon's No. 2 official is cautioning Congress that required quantities for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter might still increase or decrease based on "ongoing analysis," but notes that one thing is certain: the program isn't getting any cheaper.
Majority staff directors for the House and Senate Armed Services committees see plenty of room for compromise as they prepare to launch summer meetings to reconcile defense policy bills that are $18 billion apart and propose significantly different reforms to the Defense Department's acquisition system, including the elimination of DOD's acquisition chief.
The Defense Department's "fourth estate" will rely on the Government Services Administration's OASIS vehicle to award $500 million in professional services contracts starting in January 2017, according to a new memorandum of understanding.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter plans to visit U.S. military installations in New York, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois this week to highlight his new Force of the Future personnel reform initiative.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter met today with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who plans to visit Lockheed Martin's production facility in Fort Worth, TX, this week for the official roll-out of an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter configured for the Israeli military, known as the F-35I.
The Pentagon's secretive Strategic Capabilities Office is actively soliciting research proposals for "novel concepts" in weapon technologies, autonomy, cyber, sensors and command and control for consideration for possible funding.
The United States has updated all war plans with "innovative operational concepts" to address the current global threat environment, which includes a revanchist Russia, a rising China and continued Middle East turmoil, according to Defense Secretary Ash Carter.