The Insider

The Marine Corps will participate in the upcoming Exercise Cobra Gold 2014 in Thailand this month, according to a service statement.

This is an annual exercise developed by the U.S. and Thai militaries. The exercise is scheduled Feb. 11-21 and will consist of a command post exercise, humanitarian and civic assistance projects and a field training exercise.

"CG 14, in its 33rd iteration, is designed to advance regional security by exercising a robust multinational force from nations sharing common goals and security commitments in the Asia-Pacific region," the statement reads.

The command post exercise will combine service members from the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia in a multinational force team that responds to a simulated scenario.

The field training exercise will include forces from the United States, Thailand and South Korea to enhance interoperability and strengthen regional relationships.

Personnel from the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and China will participate in humanitarian and civic assistance projects designed to improve the quality of life and infrastructure, as well as to share medical best practices, according to the statement.

An Army training area in Vermont has not been chosen as one of the military bases that will undergo environmental impact studies to possibly house an East Coast missile defense site, the Pentagon announced late Friday.

The Missile Defense Agency decided to pass on the Camp Ethan Allen Training Site near Jericho, VT, and instead will conduct environmental impact studies of Ft. Drum in New York; Naval Air Station Portsmouth SERE Training Area in Maine; Camp Ravenna Joint Training Center in Ohio; and Ft. Custer Training Center in Michigan, according to the statement.

"It is expected to take approximately 24 months to conduct and complete the EIS," MDA said in the statement. "The EIS will assess environmental impacts at each of the sites, to include potential impacts to land use, water resources, air quality, transportation, socioeconomics and other factors established by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Public involvement is encouraged as part of the process, to include public meetings, written comments and public review of the draft and final documents."

The MDA-led study was required by Congress, which wanted "a study to evaluate" at least three U.S. locations where interceptors might help defend against North Korean and Iranian ballistic missiles. At least two had to be on the East Coast. "The department has made no decision to proceed with construction of a new missile defense site," the statement adds.

The White House last night announced nominees for three senior posts in the Office of the Secretary of Defense: Michael McCord, the No. 2 official in the Defense Department comptroller's shop, to be the comptroller; succeeding Robert Hale; Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans and Forces Christine Wormuth to be the department's policy chief, succeeding Jim Miller; and Brian McKeon to be the deputy head of the policy shop, succeeding Kathleen Hicks.

McKeon is deputy assistant to the president, executive secretary of the National Security Council, and chief of staff for the National Security Staff at the White House.

Further, the White House tapped Miranda A. A. Ballentine to be assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics. She is the director of sustainability, renewable energy, sustainable facilities, and stakeholder engagement for Walmart, a position she has held since 2008.

“I am honored that these talented individuals have decided to join this Administration and serve our country," President Obama said. "I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come."

The Navy will christen the second Mobile Landing Platform on Feb. 1 at a ceremony in San Diego, CA., the Navy announced today.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert will speak at the ceremony.

The ship completed builder's trials Jan. 13 and is scheduled for delivery to the Navy's Military Sealift Command in March 2014, Henry Stevens, head of Strategic and Theater Sealift programs, told Inside the Navy in an interview at the Surface Navy Association's annual symposium in Arlington, VA, on Jan. 16.

The first of four planned MLP ships delivered on schedule and within budget on May 14, 2013. MLP-1 and MLP-2 will serve their original roles as part of a maritime prepositioning ship squadron that will allow for the offload of goods from cargo ships to landing craft or helicopters. MLP-2 will leverage float-on/float-off technology in order to partially submerge, facilitating easy movement of cargo and craft, according to the statement.

The third and fourth MLPs are slated to become Afloat Forward Staging Bases (AFSB), which include additional aviation and hangar space and will facilitate mine countermeasures, special operations and more. MLP-3, the first AFSB variant, is under construction. In the FY-14 defense appropriations bill, which cleared Congress on Jan. 16 as part of a massive $1.1 trillion omnibus bill and the president signed Jan. 17, appropriators gave the Navy $579 million for the fourth vessel, the second AFSB variant -- $55 million more than the Navy requested.

USNS John Glenn (MLP-2 ) is named for the former senator and legendary astronaut who is the last surviving member of the Mercury 7 crew, according to a Navy press release. Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth on Friendship 7.

"The christening of the future USNS John Glenn (MLP-2), a ship that will help usher in a new age of navy and marine Corps operations, is a fitting tribute to a man whose years of service to his nation as a Marine, a U.S. senator and an astronaut helped shape the future of the United States itself," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in the statement.

Four prominent Washington think-tanks next week will present alternatives to the Quadrennial Defense Review and fiscal year 2015 budget.

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, the American Enterprise Institute, the Center for a New American Security and the Center for Strategic and International Studies were each "asked to develop its own strategy to rebalance DOD's major capabilities in light of projected security challenges and likely budget constraints," according to a CSBA statement issued yesterday, which adds:

Using CSBA's strategic choices tool and methodology, the teams were able to choose from over 700 pre-costed options to add or cut from the projected defense program over the next two Future Years Defense Programs (FY15-19 and FY20-24) at two different levels of budget reductions.

The first fiscal scenario follows the Budget Control Act (BCA) budget caps (as modified by the Ryan-Murray agreement). The second scenario allows the teams to "buy back" capabilities assuming a more optimistic funding line roughly half-way between the Fiscal Year 2014 President’s Budget baseline and full BCA level cuts in scenario #1.

CSBA will host a public event on Feb. 5 "where all four teams will present their alternative strategies, capability priorities, and budget decisions," followed by a question-and-answer period, according to the statement.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) this morning unveiled his proposed legislation that would establish a commission to study the proper size and structure of the Army, while prohibiting the service from transferring or divesting any National Guard aircraft or reducing the reserve component's end strength beyond authorized levels in fiscal year 2015. Wilson hopes to attach it to the FY-15 defense authorization bill.

InsideDefense.com first broke news of Wilson's proposed legislation last week.

The draft legislation would give the commission a deadline of Feb. 1, 2016, to submit a report on the structure of the Army. Until that time, the Army would not be able to execute some aspects of its recently proposed aviation restructure plan nor would it be able to further reduce the Guard's end-strength beyond the authorized level of 350,000.

"Serious concerns have been brought to light regarding proposed changes to Army force structure, especially the proposed Army Aviation restructuring plan. This aviation restructuring plan would have a significantly negative impact on the Army National Guard aviation and the Total Army," Wilson writes in a Jan. 27 statement announcing the proposed legislation.

"Such a restructuring cannot and should not be rushed," Wilson states. "We must take our time and examine the issue to make sure that our Army and our soldiers remain the best in the world."

In December, InsideDefense.com first reported the Army was proposing a plan to restructure its aviation fleet that includes the divestiture of the entire OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopter fleet and the use of AH-64 Apache helicopters to meet the service's armed aerial scout mission. All of the National Guard's Apaches would be moved to the active component, while the Guard would receive 111 L-model Black Hawks in return. The Army would divest all of its TH-67 trainer helicopters and replace them with LUH-72A Lakota helicopters -- most from the active component but some taken from the Guard.

The restructuring of aviation assets, "significantly reduces personnel, many of whom are aviation personnel with years of experience as either pilots or in aircraft maintenance," Wilson writes. "Over 6,000 of these personnel, whom the Army has invested significant time and money, will be forced out of a job and will be cut from the Army National Guard as a result of this proposal."

Wilson adds the Guard should "mirror" the active duty force and can't do so if the Army removes all AH-64s out of the reserve components, "leaving no strategic depth and reach back capability for support."

The plan also "takes over 100 of the LUH-72 Lakota, a helicopter purchased specifically for the National Guard, and transfers it to be used as the Army's new training helicopter," Wilson states. "This is not what Congress intended."

Wilson notes in his statement that the proposed legislation has the bipartisan support of 16 co-sponsors.

In the wake of the discovery of widespread cheating on a proficiency test by the nuclear missile crew force, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel this week called for an independent review to look into the issue.

During a Pentagon briefing today with his French counterpart, Hagel was asked about his recent meetings with new Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James and U.S. Strategic Command chief Adm. Cecil Haney regarding the scandal. Here's what Hagel said:

There's no one issue here. And I believe that's true. This is cultural. As I said when I was at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, over the years, I do think we have taken some focus off of the responsibilities of these very dedicated, very bright, young officers, in the sense that their mission's important, their responsibility's important, but when you look at this country over the last 13 years has been committed to two large, long land wars.

And I think there has been a sense that -- of just well, we just take for granted that the nuclear component of our -- of our national strategic base line, and that is the nuclear deterrent. And I have said, and I believe this the case, and I asked specifically Secretary James' question, do you think that the safety, security, and effectiveness of our nuclear component or weapons are in jeopardy? She said no.

I asked Admiral Haney the same question. I asked the chief of staff of the Air Force the same question. I've asked commanders the same question. But that doesn't dismiss the -- the issues that we have in front of us.

I think also there's a testing issue here, too, that she mentioned. We -- we have a pretty significant and tight and unforgiving test curriculum and regimen that I'm not sure doesn't need to be explored and examined in some detail. Obviously, our standards can never be compromised. As I've said, and I think anyone who has any responsibility for our nuclear component, feels strongly about this, as do all these young people who we entrust with great responsibility. There cannot be any errors in this.

This is a -- a business of -- of error-free management. And when you connect that with the -- the high standard expectation at every test you take, if you don't make a 100 percent on every test, then you're eventually in a position where you probably minimize your chance for advancement.

Now, again, that's not just the only piece, but that's another piece. We're going to take a look and how we train and continue to train and test all these young people who have -- who have this great responsibility.

Standards must not be eroded. Of course not. But is there a better way to do this? Can we -- can we be more attuned to their interests?& I asked the question, and I asked her the question, and she mentioned the same thing in some of her thoughts.

When you -- when you put these people in these locations, where there is -- where there's almost a certain amount of isolation, I think that's a dynamic of -- of an environment that you have to factor in, too. Do they get bored? Are we doing enough? There's another part of this, and that's incentivizing these young men and women. Is there enough incentive?

So we'll get into all of these things in great detail when -- when we have our first meeting, and we'll be coming through with a number of recommendations that will come from Secretary James' trip. General Welsh, as you know, was out there, as well. Admiral Haney has been very connected into this. All our commanders have. So we'll obviously be briefing the press on where we are on this. But I think at this point, that's about as far as I want to go in -- in responding to the question.

But, again, I would leave you with this: We're not going to erode any standards in -- in our ability to manage our nuclear stockpile, nor can we. And our nuclear stockpile is safe, secure and effective today.