From the monthly archives:

January 2014

After screaming about our absence for years, it is great to see U.S. government leaders start to offer some attention to the front lines of the next Cold War, those fragile states of the “Deep Pacific”. This Thursday’s visit to the Republic of the Marshall Islands by the SECNAV is primarily focused on an interesting renewable […]

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Over the years, the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program has overcome all kinds of threats. But now, with the Department of Defense (DOD) folding under the pressure of the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation’s (DOT&E’s) constant anti-LCS hand-wringing, LCS haters may have finally seized upon a weapon capable of sinking the LCS Program–a test […]

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When former TOPGUN trainer and emergent LCS-killer Christine Fox, the Acting Deputy Secretary of Defense, demanded a “more capable [small] surface combatant“–namely one with innate air-defense capability–she did more than merely lay out a plan to kill a wayward surface-ship program. She offered a glimpse of what the Department of Defense (DOD) envisions as the […]

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In an elegant bit of Washington subterfuge, news “leaked” this week that the Littoral Combat Ship program is to shrink from 52 to 32 ships. This is a fascinating example of underhanded Washington drama, and it deserves added scrutiny. BACKGROUND So here’s the deal. Sometime in the past ten days, somebody in the Pentagon leaked […]

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After Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Greenert has spent a year giving stump speeches that, in large part, highlighted the future contributions of civilian-manned ships operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) (the AFSB, MLP and JHSV), one might think that the Surface Navy Association (SNA) would get the message and give the humble ‘ole […]

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The announcement that Japan and France are strengthening their military ties should come as no surprise to Pacific-watchers. Both countries have a goodly amount in common, and, though some people will scoff, this relationship will be a good thing for the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Let’s be frank…In Pacific and Indian Ocean Affairs, France gets […]

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Upon further review of the L’affair Cowpens, where the USS Cowpens (CG-63) and a Chinese ship engaged in a little “irresponsible” pas de deux, I must wonder if it was a planned piece of provocation. But, before we examine the confrontation in greater detail, let me highlight a fascinating Reuters piece published 7 November, almost […]

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The fallout from the Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA) scandal is wide-ranging…but just how wide-ranging is it? We don’t know yet, but I worry that the strategic impact of this scandal may well be greater than the arrests and sensational headlines suggest. Even worse, the SECNAV told us last month that this scandal is not […]

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Big Defense CEOs: Follow Elon Musk’s Lead

by admin on January 2, 2014

Over at TESLA/SpaceX, the power of dynamic, aggressively public leadership is on full display. Elon Musk gets in front of the cameras, engages blogs and even plays in the twittersphere—relishing his role as publicist-in-chief. His name and his hip image are irrevocably melded to his businesses—which are now recognized across the globe. In comparison, CEOs in the “Big […]

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