Writing
What’s in a name? More than you may think — and more than the Pentagon wishes to share
WASHINGTON — When U.S. military leaders decided to make a new spring push against ISIS in Syria, the commanding general, Lt. Gen. Paul Funk, looked to his grade school for guidance on what to call the new offensive. Funk attended elementary school in Roundup, Montana. To Funk, that was the perfect name for an operationRead moreBerlin airlift 70 years ago saved the city and proved the Air Force was needed
By tom On Wednesday, July 18 th, 2018 · no Comments · In And more news stories ,News stories ,WritingWASHINGTON — Raymond Roberts still remembers vividly the sight of that Soviet MiG jet teasing the cargo plane he was in as a crew member ferrying supplies 70 years ago to a besieged Berlin. “We were helpless,” Roberts, who lives in Denton, Texas, said in an interview. “We were just flying in a small (air)Read moreRed Sox powerful Pentagon weapon revealed
WASHINGTON — Top Pentagon officials dogmatically decline to speculate about any future operation, maneuver, deployment or weapons system when asked a question by a reporter. That is, unless it is about the Boston Red Sox. Boldly going where few generals trod, Gen. James McConville says the Red Sox are a lock to win the World SeriesRead moreMattis, Chinese take measure of each other
BEIJING — Defense Secretary James Mattis came to China armed with his knowledge of geography, history and the determination to see — perhaps prove — that retired generals do not fade away, they make the world better. Mattis believed the two superpowers could find common ground, trumpet that duet, and then try to proceed toRead moreWITNESSING A HUMANITARIAN CRISIS: Rohingyas in Bangladesh
Almost every refugee crisis can claim to be the worst. The truth is, they all are. Yet the one now ungluing in Myanmar and Bangladesh has dwarfed most others, the result of sinister, racist corruption that has leveled the crisis of desperate Rohingyas into historic tragedy. To those who are there, trying to help,Read moreIf not victory, , can there be success in Afghanistan?
WASHINGTON — If you search for the metrics to winning the war in Afghanistan, you will get plenty of results, plenty of metrics — and no victory declared. And that may be the way it will be, indefinitely. At best, the U.S. is seeking success, not victory, experts are now saying. The U.S.-led coalition isRead morePentagon seeks it, DARPA creates it
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary James Mattis says the U.S. needs to keep technologically ahead of adversaries and that means, among other things, quicker advances in smartly developed and financed tools and weapons. He better dial 703-526-6630. Or drive 4.2 miles south of his Pentagon office. That is where DARPA has its headquarters and that isRead moreFaceoff coming soon for Las Vegas hockey team and Army
WASHINGTON — The Las Vegas Golden Knights, the newest franchise in the National Hockey League, defeated one of the elite teams on Sunday, besting the Washington Capitals 4-3 in a showdown between division leaders downtown in the nation’s capital. The. Knights came back three times to tie and then take the lead for good, perhapsRead moreSnowflakes reappear in the Pentagon: Rumseld’s musings have life again
WASHINGTON — Very few things send Washington into a tizzy like a forecast of snow. But those palpitations are nothing compared to the tsunami shudder that coursed through the Pentagon at the thought of a ”snowflake” circulating up and down its more than 17.5 miles of hallways. That would be a Donald Rumsfeld snowflake —Read moreSnowflakes reappear in the Pentagon: Rumseld’s musings have life again
By tom On Monday, January 29 th, 2018 · no Comments · In And more news stories ,News stories ,WritingWASHINGTON — Very few things send Washington into a tizzy like a forecast of snow. But those palpitations are nothing compared to the tsunami shudder that coursed through the Pentagon at the thought of a ”snowflake” circulating up and down its more than 17.5 miles of hallways. That would be a Donald Rumsfeld snowflake —Read moreNew friend — or foe — on the way for satellites
By tom On Thursday, January 25 th, 2018 · no Comments · In And more news stories ,News stories ,WritingWASHINGTON — From Defense Secretary James Mattis to think-tankers and congressional military soothsayers, the need to ramp up U.S. space security is being proclaimed more and more and louder and louder. A key first step may already be underway in one of the most successful parts of the military — DARPA, its research and developmentRead moreNew defense doctrine: Be strategically predictable but operationally unpredictable
By tom On Friday, January 19 th, 2018 · no Comments · In And more news stories ,News stories ,WritingWASHINGTON — Creative approaches, sustained investment and being disciplined and adaptive in execution mark the foundation of the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy unveiled Friday. In some cases, it is the longtime mantra of “everything old is new again.” In other cases, the strategy document reflects new thinking, new terminology and 21st century realities. For example,Read more