Marine on tap to lead AFRICOM; ‘Marshall Plan’ for the Mideast?; Navy christens a ghost ship; How DoD is like Enron; and a bit more.

The White House is poised to select a Marine general to lead U.S. military forces in Africa, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. In a reflection of the increased use of U.S. Marines as crisis …

In Libya, You Can Buy an Anti-Aircraft Gun on Facebook

An online marketplace for illicit weapons is thriving in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a recent study that found sales of machine guns, rocket launchers, and anti-aircraft guns on private Facebook groups in Libya.

Don’t Let the Pentagon Become the Next Enron

Bad financial assumptions and unwillingness to make hard choices threaten to undermine national security.

More fire bases in Iraq?; Say no to a special nuke fund; FBI surveillance planes, tracked; Arms bazaars on Facebook; and a bit more.

The Pentagon may add more fire bases in Iraq to help Baghdad’s troops with their epic Mosul offensive. “Rear. Adm. Andrew Lewis, the vice director for operations, said there may be situations where …

Rebels down 2nd Syrian plane; Grim catalogue of Russian airstrikes; Once-a-generation Pentagon reorg looms; A ‘revolutionary’ infantry weapon; and a bit more.

Just hours after rebels downed a second Syrian air force jet in less than a month on Tuesday, the Syrian army—along with its Russian pals in the air and its Iranian comrades on the ground—has begun …

Carter Seeks New Powers for Joint Chiefs, Top Commanders in War on Terrorism

Obama’s defense secretary unveils his Goldwater-Nichols reform plan, and the most sweeping changes to the military’s top command in a generation.

Carter May Elevate CYBERCOM to a Full Combatant Command

As network warriors pound away on ISIS in the battle for Mosul, Carter says it’s time to consider full-COCOM status for cyberwarfare.

Flareup in Azerbaijan; Global defense spending drifts up; Who runs US cyberdefense?; F-35s to Alaska; and a bit more.

Conflict may be at last on the downturn in ex-Soviet Azerbaijan’s separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region. A ceasefire took effect about five hours ago after two days of fighting that left 16 Azerbaijani …

The Pentagon Still Hasn’t Decided Who’s In Charge If America Comes Under Cyberattack

Is it NORTHCOM or CYBERCOM? CYBERCOM or the NSA—or both? So many agencies; so little clarity.