Ideas

How Retirement Threatens the Pentagon's Future Weapons

Can the Defense Department make the necessary adjustments to backfill its aging cadre of technical experts? By Rear Adm. Michael Moran and Scott O'Neil

Policy

Marco Rubio Channels Dick Cheney To Step Up His National Security Game

Sen. Rubio outlines an aggressive foreign policy platform and takes some not-so-subtle jabs at President Obama and some of his less-hawkish fellow Republicans. By Emma Roller

Threats

Air Power Alone Can't Defeat the Islamic State

Air strikes might defeat the Islamic State, but does the U.S. have the capacity to leave behind stable institutions without a massive deployment of troops and cash? By Tim Fernholz

Ideas

Africa Needs the US Military To Fight Ebola

It’s up to the international community to change its response behavior and question its own assumptions about disease containment. By Melissa Hersh

Business

VA Will Increase Pay for New Doctors, Dentists

As part of its recruitment effort to hire more healthcare professionals, new VA doctors and dentists could earn as much as $35,000 more than the current salary ranges. By Kellie Lunney

Threats

GOP Fears That ISIL Fighters Are Entering US Through Mexico Border

Despite some Republican fears, administration officials say ISIL fighters are more likely to enter the U.S. on a flight using Western passports than through Mexico. By Rebecca Nelson and Marina Koren

Policy

New Lawmakers Agonize Over Their First War Vote

For newer members of Congress, a vote to authorize training Syrian rebels will be their first time weighing military action. By Billy House

Ideas

Why Do We Need ‘Hypersonic’ Strike Weapons, Exactly?

The Pentagon has a bit more explaining to do before the U.S. keeps developing its latest super-fast weapon. By James M. Acton

Threats

Petraeus, Crocker Support Plan To Arm and Train Syrian Rebels

In a letter to Congress, the former ‘dream team’ of the Iraq War is backing a plan to train and equip Syrian rebels. By Ben Watson

Defense Systems

Body sensors could improve future soldiers’ performance

A panel of researchers working with the Army discusses the importance of monitoring both physical and psychological stressors.

Defense Systems

Army launches $49.5 million anti-IED challenge

Twenty contractor teams will compete in a program to detect and identify explosives planted in culverts.

Ideas

Fight the Islamic State in Iraq? Sure. In Syria? Not So Much

There’s consensus in Washington about fighting the Islamic State in Iraq, but when it comes to Syria, things get messy. By Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Policy

Dempsey Says US Ground Forces Possible If Coalition Strategy Fails

Top military advisors give the president their best advice based on the situation on the ground. That may mean ‘no boots on the ground’ complicates things. By Molly O’Toole

Science & Tech

Boeing and SpaceX Tapped To Free NASA from Russian Launches

NASA awarded a $4.2 billion contract to Boeing and a $2.6 billion contract to SpaceX to send its astronauts into orbit without help from Russia. By Tim Fernholz

Business

Afghanistan's Reconstruction Future Looks Very Bleak, IG Warns

The IG for Afghanistan reconstruction says the financial and operational burdens of rebuilding that nation are still well beyond anything Kabul can manage by itself. By Charles S. Clark

Policy

NSA Chief: Yes, We Still Have Friends

A confident Adm. Rogers says the NSA remains popular with the people it spied on. By Patrick Tucker

Threats

Governments Line Up To Buy the Drone That Terrorized Gaza

Just weeks after the latest Israel-Hamas cease-fire, defense contractors are itching to sell the IDF's primary weapon in counter-terror operations. By Daniel A. Medina

Threats

Israel's Worst-Kept Secret

Is the silence over Israeli nukes doing more harm than good? By Douglas Birch and R. Jeffrey Smith

Threats

US Could Send As Many As 3,000 Troops to Africa To Fight Ebola

President Obama made the announcement Tuesday as part of a seriously ramped-up plan to combat the Ebola outbreak. By Sophie Novack

Defense Systems

DOD updates DISA's role as the department's cloud broker

Shift reflects a greater openness toward commercial services, while outlining how agencies can procure them.