Col. Shane Finison, commander of the 16th Combat Aviation Brigade, flies an AH-64E Apache helicopter near Tacoma, Wash., on Jul. 11, 2022. U.S. Army / Capt. Kyle Abraham, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade
The Army Brief: Healthcare transformation; Recommending military service; Missile defenses; and more...
Welcome to The Army Brief, a weekly look at the news and ideas shaping the service’s future.
Tech and medicine. The Army has a new plan to transform healthcare for soldiers by increasing research in areas including machine learning and artificial intelligence, Defense One reports. Service leaders also want to invest in biotechnologies, such as genome editing, that can “improve human form or functioning in excess of what is necessary to restore or sustain health.”
Military life a tough sell. A new survey saw a decline in military families who would recommend military service to those who are interested in joining, with some respondents saying pay and benefits are not worth the stress that comes with serving, Defense One reports. The military services are already struggling to find enough recruits and almost 80 percent of Army recruits say they have a family member who served.
Russian missile threat. A new assessment says the U.S. homeland is not prepared to defend against the types of cruise missiles Russian forces are using against Ukraine, Defense One reports. The only defense systems in the U.S. that can take out these missiles are located around Washington, D.C.
Sign up to get The Army Brief every Friday morning from Caitlin M. Kenney, Defense One’s military services reporter. On this day in 1918, the soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division earned the nickname “Rock of the Marne” by stopping a German attack in France.
From Defense One
Ukraine Aid Oversight Hindered by Pentagon Record-Keeping, Watchdog Says // Patrick Tucker and Courtney Bublé
The IG report follows congressional concerns about oversight and efforts to coordinate with State and USAID.
The US Remains the Exception on Land Mines // Ursala Knudsen-Latta
Biden has restored the near-global ban on these militarily ineffective weapons, but enshrined their continued use in South Korea.
Tampons and Tulips? Lawmakers Pitch 650 Amendments to Annual Defense Bill // Jacqueline Feldscher
Other proposed changes to the House defense authorization act would delay new ICBMs and hasten warship retirements.
Self-Driving Cars Could Soon See Much Better // Patrick Tucker
Advances in laser range-finding could enable much smarter smart vehicles.