Policy
For Pentagon, Biden Picks Two Obama-era Policy Veterans to Help Austin
After passing on Flournoy, Biden taps Kathleen Hicks and Colin Kahl to be Austin's deputy defense secretary and undersecretary for policy.
Policy
Trump Vetoes Defense Authorization Bill
For the Confederacy, conservative speech, and the desire to bring troops home, Trump rejected the $700 billion NDAA at the last minute before Washington breaks for Christmas.
Threats
Acting SecDef Miller Visits Troops in Afghanistan
Trump's designee returned 19 years after serving here, this time to oversee a controversial order to rush troops out before Joe Biden is sworn in.
Threats
Milley Meets With Taliban In Fragile Peace Negotiations
The Joint Chiefs chairman's meeting comes at a profound moment of uncertainty for the U.S.-brokered talks on Afghanistan.
Threats
NATO Gears Up for Biden, Big Decisions on Afghanistan, China
“We are faced with a very hard and difficult dilemma,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an exclusive interview.
Ideas
The Problem With the SecDef Purity Test
You don’t want a general, a man, a war veteran — and everyone in the defense industry is evil?
Policy
Biden Selects Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin for Defense Secretary, Reportedly
Austin, the last commander of the Iraq War, would be the nation's first Black defense secretary.
Ideas
How Biden Can Help Warriors Save Warriors
Make a call, take a call, and be honest — it could help save a life.
Ideas
As Spotlight Fades, What Next for Special Operators?
Under Trump, the Pentagon's ‘service secretary’ in charge of SOF has changed hands eight times between seven people.
Ideas
Cutting US Defense Attachés from Embassies Abroad is a Bad Idea
Without them on the ground, or without the right rank, commanders and policymakers are mostly blind, deaf, and mute.
Ideas
Esper's Convenient Lie
The defense secretary's claim that the two decades of countering violent extremism left the U.S. under-prepared for a near-peer fight doesn’t hold water.
Policy
Vindman Twin Alleges Retaliation To DOD IG
Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman says he reported “legal compliance and ethics violations” by NSA Robert O’Brien.
Threats
Pentagon Extends Deadline for Contractors' Ban on Chinese Equipment
Vendors will get additional time to comply, but the department is not seeking mass extensions, Acquisition Chief Ellen Lord told reporters.
Ideas
A Great Change is Coming
Software, AI, autonomy — these are the ultimate weapons. The Pentagon must get serious about integrating AI into everything it has for 'hyperwar.'
Threats
The Pandemic is Pushing the Pentagon Toward Classified Telework
The risk-averse agency has cracked small-scale remote handling of secret and top-secret information. The challenge is doing it at scale.
Ideas
Let Japan’s Companies Help
To stay ahead of China, the Pentagon should reach out to allies who have more advanced capabilities than the U.S. Japan is top of the list.
Ideas
We Need to Reorganize More than the Military
U.S. defense and diplomacy needs a major redesign to get serious about strategic competition with China and Russia.
Ideas
What Do You Tell Young Americans Doubting the Military’s Moral Compass?
After scandals, pardons, and protests, military and civilian leaders have some work to do rebuilding public trust.
Ideas