The D Brief: Buildup around Iran; More Somalia strikes; SOUTHCOM in Venezuela; JAG in trouble; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• February 19, 2026

The D Brief: Sentinel’s progress; Buildup near Iran; Canada’s decoupling plan; Russia targets Ukrainian energy; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• February 18, 2026

The D Brief: El Paso, explained; Navy ships collide; Marines’ aviation plan; Estonia’s warning; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• February 12, 2026

The D Brief: More maritime strikes, seizure; Warships off Haiti; US official hints at new nukes; Introducing ‘Fictional Intelligence’; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• February 9, 2026

The D Brief: Shutdown watch; Lingering defense-strategy qs; JAGs’ unusual new jobs; Secret drone’s recent mission; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson
• January 30, 2026

The D Brief: Domestic Guard missions, priced; More strikes on Somalia; New ‘non-kinetic’ cell aids planning; GAO’s missile-warning warning; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 29, 2026

The D Brief: CBP report belies ‘terrorist’ charges; Rubio threatens Venezuelan leaders; ‘Unsustainable’ national-security strategy?; EU, India near trade deal; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 28, 2026

Defense One Radio, Ep. 202: The known perils of regime change

A scholar of civil wars warns against repeating the past mistakes from U.S. military interventions abroad.

• Ben Watson and Monica Duffy Toft
• January 23, 2026

The D Brief: Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’; Russian hybrid warfare; More Ukraine talks; Combat fitness, reimagined; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson
• January 23, 2026

The D Brief: Lessons from Iraq; Trump’s Insurrection Act-threat; DIU seeks swarm controllers; Russia’s Starlink drones; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 16, 2026

The D Brief: Europe reinforces Greenland; Senate fails to limit Venezuela action; Navy’s next ships; The cost of ‘DoW’; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 15, 2026

The D Brief: Greenland discussions; Russian sabotage in Europe; ‘Ideological tuning’ in DOD AI; Some leave Al Udeid; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 14, 2026

The D Brief: ‘Perfidy’ in boat strike?; Pentagon’s new AI plan; Venezuela’s broken air defenses; Quantum space cameras; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 13, 2026

The D Brief: US bombs ISIS in Syria; Iranian protests swell; Execs rebuff oil plan; Meet the Army’s dronemakers; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 12, 2026

The D Brief: Trump: ‘I don’t need international law’; Senate votes to limit Venezuela action; USAF consolidates PEOs; Marines’ own robot wingman; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 9, 2026

The D Brief: Offshore banks to hold seized-oil profits; Pay caps for defense CEOs; Army’s flight-school outsourcing, snagged; Right-to-repair urged; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
• January 8, 2026

The D Brief: Trump plans oil seizure; US forces seize tanker; Greenland seizure floated; Experts pan Maduro seizure; And a bit more.

• Ben Watson
• January 7, 2026