Author Archive

Ben Watson

Ben Watson
Ben Watson previously worked for NPR in Washington, D.C. Before that, he served for five years in the U.S. Army, where he was an award-winning combat cameraman and media advisor for southern Afghanistan's special operations command during the 2010-11 surge.
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Today's D Brief: COVID deaths draw WH call for nationwide “behavior change”; Biden, NATO chief talk; Afghan talks ‘deadlocked’; B-1 test-rigged for hypersonics; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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Today's D Brief: Transition begins at last; Biden’s first natsec picks; NDAA veto threat; Army’s airborne artillery; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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Today's D Brief: Biden natsec team; IS attacks Kabul; Army reorganizes commands; More COVID records; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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Today's D Brief: COVID hits DoD policy chief, USCG cutter; Trump attacks election; EU unreadiness; SPACECOM HQ; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
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Today's D Brief: US COVID deaths hit 250,000; DoD’s shifting tech priorities; UK to boost defense budget; Green Beret spied for Russia; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Marcus Weisgerber and Bradley Peniston
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Today's D Brief: SOLIC, elevated; CISA chief, fired; 1,560 more die of COVID; DoD’s rare-earths move; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
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Today's D Brief: Miller tries again; Faster Afghanistan drawdown?; ICBM downed in test; COVID & boot camp; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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Today's D Brief: Miller’s memo; COVID packing ICUs; Helicopter victims, ID’d; Army’s next missiles; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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Today's D Brief: ‘The most secure’ election; Syria ‘shell games’; China’s new joint ops doctrine; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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Today's D Brief: Deadly helo crash; What’s with the Pentagon churn?; 400K COVID deaths predicted; Navy’s ghost ship; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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Pentagon purge continues; Still no evidence of election irregularities; Worst COVID day since March; Virtual flight-test for a nuke; and a bit more...

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston

Featured eBooks

The Cybersecurity Challenge
Army Tech & Trends
Mission: Space
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Today's D Brief: Transition on hold; Biden’s natsec priorities; COVID accelerates; Promising vaccine results; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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Today's D Brief: Election update; Disinfo spreads online; Esper’s next moves?; COVID hospitalizations rise sharply; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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Today's D Brief: New COVID peak in the US; 800,000 get misleading robocalls; NSA sees no big hacks; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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Today's D Brief: Too close to call; HASC, SASC races; Cyber ops; UK sees “severe” terror risk; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Marcus Weisgerber and Bradley Peniston
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Today's D Brief: Election Day in the U.S.; North Korea's new subs; Taliban armed drone?; Terror in Vienna; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
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Today's D Brief: Voting surge; Trump vows ballot challenge; Helicopters broke regs during protest; 19 killed in Kabul; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
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Today's D Brief: COVID surges in US, Europe; Election-related hacking, disinformation; Potential F-35 sales; Romcom spotlights logistics; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
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Today's D Brief: Another vice chief has COVID; New warnings for hospitals; Anti-ISIS air strikes; Mass shootings, up; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
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Today's D Brief: COVID is rising again in most states; Iran’s new construction; Border-wall costs, up; Muzzling NOAA; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson