Radar Sweep
Snapshot: DOD and COVID-19
Here's a look at how the Defense Department is being impacted by and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pentagon Presses Ahead with Afghanistan Troop Drawdown Despite Law Barring It
The U.S. military has not halted a U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Department of Defense told Reuters on Jan. 11, despite a new law prohibiting further reductions without the Pentagon sending Congress an assessment of the risks.
Stealth, Speed, Precision, and Persistence: The Keys to the Aerospace Advantage
Join 17th Air Force Chief of Staff and retired USAF Gen. John Jumper and Mitchell Institute Dean and retired USAF Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula to explore how the Air Force can secure maximum value for every dollar it invests. In conversations with “Aerospace Advantage" host and retired USAF Lt. Col. John Baum, these seasoned leaders explore the intersection between technology, concepts of operation, and a continual quest to pursue smart solutions, not just pure low tech mass. A central part of the conversation focuses on cost-per-effect analysis and covers a wide range of air operations—from the skies over Vietnam and Desert Storm, to Kosovo and Afghanistan. These leaders also explore key investment areas that should be prioritized to best address tomorrow’s challenges.
OPINION: The Wrong Way to Gauge Readiness
“Mission capable rate is a lagging indicator, a fleet management tool for resource and maintenance planning. When examined in a historical sense, especially when aggregated across a service-wide fleet, the metric is of little utility in measuring the overall readiness of a combat unit. Therefore, claiming the Department of Defense is less capable or ready based solely on MC rates misrepresents actual readiness levels,” writes Matthew Donovan, defense undersecretary for personnel and readiness.
Nebraska Bid to Attract Space Command Includes $107 Million
Nebraska’s bid to attract the U.S. Space Command’s headquarters to Offutt Air Force Base includes $107 million of public and private money. Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce President David Brown said the local money is meant to help offset the roughly $1 billion cost of building the new headquarters at Offutt.
Space Development Agency Restores L3Harris, SpaceX Contracts Following Protest
Following a series of contract protests, the Space Development Agency again awarded SpaceX a $149 million contract and L3Harris a $193.5 million contract to each build four satellites to detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles
Biden Defense Pick to Get Up to $1.7 Million From Raytheon Role
Retired Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for Defense Secretary, may get as much as $1.7 million in payments tied to the board seat he’d be giving up at defense contractor Raytheon Technologies Co. “As soon as practicable but not later than 90 days after my confirmation, I will divest my financial interest in Raytheon,” Austin wrote in his ethics agreement with the Pentagon and his financial disclosure report, which are being released Sunday by the Office of Government Ethics. He also pledged to recuse himself for one year from decisions involving Raytheon, the nation’s No. 3 defense contractor.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf Resigns after Riot at Capitol
Wolf, in a letter to Department of Homeland Security staff, said his resignation was “warranted by recent events, including the ongoing and meritless court rulings regarding the validity of my authority as Acting Secretary.”
For CIA Director, Biden Taps Veteran Diplomat William Burns
His selection means a career foreign service officer—not a career intelligence official—could soon be assuming the top job at Langley.
US Could Finalize UAE F-35 Deal By Inauguration Day
Congress narrowly failed to block the controversial $23 billion deal the Trump administration forged with the UAE, and the Biden team has expressed skepticism, but the rush is on to wrap it up.
Scott AFB’s Innovation Hub Receives Air Force Lab Designation
Scott Air Force Base’s innovation hub, Elevate, received Air Force approval to be designated a defense laboratory, Jan. 6. The approval marks Scott as the first Air Force innovation cell to become an official defense lab for technology transfer purposes. The designation allows the Elevate team to partner with educational institutions under an Education Partnership Agreement in sharing resources, equipment, and information. EPAs, however, do not allow the sharing of funds.
Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Arrested, Charged in Capitol Riot
Larry Rendall Brock Jr., an Air Force veteran seen brandishing zip tie handcuffs during the pro-Trump siege at the U.S. Capitol, was arrested Jan. 10 in Texas and charged with knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, according to the Justice Department.
Retired Navy Football Mascot Bill 33, the Goat at Center of Army-Navy Scandal, Dies at 13
In 2012, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington rescued Bill 33 from a median on Army Navy Drive, just outside the Pentagon, after he was abducted from his home at Maryland Sunrise Farm in Gambrills. He was the latest victim in a long-running history of mascot heists. The goatnapping of Bill 33 prompted the Naval Academy to move their mascots’ homes and keep their location, as well as the identities of their caretakers, secret to the public indefinitely.