The need to prepare for great power competition means Air Force Special Operations Command is at a historic “inflection point” akin to transformations following the failed 1980 hostage rescue in Iran and four counter-terrorism operations after 9/11. “The rise of belligerent peers and near-peers who ...
Since U.S. forces withdrew from Somalia earlier this year, they have been “commuting to work” via aircraft to help train Somali troops, but without a ground presence there is limited intelligence understanding, the head of U.S. Africa Command told lawmakers. In December 2020, former President ...
As the new administration and Congress prepare. to take a critical look at the nuclear triad and overall need for nuclear modernization, the head of U.S. Strategic Command warned lawmakers that a reduction in the overall force could mean a return to Cold War norms. ...
Five hundred more U.S. personnel will be based in Germany starting later this year, in a reversal from previous Pentagon plans to draw troops out of the country under the Trump administration. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III announced the increase during a visit to ...
U.S. forces will leave Afghanistan by Sept. 11—the 20th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Biden administration officials said. President Joe Biden is expected to formally announce the plan on April 14. The new deadline is not "conditions based," ...
The Air Force has long faced a silent crisis: It can’t train and retain enough pilots. And now, challenged to confront peer adversaries, rather than the insurgents it’s been engaging for the last 20 years, even the pilots the service can train aren’t getting the ...
U.S. special operations forces need a new armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft to fully support all its missions, Army Gen. Richard D. Clarke, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on May 25. “In many remote areas, intelligence, surveillance, ...
The Pentagon’s independent commission to review sexual assault in its ranks has established its members and is looking at “big picture” items to change the military’s culture and prevent sexual assault. The Independent Review Commission on Sexual Assault in the Military includes 14 members, the ...
U.S. Southern Command is turning to big data and artificial intelligence to gain more leverage on transnational criminal organizations, while also keeping an eye on China’s expansion in the region and monitoring Russia’s disinformation efforts. SOUTHCOM boss Adm. Craig S. Faller, both in testimony to ...
Advanced cruise missiles and potential hypersonic weapons will challenge North American Aerospace Defense Command’s legacy warning systems, so the command needs to improve awareness to provide earlier warning. USAF Gen. Glen. D. VanHerck, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, told the Senate Armed Services ...
The new Bomber Task Force concept is operationally successful, and is also a hit with aircrews, whose morale has increased with the flurry of short-term visits to nontraditional bomber destinations like India and Norway, Global Strike Command chief Gen. Timothy M. Ray said Feb. 25. ...
Congressional defense committees are moving forward on their work in 2021 with the addition of a few new faces and subcommittees. Senate leadership has hammered out the details of an organizing resolution that dictates how the evenly divided chamber will operate, opening the door for ...