Archive for October, 2009

A jewel to treasure

Professional military education (PME) has played a major role in preparing military institutions for war. Solid basic, intermediate and senior-level PME combined with combat training is an indispensable element for success in …

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Misplaced priorities

TO CNN for its upside-down coverage of an IED explosion event in Afghanistan that killed a soldier and seriously wounded a journalist. CNN reported the event this way: “A CBS News reporter …

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Industry Pulse: Tanker food fight

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he didn’t want to see a repeat of the corporate food fights that prevailed in the 2006 KC-X tanker competition. For a man who is serving his …

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Too few

Thanks, Mr. Secretary, but don’t stop now!

There’s a Bill Mauldin cartoon from World War II that shows two exhausted, bearded infantrymen slouched over on their feet along a road while one …

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In this issue

As the Defense Department and Quadrennial Defense Review planners try to figure out what threats lie beyond Iraq and Afghanistan, the term “hybrid warfare” increasingly surfaces to satisfy those who believe we …

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No reason to quit

Afghanistan requires our greater effort and will, not less

Gen. George Marshall said it during World War II, but it has been true for over two centuries: “A democracy cannot fight a …

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Photo folly

TO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS for its ham-fisted handling of a picture of a dying Marine in Afghanistan. Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard was mortally injured in an ambush Aug. 14. AP waited almost …

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In harm’s way

TO THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT for its order to rescue a war journalist, a decision that resulted in the deaths of a British soldier and three Afghan civilians. U.K. Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth …

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A clear and present danger

QDR must recognize need for two-war construct

As Defense Secretary Robert Gates completes the Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), senior officials have indicated he will officially abandon the force planning construct used …

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Return of the Jedi

It’s that time again. About once a decade, the military services attempt to reform how they educate officers. This time, the catalyst is a series of Senate and House hearings on how …

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