Will Business Expertise Reform The Pentagon? Fuggedaboutit!
Will DOD implement the long-awaited series of management reforms that last year’s National Defense Strategy announced? Probably not.
sdaniels
Space Threat Assessment 2019
Space Threat Assessment 2019 reviews the open-source information available on the counterspace capabilities that can threaten U.S. space systems. The report is intended to raise awareness and understanding of the threats, debunk myths and misinformation, and highlight areas in which senior leaders and policymakers should focus their attention.
The Pentagon Shouldn’t Be a Landlord
Recent reports of unsafe conditions and unresponsive repair services require immediate action by the Defense Department to fix the problems—but not kill the program.
2020 Budget: One Half Step Towards A Great Power Strategy
There is no question that Pentagon’s 2020 budget takes significant steps to move the department from a focus on regional conflicts and counter-insurgency to a focus on great power conflicts. But the four services clearly are struggling with this balance.
Five Risks to Watch in 2019: Q2 Update
I warned in a 2019 year-ahead look at risks that uncertainty would rule. Let me double down on that bet.
The New Zealand Attack and the Global Challenge of Far-Right Extremism
The March 15 terrorist attack against two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, is symptomatic of a rising trend in right-wing extremism. Far-right attacks across the globe have increased because of immigration fears, far-right utilization of social media, and the inter-connectedness of extremist networks around the globe.
Penny Wise and Pound Foolish: The Navy’s Carrier Construction Strategy
The Navy had several viable approaches for adapting its carrier force to the new defense strategy. Instead, it opted to avoid a decision and will waste billions of dollars as a result. Funds for shipbuilding are too scarce to waste. It’s time to make a decision about carriers.
The tragedy of Mick Mulvaney and the war budget
The Trump administration is not requesting that Congress raise the budget caps at all, either for defense or non-defense. Instead, the administration is asking Congress to use a loophole in the law to allow for higher defense spending without breaching the budget caps: overseas contingency operations (OCO) funding.
DOD and Border Security—At What Price?
The Trump administration recently released its FY 2020 budget. In it, the administration proposes to continue DOD’s role in border security, a role that includes both construction and troop deployments.
Spaceports of the World
This report analyzes ground-based space launches from 1957 to 2018, including brief histories of all active and inactive orbital spaceports, 10 year launch records for the 22 spaceports still in use today, and the current status of several proposals to create new facilities capable of supporting orbital space launches.