How Much is Enough: Setting a Topline for Defense Spending
Twenty-six years after the end of the Cold War, the United States once again must prepare for great power competition and confrontation. Russian aggression along […] More
Pentagon
Aligning the Pentagon Budget with Strategy
The United States has been at war for 15 years, and at the same time, it has attempted to modernize and maintain readiness. President Donald […] More
Sizing Up the Trump Defense Budget
President Donald Trump’s defense budget proposal for fiscal year 2018 calls for $54 billion in additional spending, but it is not yet clear where this […] More
Trump’s “Skinny Budget” Would Fatten the Military
President Donald Trump released his $1.5 trillion budget on Thursday, a blueprint that would boost military and border security spending as it makes deep funding […] More
An Understanding of the Mission: Former Military in Trump’s Cabinet
Compared to the rest of his proposed cabinet, President Donald Trump’s pick of retired Marine Corps General James Mattis for Secretary of Defense has been […] More
Civilians and the Military Under Trump
In the wake of retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn’s resignation as National Security Advisor on Monday over his communications with the Russian Ambassador to the […] More
What Mattis Needs to Do As Defense Secretary
The arcane art of measuring the health of civil-military relations is experiencing a renaissance. Although it is welcomed by those who practice it, the reasons […] More
Rethinking Civil-Military Relations
Compared to most of his proposed cabinet, President Donald Trump’s pick of retired Marine Corps General James Mattis for Secretary of Defense has been one […] More
Not Too FAR: Finding Flexibility to Contract for Innovation
Identifying and obtaining innovation from the commercial sector has been an ongoing challenge for the Department of Defense (DoD). With new breakthroughs in both technology […] More
Insider Threat Special Report: Private Sector Challenges
When defense contractor Harold Martin was charged with the alleged theft of highly classified documents from the National Security Agency (NSA), federal prosecutors deemed the […] More
Reality Has Got to Set In: The Trump Administration and the Defense Budget
For a moment, try to ignore President Donald Trump’s tweets and rambling speeches and let’s look at what the Trump administration may be thinking about […] More
Swarming the Battlefield: Combat Evolves Toward Lethal Autonomous Weapons
War, often rationalized as an extension of policy by violent means, has always been a deeply human experience. It defines much of human history and, […] More
Future Warfare Will Not Allow Meaningful Human Control
Bob Work, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, will tell you the Third Offset is the next generation of warfare. It may take at least ten […] More
Banning Killer Robots in 2017
Imagine a weapon that strikes on its own, without the slightest hint of human judgment or compassion. It’s a chilling prospect, and not so far […] More
Keane: Mattis Will Be Upfront with Trump
Retired Gen. James Mattis called Russia the “principal threat” to the United States’ security and said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is “trying to […] More
U.S. Navy Readiness: The Fleet’s Problems Are Not Fleeting
With important global roles during times of peace and war, U.S. Navy ships and sailors must be ready to deploy anywhere in the world on […] More
Land, Sea, and Air: U.S. Military Readiness in the Navy and Marine Corps
The crash of a MV-22B off of Okinawa on December 13, 2016 occurred during one of the most difficult tasks a Marine aviator can do […] More
Marine Corps Readiness: Meeting the Challenges While Mitigating the Risks
As the United States’ crisis response force, the Marine Corps prioritizes readiness above capability, capacity, or any other goal. Maintaining this level of readiness in […] More