PENTAGON ACQUISITION REFORM - CounterStrikeMedia

HOW THE GAO DAMAGES ACQUISITION REFORM & ACQUISITION LEADERSHIP

6/28/2018

GAO Decision Threatens US Military Dominance; Reject It

How to be an acquisition leader; Updating warships like Tesla; Hypersonic planes; and a bit more. // Marcus Weisgerber

Robust Leadership Development
By Dustin E. Lawrence, Small Wars Journal: “Lessons Learned from the British Army’s Platoon Commanders’ Battle Course at the Infantry Battle School.

THE GAO PROTEST: I’ve been covering Pentagon acquisition policy for more than 15 years and this is a first for me. The Government Accountability Office offers below a critique of Bill Greenwalt’s sharp criticism of a recent GAO protest decision. For those of us who watch Pentagon procurement, most protests are obscure and boring. Then come ones…

GAO Says Oracle Protest Did Not Make Policy; Criticizes Greenwalt Op-ed
(Breaking Defense) I’ve been covering Pentagon acquisition policy for more than 15 years and this is a first for me.

DEPT. OF DEFENSE NEEDS CHINESE RARE MINERALS & BEIJING NEEDS VERTICAL LIFT TECHNOLOGY LIKE F35

6/26/2018

Dangerous Dependence on China for Critical Minerals Runs Deep
By Jeff A. Green, RealClearDefense: “Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, determined that the United States’ economic and military security depend upon 35 essential minerals. Unfortunately, our nation is import-reliant on 30 out of 35.”

Why China could be after the F-35B aircraft technology
BY STEPHEN BRYEN
The arrest, and release, of a British engineer has led to speculation about a stealth fighter that can do short take-offs and vertical landings

Rebuild the US minerals supply chain before it’s too late
(Defense News) As the possibility of a full-blown trade war with China looms over the economy, it’s important to understand the pressure points that Beijing could push to exert leverage against the U.S. And the nation’s Achilles’ heel could very well be a complete dependence on China for a growing number of key minerals and metals.

CIVIL MILITARY RELATIONS: LESSONS LEARNED ON FULL CONTINUUM THREATS

6/25/2018

https://www.amazon.com/Generals-American-Military-Command-World/dp/0143124099/ref=laB000AP9JRU1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1529895325&sr=1-4

What you need to be reading and watching to become an AI thought leader
(C4ISRNET) Bob Work is one of Washington's AI savants. But what did the former Deputy Secretary of Defense read and watch to learn so much about the technology?

Sharpening Our Military Edge: The NDS and the Full Continuum of Conflict
By Frank Hoffman, Small Wars Journal: “Some even suggest that the Pentagon reflexively yearns for a large conventional threat, so it can get back to what it wants to, fighting peers and justifying its technologically oriented hardware programs. This oversimplifies the underlying assessment of the future environment in the strategy and misreads the strategy’s explicit appreciation of the various dimensions of great power competition.”

Eyeing China, Australia Busily Buys Up Frigates, Drones, and Sub-Hunting Planes

UNDERGROUND DIGITAL WAR FIGHTING: ARMY LEARNING & HOW WELL DOES U.S. ARMY DEVELOP LEADERS

6/25/2018

Army is Spending Half a Billion to Train Soldiers to Fight Underground
By Matthew Cox, Military.com: “U.S. Army leaders say the next war will be fought in mega-cities, but the service has embarked on an ambitious effort to prepare most of its combat brigades to fight, not inside, but beneath them.”

Whiteboard: How Well Does the Army Develop Strategic Leaders?
From War Room: “Whatever roles military strategic leaders play… they do so as experts in the fighting and winning of wars.

Soldiers to shoot more, stay longer in infantry school
(Stars & Stripes) The Army will add two more months to infantry school, marking the biggest change to the institution in nearly a half-century in a move designed to develop a more lethal force, the service said.

The Army is spending half a billion to train soldiers to wage war underground
(Task & Purpose) Army leaders say the next war will be fought in mega-cities, and the service has embarked on an ambitious subterranean warfare training program to prepare.

Reemergence of the Siege: Trends in Modern Land Warfare
By Amos C. Fox, AUSA: “The truth is that while high-end wars between nations have decreased, war has certainly not gone away, nor is it getting any less violent. ”

How the Army is training for the digital conflict
(Fifth Domain) `Cyber will undoubtedly be part of any future conflict and the Army is looking to bolster the role of cyber in exercise scenarios.

How the Army will infuse cyber operations on the battlefield
(Fifth Domain) Imagine a brigade combat team readying an assault on a small town in Eastern Europe. As part of the planning, cyber and electromagnetic activities (CEMA) staff recommend knocking out Wi-Fi connections in the town to prevent residents and forces from communicating prior to or during the operation.

INNOVATION AT D.O.D. & A CHINESE RAIL GUN DEMOLISHED THE U.S. AT SEA

6/22/2018

The Army is most excited about these 3 capabilities
(C4ISRNET) A current Army exercise seeks to inform operational concepts and capability needs based on putting emerging technologies into the hands of soldiers for their direct feedback.

Innovation Matters – Part III
By Colin Supko, Proceedings Magazine: “This innovative plan is a huge step in the right direction, and the document highlights the pain points businesses face when attempting to innovate for and sell to DOD.”

U.S., NORWAY: Joint Strike Missile Enters Final Development Phase
By Robin Hughes, IHS Jane's 360: “In a first end-to-end flight test for the missile, a JSM equipped with a live warhead was launched from a legacy F-16C/D Fighting Falcon from the US Air Force’s 445th Flight Test Group against a ‘realistic’ land target at the Utah Test and Training Range in the United States.

Military mobility returns to the forefront in Europe
(Defense News) While military logistics within NATO have received less attention since the end of the Cold War, the issue is returning to the forefront given concerns over the increasing ability of peer or near-peer adversaries to engage in conventional warfare. Four aspects of military mobility merit continuous attention when aiming to achieve reliability of supply in support of defensive and deterrent action in the European theater.

China just blew the US Navy’s electromagnetic railgun out of the water
(Task & Purpose) While the United States spent years dithering over the future of its much-hyped electromagnetic railgun project, China ate its lunch.

CIVIL MILITARY RELATIONS & REVIEW OF GENERAL WAR STAFF

6/21/2018

End of History at the Army Command and General Staff College?
By Nick Brunetti-Lihach, Task & Purpose: “The school’s leadership has chosen to shift away from the strategic, operational, and tactical lessons of the Vietnam War, and the complexities of military innovation in the interwar period.”

Technological Prowess, Lethality, and the Civil-Military Divide
By Torey McMurdo & Christopher Hocking, War on the Rocks: “The current approach to warfighting has removed most Americans and policymakers from the intimate realities of war in three ways.”

REVIEW OF ARMY MODERNIZATION & A LOOK AT RUSSIAN TANK DOCTRINE

6/21/2018

Army Futures Command Finds a Home
By Jen Judson & Leo Shane III, Defense News: “The new Army Futures Command (AFC) will be in Austin, Texas, congressional sources, who are now being notified of the choice, have confirmed.

Why the Army picked Austin for Futures Command
(Defense News) After whittling down a list of more than 150 cities to five, the U.S. Army has decided on Austin, Texas, for its new four-star command designed to tackle modernization priorities that will help it fight the next wars.

Army Modernization Needs Experimental Force
By Doug Macgregor, Breaking Defense: “Soldiers already know what is required: integrate new but mature technologies inside new maneuver formations at progressively lower levels within a Joint command and control structure, one that combines and assimilates powerful capabilities across service lines quickly and effectively. "

Russian tank doctrine evolves to combat modern threats
(IHS Jane’s 360) Russian tank forces have revealed details of new tank tactics during a battalion tactical exercise held in Voronezh, state news agency RIA Novosti reported on 4 July.

U.S. NEEDS NEW DOCTRINES FOR RUSSIA CHINA; QUANTUM COMPUTING HEATS UP

6/16/2018

Russia, China Are Outmaneuvering US: Generals Recommend New Authorities, Doctrine

China’s Eating Up US Drone Market; U.S. Troops At Risk

The U.S. Army Culture is French!
By Donald E. Vandergriff, Small Wars Journal: “The U.S. Army culture, while it aspires to adopt a concept originating in German military thought, has in reality cultivated a culture that more closely emulates the French Army culture during the interwar period (1918-1939).”

How the Five Eyes can win the race for quantum computing supremacy
(Fifth Domain) Since China started quantum computing research in 2004, it has invested over 30 times more than America in this revolutionary technology. In 2017 China announced that it was creating an $11 billion, 4 million-square-foot national quantum laboratory in the city of Hefei. This lab will accelerate China’s research into various applications of quantum computing, but particularly quantum hacking.

Large-Scale Combat Operations: How the Army Can Get Its Groove Back
By James King, Modern War Institute: “Unlike the end of Vietnam, though, the post-Iraq and post-Afghanistan adversary is not as clear cut.

HYPERSONICS & MYSTERY MISSILES

6/14/2018

CHINA IN THE AFRICAN HORN & RUSSIAN HYPERSONICS ON SUBMARINES

6/11/2018

Assessment of the Military Implication of Chinese Investment in the Port of Djibouti
By David Mattingly, Divergent Options: “The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) recent investment in the Port of Djibouti, a country with a U.S. military base, begins another chapter in geopolitical competition.”

RUSSIA: Russia's New Hypersonic Missile Armed Nuclear Submarine Class
From Military Watch: “In the aftermath of Russia's announcement of the imminent induction of new strategic hypersonic weapons systems in March 2018, reports have emerged that Moscow is also planning a new generation of nuclear powered ballistic missile submarines to strengthen its deterrent force.”

Hypersonic Weapons Race
By Keith Button, Aerospace America: “Flying faster than Mach 5 could be a handy way to travel, but for the leaders in this field — China, Russia and the U.S. — the emphasis has shifted to weapons.

INDIA'S STEALTH CHALLENGE TO REGIONAL CONTAINMENT OF CHINA & U.S. USES NORWEGIAN IRON DOME MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM

6/9/2018

India’s role in resisting Chinese maritime hegemony

India’s evolving response to China’s ‘stealth threat’
BY STEPHEN BRYEN
With Chinese J-20 stealth fighters near its northeast border, India is looking to upgrade its aircraft and air-defense systems

India to US: Sanctions won’t stop Russian air-defense system purchase
(Defense News) India is moving forward with a procurement of the Russian S-400 Triumf air and missile defense system, despite possible U.S. sanctions against Moscow, India’s defense minister announced at a news conference.

What tech was used in India’s nuclear-capable ICBM test launch?
(Defense News) India tested its nuclear-capable Agni-5 intercontinental ballistic missile June 3, bringing the weapon one step closer to its induction into the Indian Army’s Strategic Forces Command, according to a senior scientist close to the project.

SASC NDAA Would Add $500M For Cruise Missile Defense

THE CHALLENGES OF MOBILE DEPLOYMENT & WHY FORCE MODERNIZATION MEANS HIRING CIVILIANS

6/9/2018

Carriers Aren’t The Only Big Targets: The Challenges of Mobile Basing

Pentagon Ramps Up Civilian Hiring; Other Agencies Get Cut

SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND TEMPO DANGEROUSLY HIGH: PENTAGON ASKS FOR BALANCE; ISRAELI'S DEPLOYED WITH U.S. PARTNERS IN EASTERN EUROPE

6/7/2018

The Dark Arts:
Application of Special Operations in Joint Strategic and Operational Plans
By Chad M. Pillai, Small Wars Journal: “When people think about Special Operations Forces (SOF) today, more than likely they will place the idea of SOF in the context of Counter-Terrorism (CT) operations and high-end units such as those that conducted the Bin Laden Raid into Pakistan.”

Pentagon recently completed a sweeping review of Special Operations Forces…

According to The New York Times, the Secretary of Defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff want options by mid-June that will strike more of a sustainable balance between rising security challenges and the current op-tempo for counter terrorism missions.
But with rising strategic challenges coming from Russia, Iran and North Korea as well as China’s expanding Military presence and a persistent threat from terrorism, can US Special Operations Forces afford to slow down?
According to Retired Special Forces Colonel David Maxwell, ‘If there is a war in North Korea and/or Iran (God forbid) it will create an even more complex problem for USSOCOM than has existed for the entire war on terrorism.’

Read the full conversation with Col. Maxwell here…

Israel Deploying to Eastern Europe, Pacific for First Time Alongside U.S. Forces

RUSSIA RECOVERS U.S. MISSILES IN SYRIA

6/5/2018

U.S., RUSSIA: What Russia Will Do With the U.S. Cruise Missiles Recovered in Syria
From Military Watch: “The opportunity to study these missiles relatively intact has been hailed as a valuable opportunity for Russia’s own defence industries - both to more effectively develop countermeasures and potentially even to reverse engineer American missile technologies for the development of its own cruise missiles.

SASC Pushes For More Hypersonics As Putin Flaunts New Weapons

THE ARMY'S BIG 6 & MARINE CORPS GO FOR MISSILES

6/5/2018

Why Are We Buying The Army’s Big Six? What Will They Do?

Marine Missile Strategy: Buy Some ASAP, Then Develop With Army

Army's Plans for New Lightweight Mobile Protected Firepower
By Kris Osborn, Warrior Maven: “Long-range precision fire, coordinated air-ground assault, mechanized force-on-force armored vehicle attacks and drone threats are all changing so quickly that maneuvering U.S. Army infantry now needs improved firepower to advance on major adversaries in war.”

New Army 'Vision': LRPF, Hypersonics & Artillery
By Kris Osborn, Warrior Maven: “While discussing the Army Vision, an integral component of the service’s recently competed Modernization Strategy, Secretary of the Army Mark Esper cited long-range precision fire as a “number one priority” for the Army.

INDO-PACOM: NEW WAR THEATRE FOR THE INDO-PACIFIC & LEXINGTON INSTITUTE TACKLES NAVY REFORM

6/1/2018

INDOPACOM, it is: US Pacific Command gets renamed
(Military Times) Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced Wednesday that U.S. Pacific Command would now be called U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, in the latest move to counter Chinese economic and military pressure in the region.

Adms. Davidson In, Harris Out At Indo-Pacific Command

Will the Navy 'Walk the Walk' on Acquisition Reform With NGEN-R?
By Daniel Gouré, Lexington Institute: “Studies show the Army is approximately $9 billion below historical funding levels for modernization and 80% of its current spending goes to programs conceived before 9/11.”

Mattis Lays Out U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy at Shangri-La
By Euan Graham, the interpreter: “While Mattis’s speech will be analyzed most acutely, it was striking how many defense ministers, including Singapore’s Ng Eng Hen, went out of their way to flag China’s stepped-up militarization of the South China Sea as cause for strategic concern.”

Five key challenges for SOUTHCOM
(Military Times) The U.S. Southern Command gets only a side reference in the National Defense Strategy. It doesn’t grab the headlines of Central Command and the recently renamed Indo-Pacific Command that are home to the major strategic threats identified by defense officials.

ISRAELI'S GO "DOWN-UNDER": WAR TUNNELING GETS FINE TUNED

6/1/2018

Israeli To Pump $2B Into Ground-Ground Missile Unit

MINI DRONES & RECON FINALLY ARRIVE

6/1/2018

This minidrone can transform squad-level reconnaissance
(Army Times) The Army has made its first batch order of a helicopter-style minidrone that can be used by individual soldiers for short range reconnaissance.

HOW THAAD & THE ARMY MUST RE-CALIBRATE; HOW U.S. SUPPLY CHAINS FAIL FOR THE LONG WAR

6/1/2018

The Army Needs to Get Serious About Modernizing THAAD
By Daniel Gouré, RealClearDefense: “By exploiting technology already in advance development, the Army’s plans for an accelerated system may take a revolutionary turn with the addition of a laser weapon.”

Stunning failures found in Global Train and Equip counter-terrorism programs
(Military Times) As billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars continue to flow into projects aimed at increasing counter-terrorism capabilities for countries from Jordan to the Philippines and Romania, a new government watchdog report raises questions about how effectively the Pentagon and State Department are overseeing these projects.

THE PACIFIC GETS 5TH GENERATION FIGHTERS TO MEET CHINA'S J20 & WHY THE INDO-PACIFIC NEEDS NEW THEATRE COMMAND

6/1/2018

PLA to tap J-20s to shield strike fighters in coordinated blitzes
BY ASIA TIMES STAFF
Undersupply of ace air supremacy fighters mean Chinese air force has to use them effectively

F-22 Raptors Replace F-35As in Pacific for Theater Security Mission
By Oriana Pawlyk, DoD Buzz: “Fifth-generation fighters, aircrew and support personnel from the 525th Fighter Squadron at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, arrived this week at Kadena Air Base, Japan, as the new theater security package.”

F-35 to 2070?
By Kris Osborn, Warrior Maven: “Flying the F-35 all the way to 2070, blocking enemy missiles in mid-flight and using AI to quickly assist precision-guided weapons are all technologies which increasingly hinge upon rapid software development – inspiring Air Force leaders to say “software” will determine who wins future wars.”

Time to Launch a Combined Maritime Task Force for the Pacific
By Eric Sayers, War on the Rocks: “The United States needs new ideas to generate regional balancing against Chinese behavior while simultaneously deterring future actions like the consolidation of control at disputed features like Scarborough Shoal.”

Time Is Now to Advance U.S.-India Defense Cooperation
By Arvind Thakur & Michael Padgett, National Defense Magazine: “Many recent articles have commented on the potential benefits of a new, closer U.S. defense relationship with India. The details of what will constitute the new relationship is still an unanswered question.”

FIXING DEFENSE BUDGET
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TRANSPARENCY & COST CAPABILITY
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MACKENZIE EAGLEN
AEI

DEFENSE STRATEGY-PRIORITIES
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DEFENSE INNOVATION PROBLEMS
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REBUTAL TO EAGLEN
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DOD ACQUISITION REFORM

twelve problems_negatively_impacting_defense_innovation___american_enterprise_institute_-_aei.pdf
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the_1960s_had_their_day__changing_dod’s_acquisition_processes_and_structures___realcleardefense.pdf
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Dr. Kathleen Hicks

getting_to_less.pdf
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THUCYDIDES & THE LONG WAR PROBLEM

FORCE PLANNING IN AGE OF GREAT POWER COMPETITION

AGAINST ALL ODDS: CHANGING ACQUISITION CULTURE

THE CRISIS OF AMERICAN MILITARY PRIMACY

NATIONAL MILITARY STRATEGY: REVOLUTIONARY APPROACH

UNDERSTANDING MILITARY MODERNIZATION

5 STRATEGIES FOR SEC. OF DEFENSE

WHY THE 3RD OFFSET FAILS

INADEQUATE DOCTRINES FOR IRREGULAR WAR

ALTERNATIVE WAR STRATEGIES & FORCE POSTURE

REVERSING DECLINE: ELIZABETHIAN ENGLAND

U.S. GRAND STRATEGY FOR WINNING WORLD WAR IV

MULTI-DOMAIN BATTLE REPLACES R.M.A.

GLOBAL DEFENSE SPENDING.pdf
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REBUILDING AMERICAN MILITARY.pdf
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Tweets by WilliamHolland

Principles Guiding Pentagon Acquisition Reform
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