By Sandra Erwin, RealClearDefense: “It’s the story line of the Trump agenda: Everything keeps getting pushed further and further back as priorities pile up and infighting escalates. This will no doubt complicate Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ plan to modernize the military, analysts and former defense officials predict.”
By Jobie S. Turner, Strategy Bridge: “...modern militaries hope to bypass the long and expensive factory-to-fort to port-to-base to last-tactical-mile to combatant-supply chain and replace it with organic manufacture on the battlefield or manufacture-to-direct need in combat to feed the tremendous consumption of war.
By Daniel Straub & Patrick Cronin, War on the Rocks: “The Navy has the support of the Trump administration to move toward the force it needs — a 355 ship Navy. What is required now is the toughness to move forward and do what is hard: face its personnel problems, ensure that it has sufficient crew sizes, and demand only the best for its sailors by committing to more robust training that capitalizes on the lessons of past failures.”
By Elsa B. Kania, Strategy Bridge: “Since the 1990s, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has focused on the development of asymmetric capabilities that target U.S. vulnerabilities. At present, the PLA’s approach is starting to evolve toward a strategy centered upon technological and defense innovation.”
Chasing the Elusive BRAC, Pentagon Says Readiness Is at Stake // Caroline Houck Defense officials are changing their pitch for base closures. Will Congress listen this time?