DoD Buzz

It must be the worst nightmare of every CIA director — the agency ignores its own rules and regulations and kills innocent Americans, and then the people in charge of the operation lie to Congress and cover up what happened. The nightmare has apparently come to life and it became public today when Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) announced that a report by the CIA’s own inspector general found that agency officers apparently ignored standing rules and regulations governing when they could shoot at aircraft in the drug war in Latin America.

The Army is examining emerging concepts of human security and their application to defense and security strategies for the 21st century, with people such as Maj. Shannon Beebe, who spends time in Africa exploring the nexus among development, environment and security in areas such as Darfur and Congo.

Reports of the death of a crucial satellite system known as BASIC have been grossly exaggerated.
The Associated Press and other media outlets reported 10 days ago that $1 billion for BASIC was cut by the House and Senate Appropriations intelligence subcommittees, canceling the program. Well, as often happens with intelligence spending, the picture is much more complicated and nuanced, according to a senior Pentagon source and a congressional aide.

The Air Force generally does a rotten job of managing and budgeting for space programs. That was the strongest message sent today by John Young, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, as he discussed the 2010 budget and acquisition in general during a wide-ranging discussion with reporters today.
Although Young said he didn’t want [...]

In a very interesting development, Australia decided today to join the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program. The announcement came from the lips of Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon, who was attending the country’s Land Warfare Conference in Brisbane.
JLTV will take up where the current $3.1 billion Aussie vehicle program, Land 121, leaves off. Land 121 is [...]

The U.S. military in Afghanistan is trying to root out the corruption that has plagued that country’s army and police forces. As U.S. policymakers debate whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, the country’s security forces continue to take heavy casualties fighting the Taliban insurgency.

In what may be his last major policy speech before the next administration takes power, Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a strong pitch today at a highly symbolic venue — the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace — for a new generation of nuclear weapons.
Clearly worried that nuclear deterrence has been neglected as a strategic issue, [...]

The debate about guns or butter hotted up last week, with Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) calling for an enormous decline in defense spending of 25 percent and the head of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, Rep. John Murtha (D-Penn.) saying money for weapons will have to come from spending slated to fund more Army personnel. Defense consultant Robbin Laird weighs in on the likely impacts of the financial crisis on defense spending.

The rumors, speculation and fear about China and its plans to build a true blue water fleet, complete with carrier groups and all that would mean for the shift in power in the Pacific, appear to have gained some substance.
The respected naval analyst Norman Polmar is hearing reports “that 50 Chinese naval officers have begun [...]

The war in Iraq has been a windfall for hired muscle, with private security types able to pull in hundreds of dollars a day — at times doing the same job as a soldier. In some instances, senior managers for a company like Blackwater — the North Carolina-based company whose name is synonymous with armed [...]