Flying Towards a Waterfall
While there has been much coverage–and debate–regarding sequestration’s impact on the U.S. military, there is another crisis that has received far less attention, yet the long-term consequences are equally serious. …
Today's Reading Assignment
…from George Leef, writing at Forbes.com: “More College Does Not Beget More Economic Prosperity” As Mr. Leef reminds us, the national obsession with sending millions of young people to the academy has resulted…
Reinforcements
Amid the hubub over former SecDef Robert Gates’s new memoir–and disclosures that Hillary and Barack Obama staked out national security positions based purely on political concerns–comes this rather surprising announcement from the Pentagon::…
The War at 50
Tom Fletcher speaks with President Johnson on his front porch in Martin County, Kentucky in 1964. LBJ used the visit to launch his “War on Poverty.” (Louisville Courier-Journal) Fifty years…
The Homeless Colonel
Something about this story doesn’t add up. As you probably know, veterans make up a disproportionate share of the nation’s homeless. In fact, the Veteran’s Administration launched an emergency effort…
Mishap Deja Vu?
An Air Force MC-12 surveillance aircraft, like the one that crashed today in Afghanistan. Previous crashes and near-catastrophic stall incidents involving the MC-12 have been blamed on limited crew training. Most…
The Final Flight of Buzz 14
Fifty years ago today, just after midnight eastern time, a B-52D took off from Massachusetts, for the final leg of a journey to its home at Turner AFB near Albany, Georgia. The…
Ending the Air Force's Nuclear Erosion
Passing through the Philadelphia airport a few nights ago, I skimmed through a copy of “Duty,” the recently-released memoir from former Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Of course, almost anyone who watches cable…
The Mess Down South
There are at least a couple of “teachable” moments from the winter storm that has paralyzed much of the south. First, as is often the case during a weather-related debacle, there are the inevitable…
A "Culture of Fear"
More bad news for the boys and girls in blue: the cheating scandal among Air Force nuclear missile launch officers at Malmstrom AFB, Montana is growing. The Associated Press reports that 90…