Author Archives: Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D
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What Would A President Pence Mean For America’s Military? (From RealClearDefense)
May 23, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D If the troubled presidency of Donald Trump ends early, vice president Mike Pence would presumably become president. It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out what that would mean for domestic policy, because Pence is a movement conservative who has [Read More...] -
Boeing’s T-X Could Be Good News For Struggling St. Louis Economy (From Forbes)
May 16, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Boeing disclosed Monday that if it wins the competition to build the Air Force’s T-X trainer, the plane will be built at the company’s manufacturing complex in St. Louis. Boeing is the biggest manufacturing employer in Missouri, and its continued [Read More...] -
How Trump Can Fix the Army’s Tank Fleet, Deter Russia and Boost Midwest Manufacturing — In Five Years (From Forbes)
May 15, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The last tank plant in America is turning out only a dozen modernized Abrams tanks per year. Needless to say, there isn’t much left of the tank industrial base and supply chain. President Trump can fix that. In fact, he [Read More...] -
Eisenhower’s ‘Military-Industrial Complex’ Shrinks to 1% Of Economy (From Forbes)
May 8, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D During the early days of the Cold War, the United States had a public and private weapons sector that consumed resources equivalent to 3-4% of gross domestic product. President Eisenhower referred to the industry and its supporters in government as [Read More...] -
Education Department’s Untimely Shift To Fragmented IT System Is Putting Student Loans At Risk (From Forbes)
May 4, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Department of Education is implementing a radical transformation of its information systems at the height of the student loan season, and the effort could falter badly. Specifically, the department is shifting from a system in which a single [Read More...] -
Army Aviation Dodges A Bullet In Latest Budget Cliffhanger (From Forbes)
May 2, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Army operates the largest fleet of military helicopters in the world, but during the Obama years it did not get enough money to modernize a force in which all of the frontline rotorcraft first saw action during the [Read More...] -
GMD: The Only Program That Can Stop A North Korean Nuclear Warhead From Reaching America (From Forbes)
April 28, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made no secret of his efforts to obtain a nuclear strike capability against America. That is a huge security challenge because Kim may not be deterrable in the way we believe Russian and [Read More...] -
U.S. Air Force’s Helicopter Plan Ignores Mattis’ Reform Guidance (From RealClearDefense)
April 27, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D The U.S. Air Force urgently needs to replace its decrepit fleet of UH-1N helicopters, which provides security for Minuteman III missiles and emergency transport for senior government officials. However, the way the Air Force is going about picking the replacement [Read More...] -
Five Reasons Trump Won’t Reverse The U.S. Military’s Long Decline (From Forbes)
April 24, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D Donald Trump ran for the presidency promising that he would rebuild America’s military. The joint force definitely needs renewal, but after 100 days in office, Trump doesn’t look like the leader who can accomplish it. For starters, the military has [Read More...] -
The Case For A Decapitating Strike Against North Korea’s Kim (From Forbes)
April 20, 2017- Loren B. Thompson, Ph.D As North Korea’s nuclear program progresses toward obtaining a strike capability against the United States, Washington will need to start thinking about concrete military options for defusing the threat. The most successful tactic might be a direct attack against Supreme [Read More...]