Author Archives: Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D.
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Why Ten More C-17s Are Important To America
October 1, 2009- Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Issue Brief is raging on Capitol Hill about whether to buy ten more C-17 military airlifters. It’s astonishing, given that the C-17 is perfect for “the wars we are in” as the Pentagon likes to say. Right now, a C-17 [Read More...] -
Korea: Kim Calling The Shots, So U.S. Forces Dig In
September 30, 2009- Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Gen. “Skip” Sharp looks across the demilitarized zone daily in his job as top commander of UN forces in Korea. Here’s his take on North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il. “He is in charge,” Sharp told a group of defense writers [Read More...] -
Iran Highlights Need For Raptor Readiness
September 29, 2009- Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Iran’s weekend saber-rattling with its splashy Shahab 3 missile is a big reminder that in world politics, you just never know. It’s always nice to have the upper hand: specifically, an ability to contain Iran, and threaten back if needed. [Read More...] -
Tailhook Tells It Like It Is.
September 18, 2009- Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. You want to hear about future threats? You have to leave Washington DC, where high-intensity warfare is deader than disco. Warnings about tough adversaries were all over last weekend’s Tailhook convention of Navy carrier aviators in Reno, Nevada. That’s because [Read More...] -
Navy Speeds Up F-35
September 14, 2009- Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. It’s official. Commander Sara “Clutch” Joyner told the big crowd at Tailhook 09 in Reno over the weekend that the Navy air warfare staff is indeed moving F-35C initial operating capability to 2014. That’s a year earlier than the planned [Read More...] -
New Global Hawk Undercuts Insurgent Advantages
September 10, 2009- Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Issue Brief If you are a paid Taliban operative or an Iraqi insurgent you may think you know how to slip through the mountains or skulk in the desert without U.S. forces noticing. Guess again. There’s a little thing invented [Read More...] -
STRATCOM A Lonely Advocate Of Nuclear Modernization
August 28, 2009- Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. STRATCOM is emerging as the only consistent proponent of modernizing the nation’s nuclear arsenal. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is strongly in favor, too, but nuclear warhead money is spent at the Department of Energy, not the Department of Defense. [Read More...] -
Military Planners Rethink Deterrence
August 27, 2009- Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. “China’s okay with holding Los Angeles hostage. The U.S. is not okay with counter-value targeting.” So stated a senior STRATCOM official who was in town last week, talking about how to maneuver to lower nuclear force levels and still deter [Read More...] -
Future Bomber Plans Up In The Air
August 26, 2009- Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. Will the Pentagon give USAF the green light to develop a new bomber? It seems like a no-brainer, since the Air Force has only 20 stealthy B-2s it can use to penetrate defended airspace. That’s probably less than 4 or [Read More...] -
Make Way for USCYBERCOM
August 25, 2009- Rebecca L. Grant, Ph.D. He’s been pounding the table for two years about cyber issues. Now, a senior official explains some of the thinking behind the imminent stand-up of United States Cyber Command. The prototype sub-unified command already has all the tactical execution they [Read More...]