In a refreshing break from tradition, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $967 billion discretionary spending plan that would stay within the fiscal year 2014 sequestration spending levels. The measure would protect defense from further cuts and instead deliver the total savings through reductions to domestic discretionary programs. It was …
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has announced that the 800,000 civilian Department of Defense (DOD) employees scheduled for furloughs will take only 11 days without pay. This amounts to half the originally planned furlough of 22 days for civilians in the DOD. While this reduction may keep the DOD operating …
South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrived in Washington on May 6 to meet with President Obama and affirm the bilateral alliance that has kept peace on the Korean Peninsula for 60 years. At the moment, the U.S.–South Korea military, political, and economic relationships are the strongest they have ever been. …
On the eve of Secretary of State John Kerry’s testimony to Congress on securing American interests abroad, the release of the Chinese defense white paper is a reminder of the significant challenges confronting the U.S. in the Asia–Pacific region. Sequestration may have Washington in knots, but there is no comparable …
Just days before President Obama released his fiscal year (FY) 2014 budget request, the Air Force reported that it will have to ground one-third of its aircraft due to budget constraints. Operations and maintenance accounts will be hit particularly hard, causing the Air Force to severely restrict which of its …
This week, the House of Representatives passed its Continuing Resolution (CR) which provides funding for primarily the Department of Defense until the end of this fiscal year. Congress missed the opportunity to reprogram cuts from sequestration or cut even further. It also failed to address sequestration’s serious impact on military …
As most commentators are focusing on the impending massive defense cuts that will devastate the military readiness of America, is it possible that this is only a part of the problem? The Department of Defense (DOD) is facing other symptoms of leadership failure. The recent firing of one of America’s …
