TODAY’S TOP 5
1. Compromise reached on 2014 defense bill
(Military Times) Congressional negotiators unveiled a compromise $632.8 billion defense policy bill on Monday that they hope can pass the House and Senate by Christmas to avoid disruption in military programs.
2. Navy Secretary Expands Review of Supply Contracts
(New York Times) Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus has expanded an internal review of the Navy’s ship-supply contracts, in a new sign that overbilling practices discovered in the Pacific could be occurring worldwide.
3. ANALYSIS: Jang Song Thaek’s very public purge
(NKNews.org) The very recent downfall of Jang Song Thaek – Kim Jong Un’s uncle – is an important event. It can be described as both unexpected but also anticipated. On the one hand, Jang’s displacement has been expected within certain circles for sometime now. On the other hand, the dramatic form this purge took is completely unexpected.
4. Hagel Softens on Troop Deal, Gives Karzai Until February - But Not April
(Defense One) After weeks of insisting that a post-2014 troop deal be signed by the end of the year, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel now says that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has until February’s NATO meeting.
5. U.S. C-17s to support peacekeepers in Central African Republic
(Air Force Times) The Defense Department has directed Air Force C-17s assigned to U.S. Africa Command to assist African and French peacekeepers in the Central African Republic, where international troops are attempting to aid a transition to a democratic government, the Defense Department announced.
EUROPE
Russia Deploys First Fighter Jets to Belarus
(Defense News) Russia has deployed the first four Su-27SM3 fighter jets to Belarus. The aircraft will be stationed at the 61st air base in Baranavichi, reported local daily Belorusskiy Partizan.
Will Russia play the Kurdish card?
(Al-Monitor) On Sept. 27, the People's Protection Units (YPG) claimed responsibility for killing Abu Omar al-Chechen, a leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and 15 other members of the group. It could have been just another report on the never-ending skirmishes of the Syrian conflict if it hadn’t echoed miles away from the Middle East in another hotbed — the North Caucasus.
Ukraine president backs call for talks with opposition; riot police deploy in Kiev
(Washington Post) Ukrainian riot police moved methodically around the periphery of the sprawling protest camps here Monday, away from the focus of attention, the occupied Independence Square.
INDUSTRY
Finmeccanica Reworks to Strengthen US Presence
(Defense News) William Lynn became CEO of DRS Technologies in January after serving as US deputy defense secretary under Robert Gates and Leon Panetta. Previous Pentagon tours include serviing as director of program analysis and evaluation for the defense secretary, and comptroller for the department. He was also senior vice president of government operations and strategy at Raytheon from 2002 to 2009.
Boeing must decide on F/A-18 production in March 2014: executive
(Reuters) Boeing Co (BA.N) must decide in March 2014 whether to invest tens of millions of dollars to continue production of the F/A-18 fighter jet, a senior Boeing executive said on Monday, underscoring his confidence that sufficient orders would emerge to keep the plane in production until beyond 2020.
EADS to Cut 5,800 Jobs with Restructuring
(Defense News) EADS plans to cut 5,800 jobs by the end of 2016 in a consolidation of defense, space and military transport aircraft units into a planned Airbus Defense and Space division, the European company said Dec. 9.
U.S. defense bill boosts funding for missile defense to $9.5 billion
(Reuters) A compromise defense bill proposed on Monday by U.S. lawmakers would boost spending on missile defense by $358 million to $9.5 billion, mandating an additional homeland defense radar and increasing funding for U.S.-Israeli cooperative efforts.
Astrium, Raytheon team for NATO missile defense program
(UPI) Astrium and Raytheon have signed a teaming agreement in pursuit of a contract for work on NATO's Ballistic Missile Defense Program.
In Air Force Trainer Competition, Hopefuls Persist Despite Downbeat Forecast
(National Defense Magazine) Industry players continue to cast their lot in the U.S. Air Force training aircraft competition, even though the program is unlikely to be funded for several years.
CONGRESS
Lawmakers hope to make quick strike on $607B defense bill
(The Hill) The House and Senate are suspending regular order on a $607 billion Defense authorization bill in a last-ditch effort to get it to President Obama's desk before the end of the year.
1% pay raise for 2014 appears likely
(Military Times) Congressional negotiators have decided on a 1 percent military pay raise for 2014 but are taking steps to ensure the White House is ultimately responsible for what would be the smallest annual pay bump since the birth of the all-volunteer force 40 years ago.
Gillibrand proposal not in Defense bill's final cut
(The Hill) Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s (D-N.Y.) proposal to take military sexual assault cases outside the chain of command is not included in the final Defense authorization bill, a congressional aide with knowledge of the bill’s contents told The Hill.
Congress Moves to Spike China's Missile Deal with Turkey
(Foreign Policy) Turkey stunned U.S. officials in September when it reached a provisional deal worth up to $3.4 billion with a Chinese company blacklisted in the United States to build Turkey's first long-range air and missile defense system. Monday, Congress drew a line in the sand over it: If the 2014 U.S. defense spending bill goes through as proposed, it will ban the use of U.S. funding to integrate Chinese missile defense systems with U.S. or NATO systems, effectively making it impossible for Turkey to operate Chinese equipment with many partner nations.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Pentagon Revisits Policy Barring Those with Spouses, Children in U.S. Illegally
(Wall Street Journal) A few years ago, Beatriz Madriz enlisted in the Marine Corps. Then, just before heading to boot camp, a recruiter told her that she had to divorce her husband if she still wanted to join the Marines—because he was an illegal immigrant.
Military retracts Guantánamo PTSD claim
(Miami Herald) The U.S. military is retracting a claim made to “60 Minutes” that Guantánamo guards suffer nearly twice as much Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as combat troops.
Pentagon think tank part of reshuffling plan
(C4ISR & Networks) The Office of Net Assessment, the Pentagon's futurist think tank, will no longer report directly to the secretary of Defense, according to a new organization plan introduced Wednesday by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
ARMY
NAVY
The shirt-grabbing 'assault' that got a CMC fired
(Navy Times) A 35-year career came down to one crushing confrontation last summer for Command Master Chief (SW) Rick Helwick.
Navy set for more Atlantic training
(The Brunswick News, GA) The Department of the Navy announced the signing of an environmental impact statement that will enable more training along the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico.
Sailor's bid farewell to 'Connie'
(San Diego Union-Tribune) The Navy said it will soon turn over the Constellation to a company that will dismantle the aircraft carrier, which was in service for almost 42 years. For virtually all of that time, she was home-ported in San Diego. The ship's island tower was often part of the city's skyline.
Naval Academy superintendent discusses court-martial decision in sex assault case
(Navy Times) he U.S. Naval Academy superintendent says he decided to court-martial two midshipmen in a sexual assault case because he wanted to make sure the charges were examined in great detail.
AIR FORCE
Academy controversy exposes OSI's army of snitches
(Air Force Times) A former Air Force Academy cadet who claims he was ordered to break cadet policy while working as a confidential informant and then was abandoned when he got into trouble has exposed the service’s long-standing practice of using airmen to root out crime in the ranks.
Life as an informant: 'Folks end up getting burned'
(Air Force Times) Air Force Office of Special Investigations agents “have no authority to protect any of their sources, who are usually already in trouble or labeled as misfits or as a troublemaker,” retired Capt. Christopher Nelson, a former OSI agent, told Air Force Times in a Dec. 4 interview.
Analysis: Secret UAV Revelation Raises More Questions than Answers
(US Naval Institute) Industry trade journal Aviation Week suggests that a new extremely stealthy long-range strategic unmanned intelligence surveillance reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft — the Northrop Grumman RQ-180 — not only exists but that it could be operational by 2015.
MARINE CORPS
AFGHANISTAN/PAKISTAN
Planes Parked in Weeds in Kabul After $486 Million Spent
(Bloomberg) Sixteen broken-down transport planes that cost U.S. taxpayers at least $486 million are languishing among the weeds, wooden cargo boxes and old tires at Kabul International Airport, waiting to be destroyed without ever being delivered to the Afghan Air Force.
Analysis: Afghan Taliban say drone strikes are proof US is a 'paper tiger'
(Long War Journal) The Afghan Taliban recently claimed that the US' reliance on drone strikes to target Taliban leaders masks the decline of American power in the world and the failure of its counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban also called the US a "paper tiger," the same phrase used by Osama Bin Laden to describe the American military when it withdrew from Somalia after the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993.
Trouble in Afghanistan's most peaceful province may hint at the post-NATO reality
(Stars and Stripes) Less than an hour’s drive from the sleepy city of Bamiyan, with its giant Buddhas, nascent tourism industry, and zero foreign troops, this rugged mountain district in what many consider the safest province in the country has quietly become a tense battleground between government forces and insurgents. It may provide a peek at what Afghanistan faces in a post-NATO world.
McCain: No Afghan security agreement would be 'huge setback'
(The Hill) Afghanistan’s failure to sign a status of forces agreement would be a “huge setback” for the United States, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Monday.
Hagel Warns Pakistan to Help Open NATO Supply Route
(Bloomberg) Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned Pakistan that it risks losing some U.S. financial aid if a key supply route to Afghanistan remains blocked by protesters.
MIDDLE EAST
ASIA-PACIFIC
Is This Submerged Rock East Asia's Next Flashpoint?
(Defense One) In response to China’s creation of a controversial air defense identification zone two weeks ago, the South Korean government has expanded its air defense identification zone as well. As of Dec. 15, Korea’s ADIZ will be about 66,480 sq. km larger—about two thirds the size of the country—and encompass Socotra, which China also included in its air defense zone. South Korean officials had asked China to remove Socotra from its ADIZ, but Chinese officials refused.
Public Ouster in North Korea Unsettles China
(New York Times) North Koreans had long known Jang Song-thaek as the No. 2 figure in their country, the revered uncle and mentor of Kim Jong-un, the paramount leader. Then on Monday, state-run television showed two green-uniformed guards clutching a glum-looking Mr. Jang by the armpits and pulling him from a meeting of the ruling party after he was denounced for faction-building, womanizing, gambling and other acts as dozens of former comrades watched.
North Korea Purge Raises Stability Questions
(Wall Street Journal) North Korea's highest-profile leadership purge since Kim Jong Un took power is viewed by outside observers as a move to consolidate power that could trigger instability if it upsets the balance between the military and the ruling party.
AFRICA
President Obama’s Message to the People of the Central African Republic
(The White House Blog) In an audio message taped in Dakar, Senegal, today, President Obama sent a clear and important message to the people of the Central African Republic: that they should reject the violence currently threatening their country, and move together toward a future of security, dignity, and peace.
2 French soldiers die in Central African Republic
(Stars and Stripes) Two French soldiers were killed in combat in Central African Republic's capital, President Francois Hollande's office announced Tuesday, the first French casualties since he ordered a stepped-up military presence in the restive former colony to help quell inter-religious violence.
Fierce fighting in central Somalia
(Long War Journal) The past week has seen fierce fighting all over Somalia, but particularly near the city of Beledweyne, as AMISOM and Somali troops face stiff Shabaab resistance in multiple theaters.
IAEA will inspect Libya's yellowcake stockpiles
(Stars and Stripes) An inspection team from the U.N.'s nuclear agency will visit Libya to assess the thousands of barrels of yellowcake uranium that reportedly are being stored in a former military facility amid a "precarious" security situation in the country.
OPINION
Opportunities Abound in NATO Defense Market
(Katerina Wright and Aleksandar D. Jovovic in National Defense Magazine) European defense, a traditional high-value market for transatlantic players, continues to be challenging. Facing similar sequestration initiated cuts in the United States, defense firms have become accustomed to news of stagnant investment, equipment and personnel reductions, and uncertainty about future requirements across the European continent.
Sy Hersh's Chemical Misfire
(Foreign Policy) Seymour Hersh, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, published an article over the weekend that calls into question who really launched the chemical weapons attack that brought the United States to the brink of war in Syria.
Opinion: U.S. Navy Vital to Global Security
(Retired Navy Capt. J. Phillip London in the US Naval Institute) At the turn of the 20th century, President Teddy Roosevelt realized two things: first, America’s fleet had to grow to protect U.S. interests abroad; and second, it had to be very big.
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