War scholars: McChrystal firing inevitable

By J. OKRAY Experts have mixed opinions on the resignation of Gen. (ret.) Stanley McChrystal in June, as military policies and ethics come to the forefront of the debate. “Obama should pocket McChrystal’s supposed resignation and tell him to get back to work,” said Andrew Bacevich, professor of international relations at Boston University, in an op-ed for NYDailyNews.com shortly after the resignation happened. Bacevich said McChrystal has a history of “egregious lack of judgment” in his views and public statements. For example, McChrystal insisted he needed more troops to achieve success in Afghanistan. He requested 40,000 troops and was granted 30,000. Retired U.S. Army Colonel Charles D. Allen, professor of cultural science at the Army War College, said McChrystal should [...]

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Panel discusses nuclear disarmament strategies

WASHINGTON — The U.S. hasn’t produced any new nuclear weapons since the Cold War ended almost 20 years ago, but the country still maintains an arsenal of some 9,200 warheads that could deliver a destructive force 400 times greater than the force of all explosives used in World War II, according to former Department of Energy adviser Robert Alvarez. Proponents of maintaining a nuclear arsenal that large, like former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger, cite reasons like deterrence, the defense of allies worldwide and the need to keep pace with other nuclear powers like Russia, that continue to modernize their nukes. But there are also a myriad of groups that advocate nuclear disarmament. On Oct. 29, a panel of nuclear weapons [...]

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Current testing is make or break for new Marine Corps Amphib

Amphibious warfare capabilities, the ability to project military power onto a hostile shore, is a unique tactic exclusive to the Marine Corps. Since 1972, the Marines have used Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs), a sort of hybrid between a boat and tank, to safely transport Marines directly from ships and up onto land. In 1988, the Marines decided to initiate an Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV) program, which in 2003 was renamed as the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) program.  In 1996, the Marine Corps awarded General Dynamics a contract to build 573 of the vehicles with full operational capability by 2025. This 13 billion dollar project substantially upgrades the previous AAV models.  For example, the original AAVs’ high speed in water [...]

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Visiting the troops: Morale-booster, or photo op?

They’re a staple of wartime media coverage: High-profile trips to visit the troops by politicians and top military officials. But do these visits really have an impact on troop morale, and to what extent are they photo opportunities intended for domestic consumption?

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More than just a uniform

Times have evolved so much so that military uniform has now become like a fashion trend. Ordinary citizens either wear the entire uniform or certain parts of it as a fashion statement while others use it as a costume during Halloween. Troop members raise their opinions about the matter.

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Building law enforcement in Iraq and Afghanistan

How would one build a nation-wide law-enforcement system from scratch? This is a question retired Lt. Army Gen. James Dubik has faced a number of times. Most notably, he was in charge of developing the Iraq Security Forces in 2007. This month Dubik released a report, “Creating Police and Law Enforcement Systems,” that was published by the Institute for the Study of War. The report examines the best practices in training indigenous law enforcement forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The key, he said, is making an honest assessment of the time and commitment required to meet that challenge. “Initially, our actions in both Afghanistan and Iraq reflected a belief that, in a relatively short fashion, we could recruit, train, equip, [...]

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