U.S. Air Force

DEPSECDEF Hicks: DoD Wants Thousands of Drones to Counter China’s Military Mass Advantage

A Saildrone Explorer unmanned surface vessel (USV) operates with guided-missile destroyer USS Delbert D. Black (DDG-119) in the Arabian Gulf during exercise Phantom Scope, Oct. 7, 2022. US Navy Photo

The Pentagon is betting that by fielding thousands of attritable autonomous systems across domains in fewer than two years, the United States can overcome China’s advantage of mass in manpower, ships, aircraft and missiles, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said in a Monday speech.

Speaking at...

https://news.usni.org/2023/08/28/depsecdef-hicks-dod-wants-thousands-of-drones-to-counter-chinas-military-mass-advantage

First Marine Corps MQ-9A Reaper Squadron Now Operational

Marine Corps MQ-9A MUX/MALE is formally unveiled during a ceremony for Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3 (VMU-3), Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Aug 2, 2023. US Marine Corps Photo

Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3 (VMU 3) introduced its new Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles in a ceremony at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, last week.

The Marine Corps UAV squadron, the only one of its kind in the Indo-Pacific,...

https://news.usni.org/2023/08/08/first-marine-corps-mq-9a-reaper-squadron-now-operational

Senate Passes NDAA Authorizing Navy to Buy 10 New Ships

U.S. Capitol on Dec. 29, 2022. USNI News Photo

The Senate passed the annual defense policy bill in an 86 to 11 vote in the upper chamber on Thursday, authorizing the Navy to buy a total of 10 battleforce ships in the next fiscal year.

The Fiscal Year 2024 legislation authorizes the service to purchase one Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarine, two Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, two Virginia-class attack boats, two Constellation-class frigates, one San Antonio-class LPD-17 Flight...

https://news.usni.org/2023/07/28/senate-passes-ndaa-authorizing-10-new-ships

U.S., Philippines Forces Training in Tandem As Countries’ Alliance Expands

Marine Corps Sgt. Samuel Whitty, a radio operator with 3d Marine Littoral Regiment, 3d Marine Division, showcases 3d MLR’s communication assets to Philippine Marines with Battalion Landing Team 10 during Marine Aviation Support Activity 23 at Naval Base Camilo Osias, July 15, 2023. US Marin Corps Photo

U.S. forces are back in the Philippines for another round of joint exercises with their Filipino counterparts as Washington and Manilla expand cooperation.

Marine Aviation Support Activity 2023 and...

https://news.usni.org/2023/07/18/u-s-philippines-forces-training-in-tandem-as-countries-alliance-expands

Report to Congress on Senate Nomination Holds

The following is the July 18, 2023, Congressional Research Service report, Hold on Nominations.

From the report

In the Senate, a hold on a nomination is a communication to the majority or minority leader that a Senator would object to approving the nomination by unanimous consent. When Senators inform their leader that they would object to approving a category of nominations by unanimous consent, such as all nominations to a particular government agency, they are said to be placing a blanket hold

https://news.usni.org/2023/07/18/report-to-congress-on-senate-nomination-holds

Report to Congress on Arms Control Agreements

The following is the July 11, 2023, Congressional Research Service report, Arms Control and Nonproliferation: A Catalog of Treaties and Agreements.

From the report

Arms control and nonproliferation efforts are two of the tools that the United States has occasionally used to implement its national security strategy. Although some believe these tools do little to restrain the behavior of U.S. adversaries, while doing too much to restrain U.S. military forces and operations, many others see them as...

https://news.usni.org/2023/07/14/report-to-congress-on-arms-control-agreements

Cavoli: NATO Increased Ready Troops By 700 Percent

The NATO flag flies aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) in support of Neptune Strike 2022 on Jan. 29, 2022. US Navy Photo

NATO’s new force model has already given its top commander a 700 percent increase in fully ready troops, Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli said this week on the first day of the alliance conference in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The command is now “force sourcing line units” to NATO’s three regional defense areas – the Arctic and North Atlantic; southern...

https://news.usni.org/2023/07/13/nato-increases-troops-by-700-percent

DoD Modernization Should Focus on Joint Goals, CJCS Nominee CQ Brown Tells Senate

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee for the Department of the Air Force fiscal year 2024 budget request, Washington, D.C., May 2, 2023. US Air Force Photo

The nominee to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told Congress he will take a look at how the Department of Defense is set to modernize with an emphasis on developing a joint force.

Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Gen. CQ Brown said, “there’s...

https://news.usni.org/2023/07/11/dod-modernization-should-focus-on-joint-goals-cjcs-nominee-cq-brown-tells-senate

GAO Report on DoD Bulk Fuel

Complexities with DOD Bulk Fuel Process

The following is the June 22, 2023, Government Accountability Office Report, DoD Bulk Fuel: Improved Management over Transactions Could Lead to More Reliable Financial Reporting.

From the report

What GAO Found

The Department of Defense (DOD) is the U.S. government’s largest purchaser and consumer of bulk fuel, expenditures for which totaled $10.3 billion in fiscal year 2022. DOD’s fuel process is complex in that it includes a variety of process owners, stakeholders, locations, and systems and a...

https://news.usni.org/2023/06/27/gao-report-on-dod-bulk-fuel

Lawmakers Press HASC to Approve Research Into Psychedelic Drugs for PTSD Treatment

U.S. Capitol on Dec. 29, 2022. USNI News Photo

Congressional members petitioned the House Armed Services Committee to research psychedelic drugs to treat post-traumatic stress during the panel’s annual member day ahead of the Fiscal Year 2024 defense policy bill markup.

Navy SEAL veteran Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) told a receptive HASC that Congress must approve research grants to assess using psychedelic drugs to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

“We have to think...

https://news.usni.org/2023/05/16/lawmakers-press-hasc-to-approve-research-into-psychedelic-drugs-for-ptsd-treatment

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