U.S. Space Force

Report to Congress on Use of Force in Cyberspace

The following is the June 25, 2024, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Use of Force in Cyberspace.

From the report

Introduction

There are presently no internationally accepted criteria for determining whether a nation state cyberattack is a use of force equivalent to an armed attack, which could trigger a military response. Likewise, no international, legally binding instruments have yet been drafted explicitly to regulate inter-state relations in cyberspace. Self-defense and...

https://news.usni.org/2024/06/26/report-to-congress-on-use-of-force-in-cyberspace

HASC’s Adam Smith Says Pentagon Must Assess Platform Capability for Modernization Efforts

Amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland (LPD-27) conducts a high-energy laser weapon system demonstration on a static surface training target, Dec. 14, 2021. US Navy Photo

The Pentagon must make modernization choices between legacy systems and new technology like lasers by evaluating each platform’s capability,the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said this week. 

“The aircraft carrier battle groups have been enormously helpful” in deterring Iran and its proxies over the...

https://news.usni.org/2024/05/09/hascs-adam-smith-says-pentagon-must-assess-platform-capability-for-modernization-efforts

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

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

GAO Report on U.S. Military Readiness

The following is the May 2, 2023, Government Accountability Office report, Military Readiness: Improvement in Some Areas, but Sustainment and Other Challenges Persist.

From the reports

What GAO Found

GAO Image

Readiness ratings increased in the ground domain and declined in the sea domain from fiscal year 2017 through fiscal year 2021—the most recent data at the time of GAO’s analysis—with mixed changes in the air and space domains.

GAO’s prior work has identified a wide range of persistent...

https://news.usni.org/2023/05/04/gao-report-on-u-s-military-readiness

Annual Pentagon Sexual Assault Study Shows Increase in Navy Reports, Overall Trends Unclear

Sexual assault reporting by service members increased around 1 percent between Fiscal Year 2021 and 2022, according to the annual Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Report released Thursday.

In FY 2022, there were 8,942 reports, according to the annual report. The Navy reported receiving 2,052 reports, up 9 percent over the previous fiscal year, according to the Navy-specific report. Of the reports, 1,363 were unrestricted, meaning the case can be forwarded on to criminal and prosecutorial...

https://news.usni.org/2023/04/27/annual-pentagon-sexual-assault-study-shows-increase-in-navy-reports-overall-trends-unclear

GAO Report on Military Housing

The following is the April 2023 Government Accountability Office report, Military Housing: DoD Can Further Strengthen Oversight of Its Privatized Housing Program.

From the report

What GAO Found

The Department of Defense (DOD) has taken steps to implement statutory requirements from the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (2020 NDAA). These statutory requirements were designed to increase assistance to residents of privatized housing, ensure DOD has adequate personnel to conduct...

https://news.usni.org/2023/04/11/gao-report-on-military-housing

Pentagon’s Joint Concept for Competing

The following is the Feb. 10, 2023, Joint Chiefs of Staff document, Joint Concept for Competing.

From the report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Based on combatant commander (CCDR) assessments of their limited ability to compete successfully in strategic competition, at a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Tank on 19 June 2020, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) directed the development of a joint concept for competition to drive joint strategic planning and joint force development and design. The Joint...

https://news.usni.org/2023/03/09/pentagons-joint-concept-for-competing

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