Ideas

The Pandemic Shut Down Other DoD Innovation Efforts, So We Took Ours Online

Hackathons sponsored by the National Security Innovation Network are going virtual, starting with an urban-warfare challenge.

Science & Tech

Peter Thiel’s New Man In The Defense Department

The new head of defense research and engineering comes from the White House with a relatively light resume.

Policy

Top US General Slams Confederacy As ‘Treason’, Signals Support For Base Renaming

“Those generals fought for the institution of slavery,” Gen. Mark Milley told a House hearing.

Ideas

Does the Pentagon Understand What a Navy Is For?

Fleet-force planning has been seized by a Joint Staff and Defense Secretary who put budget-slicing before strategy.

Ideas

I Am Vanessa Guillen

I, too, was harassed, belittled, groped, touched, rubbed, threatened, assaulted, and demeaned. I was raped. Military justice needs to change.

Ideas

Trump Admin Lacks Solid Plan to Reopen Federal Offices, GAO Says

Republicans say feds should swiftly go back to work: "It’s time to take our chances," one argues.

Policy

The Pentagon's Research Chief and His Deputy Are Resigning

Michael Griffin, defense undersecretary for research and engineering, and his deputy announced their July 10 departure in an email to staff.

Ideas

Does the Pentagon’s Checkbook Diplomacy Actually Work?

We know more about waste and corruption than about whether DoD's preferential procurement produces the desired results.

Ideas

Congress Has Less Than a Month to Ward Off Needless Harm to the US Military

The ranking member of the House’s Defense Appropriations panel lays out how it would hurt to start fiscal 2021 with a continuing resolution.

Ideas

Ending Accompanied Tours to the Gulf Is a Message Delivered at a Cost

The Pentagon wants Iran — and U.S. allies — to pay close attention to its decision to keep troops' families out of the region.

Threats

Navy to Punish Fired Captain of the USS Theodore Roosevelt

In a reversal, the service’s top officer says further investigation revealed lapses in Capt. Brett Crozier’s judgment and actions aboard his COVID-stricken ship.

Science & Tech

Bipartisan Senate Bill Seeks to Boost Pentagon AI Talent

Step one: teach the Defense Department's HR staff to find and hire experts in artificial intelligence.

Ideas

COVID-19 Is Forcing Hard Cybersecurity Choices

Pandemic relief spending will likely prevent the implementation of most of the Cybersecurity Solarium Commission’s recommendations. Here’s how to prioritize them.

Ideas

What Big Tech Wants Out of the Pandemic

The firms are all too eager to help the government manage the coronavirus crisis.

Ideas

Milley Is Trump's Latest Reluctant Enabler

Maintaining the balance between serving the president and protecting the Constitution is impossible over time.

Ideas

Why Soldiers Might Disobey the President’s Orders to Occupy US Cities

Because it might be their duty to do so. Two ethicists at Navy schools explain.

Business

Pentagon Starts Bailing Out Companies That have Lost Business Due to Coronavirus

The Defense Department is sending millions of dollars to keep companies afloat, and more deals are expected.

Ideas

Milley's Chance to Right His ‘Mistake’

The Joint Chiefs chairman now says he was wrong to walk with the president. Will he survive to push back a second time?

Business

The Pentagon Can’t Afford All of the Weapons It Wants, New Report Says

Based on projected funding levels, the military will be forced to choose winners and losers among its priority projects.

Ideas

This is Not a Civil-Military Crisis

Recent statements by uniformed leaders are anodyne expressions about U.S. law. Those by retired four-stars are more problematic.