Ideas

Women Help Prevent Terrorism. Congress Should Encourage the Pentagon to Pay Attention

Here’s a list of related House provisions that should be part of 2020's final authorization bill.

Ideas

The Man Who Couldn’t Take It Anymore

“I had no choice but to leave,” James Mattis says of his decision to resign as President Trump’s secretary of defense.

Ideas

Happy Birthday, Nuclear Arms Race

If we remember how we could have stopped it, we may yet find a way to do so.

Threats

Alleged Israeli Strikes Bring US to Crossroads in Iraq

The Pentagon is worried that attacks on Iran-linked targets could damage its relationship with Baghdad. But what does the White House want?

Threats

Dunford: Peace Agreement With The Taliban Is ‘Worth Trying’

“I’m not using the ‘withdrawal’ word right now,” the Pentagon’s top uniformed leader said Wednesday.

Ideas

Is This Space’s ‘Billy Mitchell Moment’? Let’s Hope Not

Enflaming service rivalries will not help the U.S. military develop the joint spacepower it needs.

Science & Tech

The Pentagon Wants to Bolster DIU’s Cyber Defenses

The department is looking for penetration testers, red teams, and cyber training to protect its startup incubator from online attacks.

Business

Pentagon Sees ‘No Major Concerns’ With Raytheon-United Technologies Merger

The Defense Department’s top weapons buyer, Ellen Lord, gives stamp of approval to what would be the second-largest defense and aerospace company ever.

Policy

The Pentagon Is Almost Two Years Late On Efficiency Reforms

Little progress have been made on various requirements ordered in the 2018 authorization act, GAO found.

Ideas

Esper’s Foot-Dragging on Mega-Cloud Doesn’t Pass the Smell Test

The new defense secretary needs to stand up to his boss, who is inappropriately meddling in a Pentagon contract.

Science & Tech

DARPA Wants AI to Help Make Weapons More Hacker-Proof

Artificial intelligence might speed up the design of arms and other network-connected platforms — and suggest improvement that humans haven’t yet conceived.

Policy

General’s Sexual Assault Accuser Was Deemed a ‘Toxic, Self-Centered Abuser,’ New Docs Reveal

Hundreds of previously unseen pages of two investigations paint Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser as an abusive coworker with motive for revenge against Gen. John Hyten.

Business

Former Defense Secretary Mattis Is Returning to General Dynamics Board

The retired general had been a member of the defense contractor’s board until he became defense secretary in January 2017.

Ideas

How 'Great-Power Competition' Became Washington's Favorite Frame

In just a few years, GPC went from being an arcane term to approaching a cliché.

Policy

Why Trump Cares About the Pentagon’s Mega-Cloud — and Why That Terrifies Those Who Want It

Breaking up the $10 billion JEDI network project will hurt the U.S. military’s effort to speed data to troops, its fans argue.

Policy

Hyten Poised For Confirmation Despite Sexual Assault Claims

His accuser, who took a front-row seat at his confirmation hearing, says the Air Force four-star is lying to Congress.

Ideas

Antiques Road Show: The Real State of the US Military

The wars of the future may depend not so much on the kinds of things you can put on parade, but on new technologies that reimagine warfare.

Policy

Gen. Hyten to Get His Senate Confirmation Hearing

His previously uncontroversial nomination to be vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs was thrown into question after a former subordinate accused him of sexual assault.