The Joint Chiefs of Staff last week issued updated doctrine on homeland defense, including new guidance on cyberspace operations, unmanned aerial systems, defense support of civil authorities, and even a bit of national security classification policy. See Joint Publication 3-27, Homeland Defense, April 10, 2018. Homeland defense (HD) is related to homeland security, but it is […]
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Use of Armed Forces to Secure the Border
The legal framework governing the deployment and use of armed forces to guard the US border with Mexico is surveyed in a new publication from the Congressional Research Service. See The President’s Authority to Use the National Guard or the Armed Forces to Secure the Border, CRS Legal Sidebar, April 19, 2018. Other new and updated reports […]
Read MoreA Forum for Classified Research on Cybersecurity
By definition, scientists who perform classified research cannot take full advantage of the standard practice of peer review and publication to assure the quality of their work and to disseminate their findings. Instead, military and intelligence agencies tend to provide limited disclosure of classified research to a select, security-cleared audience. In 2013, the US intelligence […]
Read MoreUSA v. Terry Albury: A Guilty Plea
The second prosecution of an accused leaker in the Trump Administration (after Reality Winner) will yield the first conviction. Former FBI special agent Terry J. Albury pleaded guilty this week to unlawful disclosure and retention of national defense information, each of which is a felony under the Espionage Act statutes. The plea agreement, signed by […]
Read MoreThe F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program, and More from CRS
The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the single largest procurement program in the Department of Defense, which anticipates acquiring thousands of these aircraft. But while “the F-35 promises significant advances in military capability…, reaching that capability has put the program above its original budget and behind the planned schedule,” according to the Congressional Research Service. […]
Read MoreUS Gifts to Foreign Individuals Reported
The Obama Administration gave dozens of wrist watches to various foreign leaders in 2014. A newly released State Department report to Congress lists all of the gifts presented by President Obama, Mrs. Obama, Vice President Biden, Mrs. Biden, and Secretary of State Kerry to foreign individuals. The 32 page report reflects the fact that the […]
Read MoreGrowing Pentagon Secrecy Draws Questions
In just the last few weeks and months, U.S. military officials imposed new restrictions on media interviews and base visits, at least temporarily; they blocked (but later permitted) publication of current data on the extent of insurgent control of Afghanistan; and they classified previously unclassified information concerning future flight tests of ballistic missile defense systems. […]
Read MoreSpecial Operations Forces Aiming to Expand
The 2019 budget request for U.S. Special Operations Command — $13.6 billion — is 10% higher than the 2018 level and is the largest budget request ever submitted by US SOCOM. U.S. special operations forces, which are currently deployed in 90 countries, have more than doubled in size from 33,000 personnel in 2001 to around […]
Read MoreNuclear Weapons Maintenance as a Career Path
The US Air Force has published new guidance for training military and civilian personnel to maintain nuclear weapons as a career specialty. See Nuclear Weapons Career Field Education and Training Plan, Department of the Air Force, April 1, 2018. An Air Force nuclear weapons specialist “inspects, maintains, stores, handles, modifies, repairs, and accounts for nuclear weapons, […]
Read MoreStatus of the Smart Grid, and More from CRS
The “smart grid” refers to an ongoing modernization of the nation’s electrical power system that makes it possible to dynamically allocate power and optimize system operation. It’s a work in progress. A new report from the Congressional Research Service reviews smart grid technologies, costs and concerns including privacy and cybersecurity. See The Smart Grid: Status and […]
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