News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Duncan Moore.
1. The Pentagon is eyeing a 500-ship Navy, documents reveal
2. Services to consider removing all identifying information from promotion board packets
3. Expert panel tells lawmakers U.S. needs to do more to counter Chinese Pacific expansion
4. Automatic US citizenship restored for all military children born overseas
5. America’s top Marine says the US must shake up its military presence in the Pacific
6. Thousands of Xinjiang mosques destroyed or damaged, report finds
7. Xi vs. Trump at the United Nations
8. Inside the Army’s fearless, messy, networked warfare experiment
9. Virus crisis accelerates debates over China, digital divide, panel says
10. US–China rivalry ramps up pressure on the Pacific islands
11. Marines weigh closing Parris Island and San Diego to open new coed boot camp
12. Two steps President Trump could take now to secure missile defense improvements
13. U.S. military, spies and allies fight fake news on social media with wit and humor
14. 8 surviving members of famed Merrill’s Marauders to receive Congressional Gold Medal
15. Weeks before election, Facebook shuts down alleged Russian military intelligence operation
16. Bias in U.S. military promotions cited as senators offer measure
17. US bill halts military aid to PH over rights issue
1. The Pentagon is eyeing a 500-ship Navy, documents reveal
Defense News · by David Larter, Aaron Mehta · September 24, 2020
Can we afford this? I believe we need a strong Navy, but are we going to be able to pay for this?
2. Services to consider removing all identifying information from promotion board packets
Military Times · by Meghann Myers · September 24, 2020
I really wonder how this will work. Is it practical? Evaluation reports will have to be edited (think of the use of gender pronouns throughout evaluations as one example), but those reports combined with assignment history (with dates of assignment) will still provide identifying information, especially as personnel become more senior. It is relatively simple to determine who people serving in battalion command and above are.
3. Expert panel tells lawmakers U.S. needs to do more to counter Chinese Pacific expansion
USNI News · by John Grady · September 24, 2020
4. Automatic US Citizenship Restored for All Military Children Born Overseas
Military.com · by Richard Sisk · September 24, 2020
It is unbelievable that this was even necessary. It was a relatively simple process for us to ensure our daughter's citizenship in 2000 when she was born in Seoul (121 Hospital in Yongsan). The rules put in place in 2019 are just an indication of how certain people really view the US military personnel and civil servants serving their country overseas. Those who enacted these rules or directed the enactment of these rules should be ashamed of themselves.
5. America’s top Marine says the US must shake up its military presence in the Pacific
Defense News · by David Larter · September 24, 2020
We need strategic flexibility and our Korean allies do need to understand this. We cannot give up our commitment to Northeast Asia, but we have to have strategic flexibility for all US forces.
That said, Northeast Asia is the most militarized and (potentially) most dangerous region in the world. It is the nexus of the 2d and 3d largest economies of the world, some of the largest armies in the world (China, North Korea, South Korea, Russia, and even Japan), two nuclear powers (China and Russia), and a rogue state that possesses nuclear weapons (nNorth Korea). What happens on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia will have global effects economically and can have catastrophic national security effects. So, while I agree with the Commandant in many respects, we cannot neglect the fact Northeast Asia will remain the potential flashpoint for the world.
6. Thousands of Xinjiang mosques destroyed or damaged, report finds
Guardian · by Helen Davidson · September 25, 2020
China's human rights abuses cannot go unchallenged by the international community.
7. Xi vs. Trump at the United Nations
FDD · by Thomas Joscelyn · September 23, 2020
8. Inside the Army’s fearless, messy, networked warfare experiment
Defense One · by Patrick Tucker · September 24, 2020
9. Virus crisis accelerates debates over China, digital divide, panel says
Washington Times · by Guy Taylor · by September 24, 2020
10. US–China rivalry ramps up pressure on the Pacific islands
East Asia Forum · by Denghua Zhang · September 25, 2020
Will we establish bases in the Pacific Islands (e.g., Palau?)
11. Marines weigh closing Parris Island and San Diego to open new coed boot camp
Military.com · by Gina Harkins · September 24, 2020
Close the iconic recruit depots? Wow. The Marines are shaking things up.
12. Two steps President Trump could take now to secure missile defense improvements
Defense News · by Trey Obering & Rebecca Heinrichs · September 23, 2020
Missile defense and missile attack are arguably two of the most important capabilities for the future.
13. U.S. military, spies and allies fight fake news on social media with wit and humor
Newsweek · by Naveed Jamili & Tom O’Connor · September 24, 2020
14. 8 surviving members of famed Merrill’s Marauders to receive Congressional Gold Medal
Military Times · by Claire Barrett · September 24, 2020
Some good news. Better late than never.
15. Weeks before election, Facebook shuts down alleged Russian military intelligence operation
CNN · by Donie O'Sullivan · September 24, 2020
We must be more aggressive than the Russians in shutting these down.
16. Bias in U.S. military promotions cited as senators offer measure
Bloomberg · by Josyana Joshua · September 24, 2020
Again, how practical will this really be? The truth is future general officers are identified early in their career by other general officers. The words "must select for general officer" (or other "code words") written by general officers on evaluation reports throughout an officer's career do more to determine promotion to general officer than race or gender or anything else. If you do not have those words consistently written in your evaluation reports throughout your career, you are unlikely to be promoted to general officer.
17. US bill halts military aid to PH over rights issue
Inquirer.net · by Philippine Daily Inquirer · September 25, 2020
Obviously, this could have a serious impact.
"Because arrogance is born in personal vanity, arrogant people are driven without mercy. They can never get enough power to fill the soul's needs or enough respect to overcome the fear that they deserve less than they are getting."
-Lewis B. Smedes
"Remind me to write an article on the compulsive reading of news. The theme will be that most neuroses can be traced to the unhealthy habit of wallowing in the troubles of five billion strangers."
- Robert A. Heinlein
"Foreknowledge cannot be gotten from ghosts and spirits, cannot be had by analogy, cannot be found out by calculation. It must be obtained from people, people who know the conditions of the enemy."
- Sun Tzu, The Art of War