Defense & Military

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/27/2015 Retired Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, the former commander of U.S. Strategic Command, last week emphatically championed sweeping investments in nuclear command, control and communications (NC3), and cautioned against segregating individual NC3 components from funding. Speaking at the annual Nuclear Deterrence Summit Feb. 20, Kehler joined a group of active […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/27/2015 Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) raised concerns during a Feb. 25 hearing of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee about the proposed expansion of the Powder River Training Complex (PRTC) overlying parts of Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas. The Air Force on Jan. 16 approved nearly quadrupling the complex, which is used […]

Air Force senior leadership gathered yesterday at Minot AFB for the quarterly meeting of the Nuclear Oversight Board (NOB) established by former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in November, days before announcing his resignation, according to a Minot press release. While the board usually convenes in Washington, members met at Minot this time to get a […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/20/2015 The Air Force is striving to increase its force end strength by 6,600 personnel, a boost intended, in part, to “bolster” nuclear forces, Secretary Deborah Lee James said last week. Speaking at the Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando Feb. 13, James spoke about the service’s planned investments in the nuclear […]

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh III and service Secretary Deborah Lee James are striving to increase force end strength by 6,600 personnel, a boost intended, in part, to “bolster” nuclear forces, James said Friday. Speaking at the Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, the secretary spoke about the service’s planned investments in the […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/13/2015 Senators whose states house facilities that play a major role in the U.S. nuclear enterprise mostly praised the Senate’s 93-5 vote yesterday to confirm Ashton Carter to replace Chuck Hagel as Defense Secretary. “I look forward to working with Dr. Ashton Carter to protect American security interests both domestic and […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/13/2015 Bob Work, the Deputy Defense Secretary and Chairman of the Nuclear Deterrent Enterprise Review Group, highlighted strong airman morale while echoing officials’ concerns about aging facilities during his visit to Minot AFB this week, according to a Defense Department release. "Some of the stuff they’re doing is just amazing," Work […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday unanimously cleared Defense Secretary nominee Ashton Carter to the Senate floor for an upcoming confirmation vote. The committee voted 26-0, after which Carter’s nomination was immediately reported to the floor. A full vote before the Senate is expected by the end of the week. Carter cruised through his first […]

Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work departed yesterday for a multi-day trip that will end at Minot AFB, where Work will seek feedback from airmen about the effectiveness of recently implemented Nuclear Enterprise recommendations. According to a release, Work, who serves as Chairman of the Nuclear Deterrent Enterprise Review Group, said he has received extensive input […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/6/2015 Defense Secretary nominee Ashton Carter this week stated the Ohio-Class Replacement will “present unique constraints” on the Navy’s shipbuilding plan, especially if the Defense Department is required to be funded at Budget Control Act of 2011 levels. Should the funding caps return, Carter said he would meet with the Navy […]

As different nations modernize, strive to develop and “show off” their strategic capabilities, the U.S. must invest in upgrading its nuclear deterrent, Adm. Cecil Haney, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said Friday during a speech at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington. Haney addressed topics ranging from space technology to nuclear deterrence during a Friday […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/6/2015 Without budgetary relief, planned upgrades to the aging nuclear command and control (NC2) system could suffer. The Air Force’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget request includes $287 million for modernization of the NC2 architecture, about $147 million more than the FY 2015-enacted amount. With the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) caps […]

NS&D Monitor 2/6/2015 IN CONGRESS Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) has been named the vice chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said yesterday. The committee has not operated with vice chairmen for its subcommittees in recent years, but Thornberry said an unprecedented strategic environment necessitated strengthening the […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 2/6/2015 NATO’s allied defense ministers this week formulated a “Readiness Action Plan” and released a related joint statement which indicates a growing emphasis on allied strategic forces in Europe. The decision comes at a time of continued Russian occupation of Eastern Ukraine, existing bilateral tensions over the annexation of Crimea, Russian […]

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) has been named the vice chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said yesterday. The committee has not operated with vice chairmen for its subcommittees in recent years, but Thornberry said an unprecedented strategic environment necessitated strengthening the panel’s leadership team. Lamborn has […]

Testifying yesterday during his first Senate confirmation hearing to become Defense Secretary, Ashton Carter said he supported plans to ramp up efforts to secure fissile materials around the world while focusing on nuclear weapons modernization and the triad structure. “I think we need to do both and can do more in the way of securing […]

A military judge has convicted a missileer serving at Minot AFB of two counts of sexual assault of a child younger than 16, distribution of marijuana and psilocybin, use of psilocybin, willful dereliction of duty, conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman, pandering, unlawful entry, and four specifications of communicating threats, according to reports. […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee today will consider the nomination of Ashton Carter to be U.S. Defense Secretary, more than two months after current Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced his resignation on Nov. 24. Although Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said the committee was ready to hear Carter’s testimony immediately after the 114th Congress […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/30/2015 Amidst a crippling budget environment, the Navy will support its No. 1 priority, the Ohio-Class Replacement nuclear submarine and plans to spend $5 billion from Fiscal Years 2017 to 2020 in advanced procurement funding for the first submarine, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations, told the Senate Armed Services […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/30/2015 The United States should deploy nuclear weapons in eastern Europe as a response to increasing Russian aggression in Ukraine, two senior Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee said late last week in a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry. Calling Russian suggestions that […]

While the Navy’s top enlisted official yesterday expressed concern to the Senate Armed Services Committee that sequestration could delay hiring of engineers for projects like the Ohio-Class replacement, he also expressed resolve that the Navy would put substantial effort into keeping the project on schedule, regardless of sequestration. But Adm. Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval […]

Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), the new chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he plans to hold a full committee hearing to review the nation’s strategic nuclear deterrent. Speaking with reporters yesterday, Thornberry emphasized the importance of the nation’s nuclear deterrent and plans to modernize the nation’s weapons complex, nuclear arsenal and fleet of […]

The United States should deploy nuclear weapons in Eastern Europe as a response to increasing Russian aggression in Ukraine, two senior Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee said late last week in a letter to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Secretary of State John Kerry. Calling Russian suggestions that it intends to deploy nuclear […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/23/2015 The U.S. should pay attention to its nuclear structure and nuclear relations with Russia, because “we do not want, above all, a nuclear war to erupt,” during a period which has seen Russian President Vladimir Putin invoke the threat of nuclear weapons while invading eastern Ukraine, former national security advisor […]

A top Air Force official who oversees the U.S. nuclear bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile fleets yesterday blasted critics of the service’s plans to modernize the air- and land-based legs of the nuclear triad, while echoing previous official statements emphasizing the urgency of upgrades to an aging arsenal. “You could be against us spending money […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 Three senior senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee last week asked President Obama to consider retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Jonathan George as the next Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs. George would replace Andrew Weber, who left the position for a slot at […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 1/16/2015 U.S. Strategic Command chief Adm. Cecil Haney will meet later this month with commanders and stakeholders who support the Nuclear Enterprise to discuss investment and progress of the Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) apparatus, Haney said this week. Hours later in her State of the Air Force Pentagon speech, […]

Three senior senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee last week asked President Obama to consider retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Jonathan George as the next Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs. George would replace Andrew Weber, who left the position for a slot at the State Department in the […]

Sen. Joe Donnelly to Serve as Ranking Member Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/9/2015 Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) is in line to be the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, NS&D Monitor has learned. Sessions served as the ranking member of the panel for the last four years and the top Republican on […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 1/9/2015 Ash Carter, President Obama’s nominee to be the next Secretary of Defense, is set to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee in early February, giving him time to recover from back surgery in December, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) told reporters this week. McCain said the Committee was ready to […]