Military & War News and Discussions

[funkervogt]

Once the Ukraine War ends, Russia will need about 10 years to rebuild its military to the same strength level it had in 2021. However, its force composition will be different thanks to lessons learned in this war. The fear that Russia will immediately take over more countries if it defeats Ukraine is unfounded.

[firestar464]

What about smaller countries like Moldova?

[Vakanai]

Once the Ukraine War ends, Russia will need about 10 years to rebuild its military to the same strength level it had in 2021. However, its force composition will be different thanks to lessons learned in this war. The fear that Russia will immediately take over more countries if it defeats Ukraine is unfounded.

Immediate invasions are unfounded sure. But as soon as they're ready, they'll invade. If they're successful in Ukraine the lesson Putin will take is he can and will do it again, even if it takes years to be ready again.

[caltrek]

Executive Order 14185
January 27, 2025

Extract:

(Federal Register) Unfortunately, in recent years civilian and uniformed leadership alike have implemented Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and their attendant race and sex preferences within the Armed Forces. These actions undermine leadership, merit, and unit cohesion, thereby eroding lethality and force readiness. They also violate Americans' consciences by engaging in invidious race and sex discrimination…

Sec. 4 . Abolishing the DEI Bureaucracy. The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall abolish every DEI office within the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security with regard to the USCG, respectively, including any vestiges of DEI offices, such as sub-offices, programs, elements, or initiatives established to promote a race-based preferences system that subverts meritocracy, perpetuates unconstitutional discrimination, and promotes divisive concepts or gender ideology.

Sec. 5 . Department of Defense Internal Review. The Secretary of Defense shall conduct an internal review that documents actions taken in pursuit of DEI initiatives, including all instances of race and sex discrimination and activities designed to promote a race- or sex-based preferences system. The report shall be delivered to the Secretary of Defense within 90 days of the date of this order.

Read more here: https://www.federalregister.gov/docume ... ng-force

caltrek’s comment: DEI has never meant “race and sex preferences.” Just the opposite, they have had the intent of reversing “invidious race and sex discrimination.” Unfortunately, we seem to be entering an Orwellian world in which black is white and up is down. That is where the real potential for damage lies.

[weatheriscool]

Iron Dome for America: How would it work?
By David Szondy
February 06, 2025
https://newatlas.com/military/iron-dome ... d-it-work/

The Trump administration's Iron Dome for America executive order is causing political ripples, but with the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) soliciting industry input on the concept, how would such a comprehensive missile defense system work?

Since the mid-1960s, the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) has been the centerpiece of strategic thinking. The idea is that no country would dare to launch a massive or even limited nuclear strike against an adversary because the result would be a massive counter strike that would turn any nuclear exchange into an apocalyptic scenario where neither side survives.

The problem with MAD, aside from the world living constantly under a sword of Damocles, which makes it difficult to get a good night's sleep, is that it was never a thought out strategy. Instead, it was little more than resignation to an intolerable yet unsolvable situation where the only action possible was to reduce the danger of triggering Armageddon by accident or because some insane general is worrying about the purity of his precious bodily fluids.

[caltrek]

Senate Votes to Confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence
By Morgan Rimmer and Katie Bo Lillis
February 12, 2025

Introduction:

Washington CNN —

The Senate voted Wednesday to confirm former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence, a major win for President Donald Trump as Gabbard had been among the most controversial of his Cabinet picks.

The vote was 52-48 mostly along party lines, though Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky joined Democrats in opposing the confirmation.

Gabbard faced concerns from several Republican senators over her lack of support for Ukraine; her shifting position on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702, a key surveillance and security tool; her 2017 meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad; and her past support for Edward Snowden.

McConnell appeared to reference some of Gabbard’s positions in a statement he released after voting against her, saying she has “a history of alarming lapses in judgement.”

“The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the President receives are tainted by a Director of National Intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment,” McConnell said.

Read more here: https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/12/politic ... dex.html

[weatheriscool]

White House eyes annual 8% cut to defense budget through 2030

Source: Military Times via MSN

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered senior military officials to develop a five-year budget plan that would slash defense spending by 8% annually, a dramatic cut which could reshape military end-strength and readiness for decades.

In a memo first obtained by the Washington Post, Hegseth ordered the proposed cuts to be compiled by Feb. 24. Seventeen categories would be exempt from the budget reductions, including military operations at the southern U.S. border, nuclear weapons and missile defense programs, and acquisition of certain drones and munitions. Defense Department officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the plans.

The idea of steep defense cuts, originally reported by Bloomberg last week, is certain to draw opposition from lawmakers on Capitol Hill, where Republicans in recent weeks had been discussing major increases in defense spending in upcoming years – not significant cuts.

But Hegseth's budget plans appear to follow broader instructions from President Donald Trump to reduce government spending, including the dismissal of thousands of federal workers in the last few weeks.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/wh ... ngNewsSerp

[firestar464]

So much for being pro-military

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

Trump Ousts Top U.S. General Charles "CQ" Brown and Other Leaders
by Lauren Floyd
February 22, 2025

Introduction:

(Axios) President Trump fired Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown, Jr. and other top military leaders on Friday.

The big picture: The terminations, also reaching Adm. Lisa Franchetti and Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife, come amid the Trump administration's mass firings and pushback against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

• Brown, a four-star fighter pilot, is the first Black chief of staff of the Air Force and the second Black general to serve as chairman, following Colin Powell.
• Franchetti is the first woman to serve as the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. Navy.
• Brown, Franchetti and Slife were all nominated to their roles by former President Biden.
Context: The Pentagon will also fire about 5,400 probationary workers next week and impose a hiring freeze as part of the Trump administration's federal workforce overhaul.

Read more here: https://www.axios.com/2025/02/22/trump ... cq-brown

[firestar464]

Top lawmaker blocking US arms sales to UAE over role in Sudan war

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/0 ... e-00217874

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[Vakanai]

Considering Boeing seems incapable of making a plane anymore you can trust not to nosedive after takeoff or lose a door midflight because of their bad business moves over the past 20 years alienating and/or annihilating their work force, old partners, and so on and so forth treating aviation like some Wall Street stock b/o, I'd question why any president would trust them right now.

Then I remember this is Trump we're talking about and how Boeing seems to be playing by the same "business" model he's bankrupted his businesses into political success and yeah, I see it.

[weatheriscool]

Keel laid for HMS Dreadnought, the Royal Navy's largest ever submarine
By David Szondy
March 23, 2025

Britain has laid the keel for the Royal Navy's largest-ever submarine. At BAE Systems's Barrow-in-Furness facility, the ceremony marked the "birth" of the nuclear-powered and armed HMS Dreadnought, one of the most advanced submarines to date.

Keel laying is the major milestone in the building of a ship. The keel is the main structural member of the ship's hull and laying it down is the equivalent to laying the cornerstone of a building. However, with HMS Dreadnought (S32) the ceremony is largely symbolic and can be a bit confusing for those not familiar with submarines or modern shipbuilding methods.

For one thing, Dreadnought is a submarine and as such it doesn't have an actual keel, so it's a boat rather than a ship. Also, it may have been a bit disconcerting at the March 20, 2025 ceremony to be watching a keel laying when giant sections of Dreadnought sat on the floor of the building hall as a backdrop. This is because construction of the submarine began with the first steel being cut on October 6, 2016.

https://newatlas.com/military/dreadnoug ... submarine/

[firestar464]

Four American soldiers who went missing in Lithuania have reportedly died

https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/mil ... itary-says

[firestar464]

The White House security breach raises concerns among some military spouses and veterans

https://apnews.com/article/trump-signal ... d6ceee79ef

[firestar464]

Four American soldiers who went missing in Lithuania have reportedly died

https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/mil ... itary-says

US soldiers missing on Belarus border: New detail emerges

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/us ... r-AA1BLjRn

[weatheriscool]

Latest US nuclear gravity bomb enters production
By David Szondy
March 30, 2025

https://newatlas.com/military/latest-us ... roduction/
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has shown off the United States' latest nuclear weapon as full production begins seven months ahead of schedule. The B61-13 variable-yield gravity bomb is part of a major program to modernize the American nuclear deterrent.

Nuclear weapons may seem like a relic of the Cold War that isn't very pleasant to think about, but the are still front and center when it comes to geopolitics.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, cuts to the American and Russian arsenals have drastically reduced the number of combined warheads on alert from a high of between 8,000 and 9,000 to only about 1,800 combined, which includes both strategic and tactical weapons. However, nuclear deterrence has become much more complex as rogue states have striven to acquire atom bombs and China has gone from having an "arsenal in being" with a handful of warheads kept in storage to an estimated 24 weapons on alert as it moves to a more nuclear-centered strategy.

[weatheriscool]

US fires Greenland military base chief for 'undermining' Vance

The head of the US military base in Greenland has been fired after she reportedly sent an email distancing herself from Vice-President JD Vance's criticism of Denmark.

The US military's Space Operations Command said Col Susannah Meyers had been removed from her role at Pituffik Space Base due to a "loss of confidence in her ability to lead".

Last month, Vance said Denmark had "not done a good job" for Greenlanders and had not spent enough on security while visiting the Danish territory.

The alleged email, released by a military news site, told staff Vance's comments were "not reflective" of the base. A Pentagon spokesman cited the article, saying "undermining" US leadership was not tolerated.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/creq99l218do