Strategic Defense: The Path to Joint Force 2020
Back in May, General Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke at the Joint Warfighting Conference. He discussed his vision of what the military will look like in 2020 or as he...
View ArticleResponsibility to Protect?
A few days ago, a friend invited me to join her and one of her co-workers for dinner. The co-worker had spent some time in the military and was eager to meet another veteran and swap sea stories....
View Article“One Team. One Fight”.
Over the course of the last year, I’ve had the honor of spending some time with Veterans of the current wars and their civilian supporters. Inevitably when participants realize that I too am a Veteran...
View ArticleA Changing America: The New Faces of National Security
One of the things I enjoy about getting older is observing the social, cultural, political and attitude changes over the years of our great nation. I grew up in New Jersey in the 1950’s and ‘60’s but...
View ArticleReport from the Democratic Convention: Democrats Surge on Veterans
I’m back home in Colorado and recovering from the Democratic National Convention. I had the honor of hanging out with several young veterans and they wore me out. It’s been three days and my feet...
View ArticleWar on Any Given Day – Libya
A couple of weeks ago, I was surprised to get a phone call inviting me to the Democratic Convention to hear President Obama give his acceptance speech. I’m a registered independent voter and over the...
View ArticleForeign Policy Association’s Election Guide: Terrorism and Defense
Truman Fellow Gail Harris on Terrorism and Defense in the 2012 Foreign Policy Association’s Election Guide As the U.S. approaches the upcoming Presidential elections more than a decade after the...
View ArticleThe Reality of Cyber Threats: Congress Must Act
Lately I’ve been reflecting on my very last day of active duty in the military. It doesn’t seem all that long ago but it was a few days after 9/11. My last assignment was as the Department of Defense...
View ArticlePresident Obama’s Response to Hurricane Sandy
In spite of being the acknowledged winner of two of the three Presidential Debates, President Obama has not gotten much of a bump in the polls. Many “experts” are calling the election too close to...
View ArticleThe Challenge of Intelligence Analysts
The time was the early 1970’s and the U.S. was embroiled in the Cold War. As stated in a National Security Agency publication: “For decades, naval aircrews waged a daily struggle against enemy air...
View ArticleHagel as Secretary of Defense: What It Means For Women in the Military
In the mid 1990s, I was serving as the lead naval intelligence planner for Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT). Central Command (Centcom), as many now know, is the military command in charge of our...
View ArticleDoes Congress Really Want to Maintain Our Military Readiness?
Judging by the budget gridlock the answer seems to be no. As mentioned in my last blog, I spent last week in San Diego attending West 2013, a Navy/ Marine focused conference co-sponsored by AFCEA...
View ArticleThe Continuing Military Budget Woes
According to today’s news report, the Pentagon has decided to cancel the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman two days before it was scheduled to leave and head to the Persian Gulf....
View ArticleWomen in combat is nothing new, says retired Navy captain
After 230 years, we can finally tell Deborah Sampson that a disguise is no longer needed: Women can now serve openly in combat. Sampson fought in the Revolutionary War disguised as a man. Or, we can...
View ArticleWhy Is Anyone Surprised by Chinese Cyber Activities?
In the late 1980’s I was part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Staff as an intelligence officer. I was in charge of the shop that monitored what the Soviet military was up to on a daily basis. On just another...
View ArticleFormer Intel Officer: The WMDs That Weren’t
I don’t reflect on the Iraq War’s 10th anniversary because that is a wrong date. The Iraq War began in August 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait and continued all through the 1990’s and the early 21st...
View ArticleNorth Korea – Never a Threat to Take Lightly
In a recent talk, the new Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel made the following comment: “In many respects, the biggest long-term fiscal challenge facing the department is not the flat or declining...
View ArticleGailForce: President Obama’s Terrorism and National Security Strategy
On 23 May, President Obama gave a long awaited and much overdue talk on his strategy for conducting the war on terrorism. I thought it was one of the best speeches he’s given. He did a great job...
View ArticlePresident Obama’s Terrorism and National Security Strategy Part II
This week marks the 71st anniversary of the Battle of Midway. The battle took place 4 – 7 June in 1942 and proved to be the turning point in the war against Japan, just 6 months following the...
View ArticleGailForce: Aspen Security Forum Part II
As I watched the Snowden saga unfold, I found myself concerned on several levels but what frustrated me most, was the lack of balanced reporting early on. It seemed to me that much of the initial...
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