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Morning Recon
Good Monday morning and welcome to MORNING RECON. On this day in 2004, Pat Tillman former safety for the Arizona Cardinals, was killed in an ambush in Afghanistan. He had walked away from millions of dollars to join the Army Rangers and serve his country.
RealClearDefense Exclusives: President Biden Should Be Honest with Ukraineby Robert Clarke Public Disputes Undercut Officer Class by Ian Whitfield Defense Department’s Efforts To Combat AI Bias Don’t Go Far Enough by Delaney Duff Israel’s Response to Iran’s Attack Requires U.S. Follow-Through by Jacob Olidort Today's Top Stories
NATIONAL House Approves $95 Billion Aid Bill for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan
By Valerie Insinna, Breaking Defense: “The House approved $95 billion in supplemental defense spending today in three largely bipartisan votes, a huge win for Defense Department leaders who have sought for months to obtain additional funds to aid Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as well as to replenish U.S. stockpiles."
AI Enabled Satellites
By Allyson Park, National Defense Magazine: “With an increasing number of commercial satellites, military constellations and all their data flowing through space, government and industry operators said they are looking to artificial intelligence to help them to handle ever-more complex missions.” Australia Has First Officers Assigned to U.S. Virginia-Class Submarine
By Harry McNeil, Naval Technology: “The three Royal Australian Navy officers integrate into the U.S. submarine fleet.” Army’s Software Directive: Staying Ahead of the Curve in Combat
By Mark Pomerleau, DefenseScoop: “The Army's new software directive aims to make the service more adept at applying modern software practices to enhance speed and agility.” Army SOF's Killer Drone Course
By Sam Skove, Defense One: “When Army special operations soldier Josh arrived in Poland to train Ukrainian soldiers, his students were skeptical of his prowess in flying the high-speed racing drones they use to launch pinpoint strikes on Russian positions.”
15th MEU Delayed by Lack of Dry Docks To Repair USS Boxer
By Sam LaGrone, USNI News: “The USS Boxer returned to San Diego on April 11 after leaving on a delayed Amphibious Ready Group deployment with the embarked 15th Marine Expeditionary Group.”
The Army National Guard Owes Thousands of Former Soldiers Unpaid Bonuses.
It's Asking Them to Figure It Out.
By Steve Beynon, Military.com: “Thousands of former Army National Guard soldiers were mailed letters from the service component asking them to figure out whether they are owed unpaid bonuses, according to internal documents reviewed by Military.com.”
Jawbone in Child’s Rock Collection Linked to Marine Who Died in 1951
By Amanda Holpuch, The New York Times: “A jawbone found in a child’s rock collection in Arizona more than two decades ago belonged to a Marine who died in California in 1951 and was buried in Missouri.” Read more at RealClearDefense
INTERNATIONAL MILITARY SPENDING:
Global Military Spending Surges Amid War, Rising Tensions and Insecurity
FromStockholm International Peace Research Institute: “World military expenditure rose for the ninth consecutive year to an all-time high of $2443 billion.” U.S., MIDDLE EAST:
Five Rockets Fired From Iraq Towards U.S. Military Base in Syria
By Jamal al-Badrani & Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters: “At least five rockets were launched from Iraq's town of Zummar towards a U.S. military base in northeastern Syria on Sunday, two Iraqi security sources told Reuters.” U.S., AFRICA:
U.S. Military Begins Plans To Withdraw Troops From Niger
By Jack Thompson & Sam Mednick, AP: “The United States will begin plans to withdraw troops from Niger, U.S. officials said Saturday, in what experts say is a blow to Washington and its allies in the region in terms of staging security operations in the Sahel.”
Read more at RealClearDefense including: China Building New Outpost on U.S. Doorstep
COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS
Information Warfare Is Integrated Warfare
By Corey Grey, CIMSEC: “When the USS Carney (DDG-64) downed the opening salvos of Houthi land-attack cruise missiles and drones over the Red Sea in October, the Pentagon hailed the feat as a “demonstration of the integrated air and missile defense architecture.””
Sweden, Finland, and NATO’s First-Class Airpower Upgrade
By Paul Cormarie & John Hoehn, Modern War Institute: “In 2016, RAND ran a series of wargames examining a contingency in the Baltics. NATO did not do well. Russia often gained control of the Baltic states before NATO could respond, creating a fait accompli and dealing a severe blow to the alliance.”
House China Hawk Lights a Match on His Way out the Door
By Nathaniel Sher, Responsible Statecraft: “Retiring Rep. Mike Gallagher led the committee targeting the Chinese Communist Party and is now calling for a 'new coldwar.'”
Step Up Pressure on Iran’s Proxies
By Seth Cropsey, The Wall Street Journal: “Tehran’s direct attack on Israel demonstrates the urgency of defeating the Axis of Resistance.”
America’s Failed Promise About Iran
By Stephen Bryen & Shoshana Bryen, Daily Caller: “The U.S. has made no official statement about Iran’s escalating nuclear threat, or about leaked reports that “next time” Iran plans to use radiological weapons (dirty bombs) in a follow-on attack against Israel.”
Read more at RealClearDefense including: The Israel-Gaza War Has Changed Everything View this email in your browser. | Not a subscriber? Sign up here. | 