Defense
On Monday, the Pentagon opened for female troops about 14,000 support positions that previously had been withheld from them, allowing women to fill jobs below the brigade level. – Washington Times
A House Armed Services Committee member is taking the obscure concept of “sequestration” to the streets, kicking off a nationwide tour Monday to discuss the potential $1 trillion in automatic cuts threatening the defense budget. – CNN’s Security Clearance
A House GOP plan to cut social welfare programs to stave off automatic defense spending reductions is yet another example of the political “games being played with defense and national security” by Republicans, a top House Democrat said Monday. – DEFCON Hill
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta opted for a familiar ally to pilot the Air Force through its latest period of turbulence and transition, as it searches for a niche with an aging fleet in the post-9/11 era. – DOTMIL
To squeeze the most it can out of every training dollar in an era of shrinking budgets, the Army Reserve will rely more on simulators and long-distance learning to replace traditional drill weekends, outgoing Chief of Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Jack Stulz said – AOL Defense
The Marine Corps is keeping tabs on the Army’s plan to test face shields, some of which can stop 7.62mm rifle rounds. Deployed Marines already see the benefit, some paying out of pocket to wear them in Afghanistan, according to industry sources. – Military Times
Will the U.S. Army soon start blasting incoming rockets and mortars with laser beams to protect its forward operating bases? Not quite, but according to people involved in industry and the Army, that day might not be that far off. – Defense News
Missile Defense
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) writes: 44 has a responsibility to defend America against all threats. Assuring any nation that our missile-defense systems will be ineffective against their nuclear ballistic missiles is clearly at odds with that responsibility. Mr. Putin must be made to understand that a desire to cooperate is not the same thing as a willingness to trade away our fundamental right to self-defense, and that America will always retain the right to defend itself. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
