Defense
The Army is embarking on a two-pronged campaign of linking its brigades to third-country allies and to regional U.S. commands that direct combat. These commands – such as Central Command and Pacific Command, led by four-star officers – carry much influence inside the Pentagon when it comes to making strategy and buying weapons. – Washington Times
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Monday that the Senate’s 2013 Defense Authorization bill would cost $634 billion. – The Hill’s On the Money
U.S. defense firms desperate to recoup losses from looming domestic defense cuts in the international market could look to skirt current export rules to bolster their bottom lines. – DEFCON Hill
As budgets tighten and the wars wind down, the Army is struggling to institutionalize the hard-won cultural skills it learned in Afghanistan and Iraq — and to make the case for their continued relevance and resourcing to an administration whose new strategic guidance swears off counterinsurgency. – AOL Defense
Years after sailors and planners realized the crew size of littoral combat ships was too small, the U.S. Navy has decided to increase the number of sailors on the ships. – Defense News
The Obama administration is putting another $62 million into its bet that biofuels can power the Navy, rankling many lawmakers who say the programs are wasteful. – The Hill’s E^2 Wire
America’s citizen soldiers, who train in their hometowns for a weekend a month and two weeks a year, receive more money for one day of training at home than their fellow National Guard and Reserve members earn for a day serving in the war zone. – Associated Press
Nuclear Weapons/Nonproliferation
The world’s five acknowledged nuclear powers convened in Washington last week for a discussion on implementation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, including how to handle potential instances when treaty members decide to leave the regime – Global Security Newswire
The Obama administration is edging toward decisions that would further shrink the U.S. nuclear arsenal, possibly to between 1,000 and 1,100 warheads, reflecting new thinking on the role of nuclear weapons in an age of terror, say current and former officials. – Associated Press
