Defense
It’s down to just a few top candidates who are being considered to replace Gen. Joseph Dunford as assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, the service’s No. 2-ranking officer, sources told the E-Ring on Wednesday. – The E-Ring
44 nominated Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps and a combat veteran who led a regiment in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as the top American and NATO commander in Afghanistan. – New York Times
Ever since 44 released the new defense strategy featuring a pivot out of the Middle East and toward the Pacific, the Navy has known it will have a special ace in the hole when it comes to reigning in defense spending that has ballooned the past ten years to fight two land wars. – DOD Buzz
America has to reinvent its airborne, warfighting capabilities to close gaps in technology that are already being exploited by the products of peer or near-peer nations, say Pentagon officials. – Aviation Week
Despite continued opposition from lawmakers like U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the U.S. Navy will continue its efforts to leverage biofuels technology for its ships and aircraft, service Secretary Ray Mabus says. – Aviation Week
Forget a draft. The nation’s top military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, said on Wednesday that he would support universal mandatory military service for all Americans. – The E-Ring
Nunn-Lugar
The Russian government said Wednesday that it would not renew a hugely successful 20-year partnership with the United States to safeguard and dismantle nuclear and chemical weapons in the former Soviet Union when the program expires next spring, a potentially grave setback in the already fraying relationship between the former cold war enemies. – New York Times
Intelligence
Looming across-the-board cuts to the intelligence community budget will be devastating if Congress fails to act according to the nation’s top intelligence officer. – CNN’s Security Clearance
Given that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said last year that the intelligence budget cuts over the next decade would be in the “double digits” — our best information is that the cuts are around $25 bilion over a decade — the pressure is on for Alexander to deliver. – AOL Defense
Cybersecurity
Bill Gertz reports: A Pentagon-sponsored report warns that the United States faces new threats from mass destruction weapons in the form of cyber, electronic and financial attacks, in addition to more well-known dangers from nuclear, chemical and biological WMD arms. – Washington Times’ Inside the Ring
