
Remembering ‘Where We Were’ on 9/11
Defense Policy Media Group and DefensePolicy.org are proud to sponsor the development and launch of the 'Where We Were' project - a new online initiative to enable the public to record and share the inherently moving and inspirational stories of where they were on September 11th, 2001, how they found out about the attacks, their reactions to the tragedies, and other memories and recollections they have of that fateful day. Every year on the anniversary of the attacks, ordinary people all over America and all over the world reflect on the events of that extraordinary day. Each story is moving … [Read More...]
More Featured Articles from DefensePolicy.org

The Biggest Battle Ahead
When Congress returns to Washington in September, the political establishment will be sharply focused on the looming battle over the federal budget. In all likelihood, no consensus will be found and a continuing … [Read More...]

The Faces of the Post-War Fallen
I have a confession. I find myself haunted by the faces of the fallen. But not those who have been killed action in our nation's wars, but those who have been killed after returning from war - killed by their own … [Read More...]

The ‘Good Order & Discipline’ Auto-Block in Making Military Policy
[Editor's Note: This article also appeared on The Huffington Post on Monday, June 24th.] Good order and discipline have been the refrain of the military service chiefs over the past few weeks as our most senior … [Read More...]

Egypt & Syria: The Tie That Binds No More
[Editor's Note: This article also appeared on the Huffington Post on Sunday, June 16th.] Over the weekend, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi announced that he was cutting all ties with Syria, to include unilaterally … [Read More...]

You Are Not Forgotten, Unless Paris HoneyBooBoo Lohan Sneezes
American media keep track of a lot of numbers - the number of days since the U.S. lost it's AAA credit rating, the number of days since President Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq, the number of the … [Read More...]

A Cut Too Deep? Benefits in the Spotlight as Defense Cuts Loom
We don't often hear arguments in favor of cutting the defense budget, especially from the defense community itself. We don't usually hear such arguments from conservatives either. When we do come across such … [Read More...]

Remembering Our Defenders of Freedom, And of Progress
This Memorial Day, DefensePolicy.org relaunches with renewed enthusiasm for building this prime web property and its associated social media properties into a hub of news and opinion for and about America's defense … [Read More...]

DefensePolicy.org’s Relaunch Redux
In November of 2010, I quietly launched DefensePolicy.org and began building the site as an online space for news and opinion about defense and national security issues. After about a year of operation, however, I … [Read More...]

U.S. Military Needs a Stronger Sexual Assault Policy
In June 2006, in order to conform to the mandate of the 2005 National Defense Authorization Act, the Office of the Secretary of Defense issued an instruction to the Pentagon’s Inspector General to develop a policy … [Read More...]

What’s Wrong and What’s Right With the War Colleges
A cascade of withering criticism has recently been leveled at the war colleges-- those venerable institutions that represent the pinnacle of the hierarchy of professional military education. Each service maintains a … [Read More...]
DefensePolicy.org Senior Contributors

Remembering ‘Where We Were’ on 9/11
Defense Policy Media Group and DefensePolicy.org are proud to sponsor the development and launch of the 'Where We Were' project - a new online … [Read More...]

The Biggest Battle Ahead
When Congress returns to Washington in September, the political establishment will be sharply focused on the looming battle over the federal budget. … [Read More...]

Defense One: Time to Treat the VA’s Problems as DOD’s Problems
Defense One, the new all-defense site by The Atlantic Media Group, featured a new opinion piece I authored arguing that the VA's issues and struggles … [Read More...]

The Hill: The VA’s backlogs epidemic
Last week, The Hill ran an op-ed I wrote for their Congress Blog about the multi-dimensional backlog problem at the VA, beyond the regular claims … [Read More...]

The Faces of the Post-War Fallen
I have a confession. I find myself haunted by the faces of the fallen. But not those who have been killed action in our nation's wars, but those who … [Read More...]

The ‘Good Order & Discipline’ Auto-Block in Making Military Policy
[Editor's Note: This article also appeared on The Huffington Post on Monday, June 24th.] Good order and discipline have been the refrain of the … [Read More...]

Egypt & Syria: The Tie That Binds No More
[Editor's Note: This article also appeared on the Huffington Post on Sunday, June 16th.] Over the weekend, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi announced … [Read More...]

A Cut Too Deep? Benefits in the Spotlight as Defense Cuts Loom
We don't often hear arguments in favor of cutting the defense budget, especially from the defense community itself. We don't usually hear such … [Read More...]

Remembering Our Defenders of Freedom, And of Progress
This Memorial Day, DefensePolicy.org relaunches with renewed enthusiasm for building this prime web property and its associated social media … [Read More...]

Doing Right by Veterans With College Tuition Fairness
The United States has one of the most well educated and education-minded fighting forces ever. Many new recruits come into the force -- both the … [Read More...]

McClatchy’s Misguided Definition of Terrorism
This week, a journalist for McClatchy, Amina Ismail, asked White House Press Secretary Jay Carney in a news conference about the Boston bombings if … [Read More...]

Tiangong-1: Another Sputnik for the U.S. to Respond To?
China marked an historic milestone in its space program when it launched and orbited its Tiagong-1 space module on September 29, 2011. The module, … [Read More...]

Ensuring Pay for Our Military
By Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison & Congressman Louie Gohmert
Under current law, if a budget impasse prevents Congress and the White House from funding the government, and a government shutdown occurs, our men … [Read More...]

With Friends Like These…
So first, our man in Kabul, Mr. Karzai, declares the U.S. one of his top three enemies, and now our man in Baghdad, Mr. Maliki, is publicly backing … [Read More...]

Should a Post-Assad Syria Be Our Ally?
As NATO continues to forcefully suppress Libyan leader Mohamar Qaddafi's ability to slaughter his own people, the world is largely standing by and … [Read More...]

China’s Beidou Global Navigation System
The China news agency Xinhua reported on July 27, 2022 that a Long March-3A carrier rocket launched the next satellite in the Beidou global navigation … [Read More...]

Forty-Two Years After Apollo 11, the Russians Win the Space Race
On July 21, 2011, almost 42 years to the day since the United States won the race to the moon and supposedly the space race, the United States sent … [Read More...]

U.S. Military Needs a Stronger Sexual Assault Policy
By Lawrence J. Korb & Sam Klug, Center for American Progress
In June 2006, in order to conform to the mandate of the 2005 National Defense Authorization Act, the Office of the Secretary of Defense issued an … [Read More...]

Russian PM Confirms Obama Administration Scrapped BMD Deal
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed on July 7, 2022 during an interview with the state-run Rossiya 24 television station that the Obama … [Read More...]

Impossible Standards for Political Candidates
The vicious nature of major political election contests today is creating a dangerous pathology for American democracy - the expectation of a record … [Read More...]

TCBMs: A New Definition and New Role for Outer Space Security
Frank A. Rose, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance for the United States Department of State, recently … [Read More...]
DefensePolicy.org Community Bloggers
Senate Committee Convenes Emergency Meeting in Response to Emerging Sharknado Threat
By Defense Policy Online blogger Dylan Knapp
Defense industry leaders and government climatologists testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee today to address growing … [Read More...]
Bradley Manning’s Treachery a Symptom of Poor Leadership
By Defense Policy Online blogger Dylan Knapp
I'm an Army veteran – a former Signals Intelligence Analyst, specifically. I joined up after 9/11 and did my bit for 5 years. I’ve been … [Read More...]
You Are Not Forgotten, Unless Paris HoneyBooBoo Lohan Sneezes
By Defense Policy Online blogger Alexander Nicholson
American media keep track of a lot of numbers - the number of days since the U.S. lost it's AAA credit rating, the number of days since … [Read More...]
How I Will Spend 11.11.11
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
On this year's Veterans Day, my children and I will start the day off by attending the Veteran's Day Parade here in Fayetteville. They … [Read More...]
Veterans Deserve Better Healthcare
By Defense Policy Online blogger DKarr
A May 10th ruling written by Judge Joseph Stephen Reinhardt of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco declared that the … [Read More...]
Don’t Just Stand By
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
In August, I was invited to a meet and greet for a congressman here in North Carolina and we were discussing how we can get more people … [Read More...]
What a Hard Year for the Military!
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
The 10-year anniversary of 9/11 is right around the corner, and already this has been quite a hard year for the U.S. and for the … [Read More...]
The Great American Security Blanket
By Defense Policy Online blogger Centurion
So I just jumped on the Acela train from DC to NYC this morning (using its wonderful wi-fi right now, in fact) and noticed a whole … [Read More...]
The New Military Spouse Employment Program
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
As a military spouse, I know the difficulties of trying to find gainful employment, or rather a career. It is quite refreshing to see … [Read More...]
The World’s Largest Military Baby Shower
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
Being the 2011 Military Spouse Magazine Army Spouse of the Year really opens a lot of doors that would not otherwise get opened. You … [Read More...]
Boots on the Ground
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
When I returned home from the MSOY Luncheon, I reached out to several organizations to see what I could do to help. One of the … [Read More...]
Congratulations to Major Margaret Witt
By Defense Policy Online blogger Dylan Knapp
Congratulations to Major Margaret Witt on her victory over the Department of Defense’s inane "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy. Seven … [Read More...]
Are you a military dependent? Do you need money for college?
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
I so am happy to blog about this, since I love finding money for colleges! This month ThanksUSA contacted me and asked if I could … [Read More...]
Mother’s Day Tea with the First Lady
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
This was an amazing end to a wonderful week! I wrapped up the Military Spouse Magazine Awards Luncheon Thursday afternoon and … [Read More...]
Government Shutdown Looming. Seriously?
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
We have a large family: 3 kids, a dad, a mom and a dog. My husband has been in the Army for 12 years and I am an intern at USASOC. We … [Read More...]
Operation Purple
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
Last year I had the opportunity to attend two 'Operation Purple' summer camps in North Carolina, one in Hendersonville (in the … [Read More...]
The Field of Honor
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
Last May I had the distinguished opportunity to participate in Fayetteville’s "Field of Honor" to honor my solider, who had just … [Read More...]
Military Spouse Supports Our Arthritic Kids
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
I am a Blue Star Families Chapter Director in North Carolina and the founder of the non-profit organization Support Our Arthritic Kids. … [Read More...]
Do I Need Renters Insurance On Base?
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
YES, I think you do. You never can tell when a disaster will happen - tornado, flood, fire or something else. Here is my story on this … [Read More...]
This Week in Review
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
Here is my weekly wrap up of this amazing journey that I have been on since winning the competition for Army Spouse o the Year from … [Read More...]
Weakening the EPA Imperils National Security
By Defense Policy Online blogger Dylan Knapp
This post is cross-posted on the Operation Free blog. When Pakistan drowned under record floods this past August, terrorist … [Read More...]
My Journey as Army Spouse of the Year - 2011
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
I remember getting to Fort Bragg 5 years ago and reading Military Spouse Magazine, and it really inspired me to be able to want to open … [Read More...]
OPSEC and PERSEC for Military Families
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
What is OPSEC? OPSEC stands for operational security. Intelligence collection and analysis is very much like assembling a picture … [Read More...]
Video Game Recruitment
By Defense Policy Online blogger Dylan Knapp
Young men and women in the United States deserve the opportunity to learn about military service during high school, just as they learn … [Read More...]
Being a “Military Family” Can Be Hard Work!
By Defense Policy Online blogger Crystal Cavalier
When service members deploy to different places around the world, their families must soldier on without them. And, in most military … [Read More...]