
New PSA from the VA on Women Troops & Veterans
By Alexander Nicholson, Executive Editor of DefensePolicy.org
The Department of Veterans Affairs hasn't always been the best when it comes to providing adequate care to women veterans, so say advocacy groups, but recent efforts indicate that the VA's traditional male-centric culture may be fundamentally changing. To help facilitate that cultural transformation, the VA’s Women Veterans Health Strategic Health Care Group recently released this new public service announcement video. Watch it here: … [Read More...]
Featured Guest Op-Eds:
Congresswoman Barbara Lee: Changing Course in Afghanistan: Its Time to Bring Our Troops Home
Congressman Tom Rooney: [The Crossfire] Defund the Joint Strike Fighter Alternate Engine
Congressman Jim Moran: [The Crossfire] Keep Funding the Joint Strike Fighter Alternate Engine
More DefensePolicy.org Special Features

The Million-Dollar Muzzle: A Follow-up to Yingling
By MG (Ret.) Dennis Laich and LTC (Ret.) Mike Young
In a 2007 article published in Armed Forces Journal entitled “A Failure in Generalship,” US Army Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yingling wrote a compelling indictment of currently serving general officers and the … [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 instruction to the Pentagon’s Inspector General to develop a policy … [Read More...]

What’s Wrong and What’s Right With the War Colleges
By Dr. George E. Reed, University of San Diego
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...]

The Search for a Cohesive U.S. Policy in the Arab World
By Alexander Nicholson, Executive Editor of DefensePolicy.org
The United States looses its credibility among global citizens when it carves out vastly different policies to guide its reactions to remarkably similar situations in the various nation-states of the Middle East. … [Read More...]

Military Sexual Assault Not an “After School Special” Issue
By Alexander Nicholson, Executive Editor of DefensePolicy.org
Servicemember-on-servicemember sexual assault is becoming an increasingly public problem for the Department of Defense, and as more light is shed onto this once-taboo topic, the inadequacies of military leaders' … [Read More...]
Defense Policy Magazine
Doubly Dumb
Several years ago I was visiting the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks and my host invited me to have lunch with a war college student who … [Read More...]
Arab Spring, Israeli Winter
The Middle East appears to be going through two seasons at the same time. On one hand we have the Arab Spring, where citizens have risen up, or are … [Read More...]
Leaving Iraq
I am constantly aware of the danger of crossing over from skeptic to cynic as an observer of American national security affairs. Nevertheless I am … [Read More...]
Failure
One thing that every U.S. official, military and civilian, who has responsibility for Afghanistan agrees upon is that the eradication of the poppy … [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...]
Difficult Questions
Late last week I made what may have been a mistake over a cup of coffee by asking a Palestinian friend of mine what he thought of the attacks on the … [Read More...]
Insecurity Through Obesity
I know that this is a blog focused on national security and military affairs, so you may be asking what obesity has to do with national … [Read More...]
With Friends Like These…
By Alexander Nicholson, Executive Editor of DefensePolicy.org
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?
By Alexander Nicholson, Executive Editor of DefensePolicy.org
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, 2011 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...]
Russian PM Confirms Obama Administration Scrapped BMD Deal
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed on July 7, 2011 during an interview with the state-run Rossiya 24 television station that the Obama … [Read More...]
Impossible Standards for Political Candidates
By Alexander Nicholson, Executive Editor of DefensePolicy.org
The vicious nature of major political election contests today is creating a dangerous pathology for American democracy - the expectation of a record … [Read More...]
Politically Correct but Deficient
Last month I was invited to a briefing in Washington by a panel of four senior Pentagon officials lead by Paul D. Patrick, Deputy Secretary of Defense … [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...]
What’s Wrong and What’s Right With the War Colleges
By Dr. George E. Reed, University of San Diego
A cascade of withering criticism has recently been leveled at the war colleges-- those venerable institutions that represent the pinnacle of the … [Read More...]
Who Will Pay?
One of the critical elements of the strategy for Afghanistan laid out by President Obama last week is that the United States will train and equip an … [Read More...]
The Search for a Cohesive U.S. Policy in the Arab World
By Alexander Nicholson, Executive Editor of DefensePolicy.org
The United States looses its credibility among global citizens when it carves out vastly different policies to guide its reactions to remarkably … [Read More...]
Careerism on Steroids
Recently outgoing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has made a number of public comments regarding reducing the defense budget. He has already cut a … [Read More...]
Get Out Now
All U.S. troops are required to leave Iraq by the end of 2011 in accordance with a formal agreement between the two countries. The agreement further … [Read More...]
The Fight is Not Always the Same
On March 31, the South Korean Constitutional Court upheld a 1962 law describing homosexual activity between two consenting adults as reciprocal rape, … [Read More...]
Defense Policy Online
How I Will Spend 11.11.11
By Defense Policy Online blogger CCavalier
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 CCavalier
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 CCavalier
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 CCavalier
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 CCavalier
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 CCavalier
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 DKnapp
Congratulations to Major Margaret Witt on her victory over the Department of Defense’s inane "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy. … [Read More...]
Are you a military dependent? Do you need money for college?
By Defense Policy Online blogger CCavalier
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 CCavalier
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 CCavalier
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 CCavalier
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 CCavalier
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 CCavalier
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 CCavalier
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...]
The Utilization of Social Media on Deployment
By Defense Policy Online blogger John Yori
Having recently experienced a great, personal loss, the use of social media was an essential and indispensible channel that allowed me … [Read More...]
This Week in Review
By Defense Policy Online blogger CCavalier
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 DKnapp
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 CCavalier
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 CCavalier
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 DKnapp
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 CCavalier
When service members deploy to different places around the world, their families must soldier on without them. And, in most military … [Read More...]
How to Cope When Your Spouse is Deployed
By Defense Policy Online blogger CCavalier
When service members deploy to different places around the world, their families must soldier on without them. And in most military … [Read More...]
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
By Defense Policy Online blogger CCavalier
PTSD is a terrible affliction and so many military families are going through the pain of dealing with its effects as we speak. The … [Read More...]
Follow DP on Twitter
Like DP on Facebook