Category Archives: Military Strategy

Army App Store

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Troy| Leave a comment

The Army recently unveiled their “app store” to the public a couple of weeks ago.

The newly launched Army Software Marketplace prototype now delivers 12 mobile training applications for Soldiers to use on personal phones or tablets.

The publicly-facing apps were developed by Army training schools in the Connecting Soldiers to Digital Apps, or CSDA, initiative. The apps, now approved for Army-wide use, are available online via www.marketplace.army.mil. The CSDA community is continuing to submit apps.

When fully implemented, the Marketplace will deliver web-based and downloadable applications to all devices approved for use within the Army’s Common Operating Environment on the Army network.

Personally I think this is pretty cool for two reasons. Two years ago I had the privilege of attending the TRADOC Senior Leader Conference along with Mark Seavey from The American Legion’s “The Burn Pit” blog. Mark and I were the first bloggers ever allowed to attend and report from this bi-annual conference. It was at this conference that then TRADOC Commander, GEN Martin Dempsey, unveiled the plan to create this Army App store. He highlighted and showed both iPhone and Android apps that were created by civilians and soldiers in a contest to create Army specific applications.

Applications demonstrated ranged from some that helped a soldier conduct preventive maintenance and service checks on vehicles to those that helped calculate body fat and Physical fitness test scores. After being there when this was first announced within the military, it is refreshing to see this vision turn into reality.  Continue reading →

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Posted in Military Life, Military Strategy

President’s Budget for Fiscal 2013 Released

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Troy| Leave a comment

At least we now know where we stand. After weeks of speculation, President Obama formally released the details of his budget request for fiscal 2013.

The budget would provide $525 billion for the Defense Department’s base budget which is a 1.1 percent reduction from what Congress approved for fiscal 2012. It would also provide $88.5 billion for overseas operations.

After reading the details of the budget request, there are several things we like, but unfortunately, even more to dislike. The President’s Budget proposes to:

The Good

* Provide a pay raise of 1.7 percent, consistent with the Employment Cost Index

* Increase basic housing allowance by 4.2 percent

* Increase basic allowance for subsistence by 3.4 percent

* Provide $8.5 billion for family support programs

The Bad

* Downsize the Army to 490,000 (down 72,000) by 2017 and the Army National Guard/Reserve to 558,200 (down 5000)

* Cut eight Army Brigade Combat Teams (pending further review)

* Request two new base closure rounds (BRAC), one in 2013 and another in 2015

* Delay development of the Army’s Ground Combat vehicle due to contracting delays

* Slow basic pay raises in the years beyond fiscal 2014

* Increase TRICARE fees and pharmacy co-pays. Specifically, for under-65 retirees, the budget request matches TRICARE fee increases to retired pay. Retirees receiving $22,589 or less would pay $600 in enrollment fees in 2013, rising to $893 by 2017. Those receiving retired pay of $45,179 or more would pay $820 in 2013 and $2,048 by 2017. (Active duty servicemembers, survivors of military members who died on active duty or medically retired servicemembers would not be affected). There would also be a new enrollment fee for TRICARE-for-Life beneficiaries using a tiered approach.

* Recommend that Congress establish a commission to conduct a comprehensive review of military retirement.

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Posted in Military News, Military Strategy

Former Delta Force Commander tells SOCOM Commander to shut up

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Troy| 1 Comment

This is a great story that has been largely ignored by much of the media. Not surprising since the media benefits from military commanders running their mouths. The story was covered by ABC but there just has not been a lot of talk about it.

You can read the entire story at http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/navy-seal-commander-advised-to-get-the-hell-out-of-the-media/

However make sure you watch the video below to watch and listen to LTG (ret) James Vaught rip into Admiral McRaven about a continuing release of information from Top Secret Special Operation missions which all seemed to be focused on Navy Seals.
video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

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Posted in Military Strategy, Video

Don’t take away our A-10

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Troy| 1 Comment

I got an email from Air Force Times newspaper about the following cuts that the Air Force is going to implement as part of these cuts.

As part of the Defense Department’s efforts to trim close to $500 billion in spending over the next decade, defense officials said Friday that the service intends to cut five A-10 tactical squadrons and two other squadrons as well.

The Thunderbolt squadrons to be stood down encompass one active-duty, one Reserve and three National Guard units. The remaining two squadrons disappearing are a Guard F-16 tactical unit and an F-15 training squadron.

The move was part of a series of proposed budget cuts announced Jan. 26 at the Pentagon. Also on the chopping block are the C-27 and the Global Hawk Block 30; and as the ground force shrinks, the service plans to retire the oldest of its aging transport aircraft.

I can tell you as a career Infantryman I saw first hand the power of the Air Force and specifically the A-10 Thunderbolt. After crossing the breach from Saudi Arabia into Iraq in 1991 well before the ground war started I listened on the radio to the pilots talking as they came in on gun run after gun run “softening” up our objective before we cleared it.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Military Life, Military News, Military Strategy

Today is the deadline for the Super-Committee

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Troy| Leave a comment

Well today is the deadline for this famed group of twelve (six Democrats and six Republicans) Super-Committee to agree on a way to achieve deficit reduction measures. As everyone knows now, it has not happened and this supposed “super” committee did exactly what many thought would happen, fail to agree along party lines.

Now what? That seems to be the $64,000 question that nobody has an answer to. The Secretary of Defense released the following statement the other day.

Statement by Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta on Supercommittee Negotiations
The failure of the Congressional Supercommittee to reach an agreement on deficit reduction is a setback for the country’s efforts to achieve fiscal responsibility while protecting our national security. If Congress fails to act over the next year, the Department of Defense will face devastating, automatic, across-the-board cuts that will tear a seam in the nation’s defense.
Despite the danger posed by sequestration, I join the President in his call for Congress to avoid an easy way out of this crisis. Congress cannot simply turn off the sequester mechanism, but instead must pass deficit reduction at least equal to the $1.2 trillion it was charged to pass under the Budget Control Act.
In my four decades involved with public service, I have never been more concerned about the ability of Congress to forge common-sense solutions to the nation’s pressing problems. Since becoming Secretary of Defense, I have made it clear that the Department has a responsibility to help the country get its fiscal house in order — and we are doing that. I have been leading a strategy-driven effort to achieve the more than $450 billion in cuts over 10 years required by the Budget Control Act. We will move ahead with that plan.
But as Secretary of Defense, my primary responsibility is to protect the security of the nation. The half-trillion in additional cuts demanded by sequester would lead to a hollow force incapable of sustaining the missions it is assigned. If implemented, sequester would also jeopardize our ability to provide our troops and their families with the benefits and the support they have been promised. Our troops deserve better, and our nation demands better.

There is a lot of doom and gloom on the horizon if the military goes through the cuts, that as of right now it looks like they will. Nobody can see the future but based on what we have seen from our Government leadership (to include Congress) I am afraid it is not going to torn out well for our country’s security or us as a society and our safety.

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Posted in Military News, Military Strategy, Veteran Benefits

Defense Cuts Could Lead To Military Draft

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Troy| Leave a comment

Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Representative Buck McKeon claimed that if the bipartisan debt supercommittee is unable to reach a deal by Thanksgiving, cuts across the board in defense spending could lead to the reinstatement of a military draft.  An estimated 1.2 trillion needs to be cut across the board, and about half of those cuts would come from defense spending.  John Noonan, spokesman for House Armed Services Committee Republicans, emphasizes how an all volunteer military is quite expensive, however McKeon said that attempting to resolve the recession on the backs of the military leaves us with the question of who’s going to have our back the next time we’re attacked.  Additionally, cuts would also have an impact on military pensions and other benefits.  To read more about McKeon’s thoughts on the impact of budget cuts, please go to: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/defense-cuts-could-lead-to-military-draft-house-armed-services-chairman-says/2011/09/20/gIQAQAjyhK_blog.html
Without a doubt this would be a terrible thing and not something our country needs. We never want to go back to the draft. The last thing we need is people that don’t want to be there being responsible for the lives of those that do.

This super-committee betting get their stuff together and get a budget worked out, otherwise they will start the destruction of this country.
 

 

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Posted in Military Life, Military Strategy, Veteran Benefits

There is only one standard, The Army Standard

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Troy| Leave a comment

When I saw the headline

“General Calls Poor Post-War Discipline ‘Cancerous’”

I really thought the General they were talking about was my friend MG “Abe” Abrams. MG Abrams is the Commanding General of the mighty 3rd Infantry Division. A little over a month ago I was able to be at Ft. Stewart, GA where his headquarters resides. MG Abrams and I linked up for the first time in years and had a great couple hour dinner together. In true Abrams form we ate in a mess tent after walking through a Army mobile field kitchen to get our dinner.

Anyway, we talked about a variety of topics to include the one mentioned in this story..

The top commander of US Army forces in Europe sees a growing problem with discipline in Army ranks, saying the lack of accountability for Soldiers with infractions like multiple drunken driving incidents is harmful to a down-sizing Army.
Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, who recently took charge of U.S. Army Europe, told reporters at an Oct. 5 breakfast meeting in Washington that part of the problem comes from post-deployment indiscretions. But the lack of discipline is also a byproduct of constant pre-deployment training and back-to-back tours in the combat zone.

Continue reading →

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Posted in Military Life, Military Strategy

Special Guest for a special show on Sept. 13th

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Troy| 2 Comments

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the horrific attacks that happened to our country on 9/11/2001. Our show on 9/13/2011 will be our special remembrance show in honor of those who died in those attacks and on the day itself.

We here at You Served Blog and Radio show are extremely honored to announce that we will have a very special guest on the show the evening of 9/13. Former Secretary of Defense, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld will be joining us on You Served Radio to talk about the anniversary, reflect on his very long career of public service and I am sure we will talk a little about his book also.

So be sure to tell your family, friends, and even people you don’t like that they need to tune into the show. In fact tell them to start tuning in this week because we have awesome guests every week.

We here at You Served love social media, so be sure and tell people on Facebook and Twitter too. You can follow us at www.facebook.com/youserved and www.twitter.com/youserved. By following us there, you get announcements like this before anyone else.

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Posted in MilBlogger Interviews, Military Strategy, You Served Radio

Nine-month Army Deployments to Begin in 2012

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Troy| Leave a comment

Army officials announced beginning 1 January, most Soldiers will deploy for nine months, giving them more time at home between deployments. Most augmentees and those with particular skills or in low-density skill sets and grades will remain on 12-month deployments.   Implementation of this change is based on the projected demand for Army forces, and remains contingent on global security conditions and combatant commanders’ requirements.  This change in policy, to be implemented fully by 1 April 2012, will affect Soldiers in all named operations, including Afghanistan, Kosovo and Egypt.  The Army will continue to review how to increase the amount of time Soldiers spend at home, depending on the amount of time they are deployed.  To read more about the extended dwell time, please go to:http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=64944

 

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Posted in Military Life, Military Strategy, News

Army Stresses Caution, Education to Combat Social Media Scammers

Posted on August 4, 2011 by Troy| Leave a comment

The Army authorizes the use of social media in both official and personal capacities, but threats are always present so education is key.  The number of scam artists utilizing social media has increased, so the US Army is stressing caution in the use of such media as FaceBook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.  These scam artists are determined to steal personal information, impersonate Soldiers and try to acquire sensitive information, even those of deceased Soldiers.  In 2009, the Robin Sage Experiment effectively demonstrated how people respond to social media scams so the following are some tips to prevent having personal information acquired by the wrong people:

1) do not share information that you do not want to become public;

(2) verify a “friend” request by phone or other means before allowing access;

(3) look closely at all privacy settings; (4) be careful about what you post about your life — you cannot control where the information goes;

(5) be cautious when listing job, military organization, education and contact information;

(6) always ensure that information posted online has no significant value to the enemy;

(7) closely review photos to make sure they do not give away sensitive information;

(8) talk with family about operations security and what can and cannot be posted;

(9) create different, strong passwords for each online account.

For more information, see the Army Social Media Best Practices fact sheet at: http://www.slideshare.net/DepartmentofDefense/army-social-media-best-practices and the Army Social Media Handbook 2011 by clicking: http://www.slideshare.net/USArmySocialMedia/army-social-media-handbook-2011

 

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Posted in Military News, Military Strategy, Scams and Fakers