The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies’ Post

Grizzled readers of the #ArmyMadSci Laboratory will recall their well-thumbed copies of the forty-year-old FM 100-2 series, The Soviet Army. U.S. Army Soldiers and Leaders from the Cold War-era were expected to know their Soviet adversaries’ Operations and Tactics; Troops, Organization, and Equipment; and Specialized Warfare and Rear Area Support cold — as international tensions and crises could (and frequently did!) escalate to trigger alerts at a moment’s notice, sending units racing forward from their garrisons to occupy their GDP positions… ready and prepared to counter Soviet and their Warsaw Pact allies’ forces advancing across the Inner German Border (IGB)! Flash forward to today’s Army, where knowledge of the #OperationalEnvironment (OE) and the five National Defense Strategy #Threats — China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs) — remain critical competencies within the Profession of Arms. In our latest episode of The #ConvergencePodcast, Army Mad Scientist partnered with the #BreakingDoctrine podcast from the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (CAC), to co-host a fascinating discussion with General Gary M. Brito, Commanding General, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Colonel Richard Creed (USA-Ret.), Director, Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, U.S. Army CAC, and Mr. Ian Sullivan, Deputy Chief of Staff Intelligence, TRADOC G-2, exploring how understanding the OE and knowing Threat Doctrine remain core Soldier and Leader competencies, underpinning how the Army will fight and win decisively in the #21stCenturyBattlespace. Check out the highlights from this interview at: https://lnkd.in/eRdgAqCx #TRADOC #ArmyModernization #AWC #KnowYourEnemy #TreatDoctrine #LeaderCompetency #ArmySoldiers

Grizzled readers of the #ArmyMadSci Laboratory will recall their well-thumbed copies of the forty-year-old FM 100-2 series, The Soviet Army. U.S. Army Soldiers and Leaders from the Cold War-era were expected to know their Soviet adversaries’ Operations and Tactics; Troops, Organization, and Equipment; and Specialized Warfare and Rear Area Support cold — as international tensions and crises could (and frequently did!) escalate to trigger alerts at a moment’s notice, sending units racing forward from their garrisons to occupy their GDP positions… ready and prepared to counter Soviet and their Warsaw Pact allies’ forces advancing across the Inner German Border (IGB)! Flash forward to today’s Army, where knowledge of the #OperationalEnvironment (OE) and the five National Defense Strategy #Threats — China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and Violent Extremist Organizations (VEOs) — remain critical competencies within the Profession of Arms. In our latest episode of The #ConvergencePodcast, Army Mad Scientist partnered with the #BreakingDoctrine podcast from the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (CAC), to co-host a fascinating discussion with General Gary M. Brito, Commanding General, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Colonel Richard Creed (USA-Ret.), Director, Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate, U.S. Army CAC, and Mr. Ian Sullivan, Deputy Chief of Staff Intelligence, TRADOC G-2, exploring how understanding the OE and knowing Threat Doctrine remain core Soldier and Leader competencies, underpinning how the Army will fight and win decisively in the #21stCenturyBattlespace. Check out the highlights from this interview at: https://lnkd.in/eRdgAqCx #TRADOC #ArmyModernization #AWC #KnowYourEnemy #TreatDoctrine #LeaderCompetency #ArmySoldiers

The USAF is at an inflection point, failing rapidly. It's a situation Eric and I have been writing about for years. Air Force leaders, from Secretary Kendall and Gen. Brown to predecessors including Gen. Goldfein have failed the service, prioritizing politics over warfighting acumen and readiness. Ask any Air Force pilot in almost any flight community. They do not fly enough to maintain currency let alone competency. None of this is unknown to Air Force and Pentagon leaders. Yet they do nothing about it, spending limited resources on research programs with no guarantee that they will ever come to fruition or produce aircraft or weapons in meaningful mass. The training pipeline for tactical pilots is hopelessly behind schedule and not improving despite money spent on programs to try to teach student pilots how to fly and fight aircraft in simulation. Meanwhile Air Force resources continue to be wasted on social engineering nonsense that is tearing the service apart and consuming part of its limited resources. But leadership presses on with this disgusting folly without being held accountable. A wholesale change in Pentagon leadership needs to happen very soon or our military will be nothing but a rapidly shrinking paper tiger. https://lnkd.in/e89cEEqs

🚀 FY25 House Spending Bill Developments 🚀 The House Armed Services Committee has recently advanced its annual defense spending bill. The $833 billion budget is poised to enhance our air power significantly, add more F-35s to our fleet, provide further aid for Israel, and block a proposal to transfer Guard personnel to the Space Force. Key highlights include: ✈️ Increased investments in 5th and 6th-generation aircraft like the F-35 and Next-Generation Air Dominance. 💥 Prevention of the early retirement of three ships and retention of the U-2 and certain F-15s, rejecting the Biden Administration’s naval and air force divestment plans. 💰 A 4.5% pay raise for all military personnel; $2.5 billion allocated for an additional 15% pay increase for junior enlisted servicemembers. While these additions are noteworthy, the bill realigns $18 billion in funds requested in President Joe Biden’s budget proposal, resulting in cuts to: ❌ $916 million for Pentagon civilian jobs ❌ $621 million for climate change initiatives ❌ $53 million associated with diversity and inclusion training Additionally, the bill proposes cutting all funding for Ukraine 🇺🇦 and prohibiting paid leave and travel or related expenses for federal employees or their dependents to obtain abortion or abortion-related services. For a deeper dive into the specifics and implications of this proposed bill, check out the full article in the link provided in the comment below! #AirForce #USAF #F35 #U2 #savetheU2 #MilitarySpending #NationalSecurity #DefenseBudget #InnovationInDefense #Aerospace

Some of the Air Force’s plans for an organizational shakeup to better posture itself for future conflicts with U.S. adversaries are at risk due to continued instability with the federal budget, according to the service’s top officer. On Feb. 12, the Department of the Air Force announced it would be partially reorganizing — an effort dubbed “reoptimizing for great power competition.” The plans included a total of 24 near- and long-term action items across the department that will boost overall readiness and ensure the Air and Space Forces have the right capabilities for tomorrow’s battles. https://hubs.li/Q02mLwV00

The ServiceNow Federal Forum: Intelligent Transformation is now on demand! Watch industry experts and government leaders from USDA, CNA Corporation, Kessel Run, Defense Intelligence Agency, EY, United States Department of Defense, USPTO, U.S. Army Recruiting Command (USAREC), and more discuss how to create unified experiences across the enterprise. Watch on-demand 📺: https://ow.ly/FHfW50RqOxS #NowFedForum

𝐅𝐘𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭 | The United States Department of the Air Force (DAF) submitted its budget that reflects the generational challenge if faces against a dynamic, well-resourced, and determined competitor. The DIB (Defense Industrial Base) should not see themselves as a vendor to a customer, but a partner with the DAF as they stand ready to deter and prevail against threats. 💲💲 The United States Department of the Air Force budget for FY2025 is $217.5B, up $2.4B over FY2024. 𝐊𝐄𝐘 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 You need to read these documents yourself, but here are some key highlights I pulled out for my customers. 👉 The People | The DAF has 504,500 Soldiers & 183,146 Civilians United States Air Force | 320,000 Soldiers | 150,282 Civilians Air National Guard | 107,700 | 16,094 Civilians U.S. Air Force Reserve | 67,000 | 11,446 Civilians United States Space Force | 9,800 | 5,324 Civilians 👉 The Budgets USAF, ANG, & Reserves | $188.1B ($3B Increase) United States Space Force | $29.4B ($0.6B Decrease) 👉 Budget Themes Research these further. I've paraphrased for quick reading, but truly understanding where the DAF is going take reading. :) ➤ Resources a Strategy-Driven Budget ➤ Integrates Multi-Domain Capabilities ➤ Sustains Momentum Towards Operational Imperatives ➤ Establishes Cross-Cutting Operational Enablers ➤ Prioritizes Achievement of Essential Near-Term Readiness Reach out to the DAF Financial Management Department of the Air Force Office of Small Business Programs to explore the budget more. __________________________________ 🔥 Join 14,417 others and subscribe to our GovCon newsletter | https://lnkd.in/es6qfwgk 👀 Follow me (Neil McDonnell) on LinkedIn and hit the 🔔 on my profile to see more government contracting content like 28,208 other people do.

The U.S. Air Force in recent years placed a $20 billion bet on the Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) “family of systems” to ensure control of the air in a future conflict—a core mission increasingly challenged by Chinese fifth-generation fighters and ground-based air defenses.

“China is a thinking, well-resourced adversary. They’re now thinking about the things we’ve said we’re going to do and how they’re going to defeat them. That’s why we have to re-optimize. We’re in a race. And we can’t just hope we win. We have to actually do things to make sure we stay ahead.” - Secretary of the United States Air Force Frank Kendall III One of the things the Total Force must do is better leverage the Air Reserve Component including the Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force Reserve. A recent RAND study demonstrated the experience and cost advantage of the Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force Reserve fighter and tanker fleets. If we are headed for a smaller, more capable United States Air Force, step one must be better leveraging the reserve component. SECAF's initiative to Optimize the Total Force is critical and timely; can't wait to see what is unveiled at the Air & Space Forces Association conference on February 12th. #strategy #natsec #nationalsecurity #airforce #nationalguard #TFO #totalforceoptimization #goguard

Good read