Defense Budget Proposal for FY15 Already Meeting Resistance from Obstructionist GOP in Congress

Will be taking some time off this summer from the blog to get ready to concentrate on elections this fall when the American people have a chance to oust a lot of Tea Party and hard right from the Congress, statewide offices, and legislatures across the Country.  Time to return the Country back to having office holders with common sense as you will there is none in the second article posted today out of two of Oklahoma's Congressional delegation.  First article is from the Secretary of Defense and talks about the budget of the Defense Department.  Finally a Secretary of Defense attempting to bring sanity to the Defense budget which is a rare happening.  From Jan 2001 - Jan 2009, the Defense Department under Bush-Cheney spent money on defense that was way beyond common sense.

Two fighters in production with numerous flaws were pushed by the GOP with the  F-35 put into production before flight testing was complete and has cost mega bucks to fix the fleet when they find the problems during flight test.  It was abject stupidity.  Then there was Sen McCain's hold put on getting a new Tanker fleet for almost ten years when the planes should have been replaced years ago. Finally last year Boeing was given a contract for new production of new Tankers which was much more costly than if they had been replaced years ago.  The old tankers have been an accident waiting to happen but thanks to Tinker Depot Maintenance, they have been kept flying accident free.  McCain wanted a smaller tanker at one time which would never work to refuel the wide bodied planes.

Then there was AWACS which had not had a major upgrade in years and had actually fallen behind the European AWACS who had the upgrades.  The amount of money Bush-Cheney and the GOP spent on new weapons systems should be a crime.  The F-16 didn't need replaced by a plane that is not as maneuverable and with a stealth coating that will increase maintenance cost.  Finally someone after Pres Obama was elected decided the F-16 was the best fighter we had and was going nowhere.  Congress after much pressure finally capped the number of F-22's at a much lower number than the GOP wanted to save money.

Today we have a Secretary of Defense with a budget which is the beginning of common sense from DoD, but chances of getting it passed through the Obstructionist Republican House are slim to none:

Hagel: Proposed Defense Budget Tailored to Meet Future Threats  06/18/2014 11:31 AM CDT  By Nick Simeone American Forces Press Service  WASHINGTON, June 18, 2014 - After more than a decade of large, land-based operations driven by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the proposed Defense Department budget for the coming fiscal year focuses on new and emerging threats, including those in cyberspace, with the department proposing significant reductions in the size of the Army and Marines, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told a Senate panel today.  "After 13 years of long, large stability operations, we must shift our focus onto future requirements shaped by enduring and emerging threats," Hagel told the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee, largely recapitulating the main points contained in the proposed Pentagon budget first unveiled in February.  "We must be able to defeat terrorist threats and cyberattacks and deter adversaries with increasingly modern weapons and technological capabilities," Hagel added.  Even so, Hagel said, the department is taking a $75 billion hit in its budget this year and next, and he warned lawmakers "we cannot keep our current force structure adequately ready and modernized" under the strict budget limits being imposed on the department. And unless Congress changes the law to prevent another budget sequester, he added, another $50 billion will come out of the department's budget every year through 2021.  This, he said, could occur at a time when America's and the world's and security are increasingly being challenged.  "Recent crises in Iraq and Ukraine remind us how quickly things can change in the world and they underscore why we must assure the readiness, agility and capability of our military," the secretary told the senators.  Even so, as outlined in the president's budget request sent to Congress earlier this year, Hagel said the department still proposes drawing down the active duty Army by 13 percent over the next five years to as low 440,000 soldiers, which he said he believes is still adequate to defend the nation and respond to future threats.  The Marine Corps, he said, will continue its planned drawdown to 182,000 members while devoting an additional 900 Marines to stepping up security at U.S. embassies around the world. The Navy will have 11 carrier strike groups, but 11 cruisers will be set aside for modernization and retrofitting, while the Air Force will see the 50-year-old U-2 surveillance plane replaced by the unmanned Global Hawk aircraft, as well as an end to the aging A-10 attack aircraft.  Compensation for those in uniform is being adjusted, Hagel said, with the department slowing the growth in pay increases, while subsidies for off-base housing will be reduced as well. Co-pays for retirees and family members under the TRICARE health care plan will face modest increases, but health care for active duty personnel will remain free, the secretary told the panel, adding that the adjustments are tied to resourcing readiness.  "Under our plan, 100 percent of the savings from compensation reform will go toward ensuring that our troops have the training and tools they need to accomplish their missions," he said.  But Hagel warned that if Congress does not provide the department the money it needs, "it will jeopardize the readiness and capability of our armed forces and shortchange America's ability to effectively and decisively respond when global events demand it."  Today's hearing comes midway through a congressional calendar that is not likely to see final action on a Pentagon budget for months.  (Follow Nick Simeone on Twitter: @simeoneAFPS) Last night while checking weather at The Oklahoman, I came across an article on AWACS and pretty much went ballistic because two members of the OK Congressional delegation Cong Tom Cole and Senator Jim Inhofe are opposed to the Air Force's plan to deactivate a Reserve Squadron of AWACS.  Right now seven of the AWACS are flown by the Reserve Squadron and those crews would go away to leave 20 active duty AWACS with active duty crews flying them. When B-52's drew down, they had planes that they would put into rotation but drew down the number of crews and rotating planes without crews into the rotation which allowed for major overhaul of the B-52 fleet. When the Air Force went out with solicitations for upgrade proposal submittals, they included a larger number of planes then they were actively flying.   It sounds like what they are going to do with AWACS.  This would allow AWACS to rotate their planes into depot maintenance for major work and upgrades to lengthen the life of the plane.  Makes perfect sense but not to Cole and Inhofe who are worried Tinker will lose some people -- where were they when we lost units to Texas during the BRAC from Will Rogers or demanding that AWACS be upgraded years ago when European AWACS had more upgrades than US AWACS -- like crickets chirping. From the Oklahoman on 17 June: WASHINGTON — The White House came out strongly on Tuesday against the defense spending bill set to be considered by the full U.S. House this week and specifically cited a provision that would protect AWACS planes stationed at Tinker Air Force Base.  A statement from the White House budget office says a section of the spending bill authored by Rep. Tom Cole "would prevent the Air Force from using funds to divest or to disestablish any units of the active or reserve component associated with E-3 airborne warning and control system aircraft.  "This provision would force the Air Force to take funding from higher priority defense needs in order to operate, sustain, and maintain aircraft that are not needed and are unaffordable in today's constrained fiscal environment."  The Air Force had proposed cutting seven of the 27 AWACS planes at Tinker. And, under the proposal, a Reserve unit at Tinker would no longer be allowed to fly any of the remaining planes. Cole, R-Moore, whose district includes Tinker, added a provision to the defense spending bill that would provide $34.6 million for AWACS operations and maintenance, $24.9 million for personnel and $31 million for parts and modifications.  Cole is a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and influential on the subcommittee for defense spending.  U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Tulsa, a former Navy pilot who has also fought the Air Force proposal, recently called AWACS “the only airborne asset capable of performing command and control and battle space management. ... If you take it out, we can’t fight, and we can’t win.”  Sen. Jim Inhofe, of Tulsa, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has added language to the Senate defense authorization bill to protect all of Tinker's AWACS. That bill is separate from the spending legislation that must follow.  We don't need 27 AWACS with crews when our allies also fly AWACS -- we are not fighting two wars, we do not have a no fly zone like we did in Iraq and there is absolutely no need today for 27 with full crews as 20 AWACS will work just fine.  Are people going to believe politicians like Cole/Inhofe/Bridenstine or the people whose job it is to keep our Armed Forces armed and ready to protect this Country.  I just wanted to scream at the three that we don't fly the only AWACS in the world in case they missed that part.  It is always about politics with the Oklahoma Republican delegation not about what is best for America or the Department of Defense. Same delegation that voted against Hurricane Sandy relief except for Cole and Lucas -- same delegation that voted against the veterans jobs bill and the list goes on but now they are in full attack mode to keep seven AWACS with Reservist and cost other programs in the Defense Department.  Forgot Cong Lucas from OK chaired the Ag Committee that cut food stamps including for active military while keeping subsidies for big farmers. If only the people in this state would wake up to the millions left on the table by Republicans by turning down the ACA exchanges and defeating common core, not to mention loopholes and tax breaks for wealthy, big business and oil and gas, Oklahoma would be in better shape.  It is hard to figure out what these people support as they are so negative and selfish if it doesn't benefit them politically. Wouldn't give you two cents for the whole delegation when I used to support some of them but they actually had common sense back then and were not part of the obstruction we are seeing out of the GOP in Congress today. We were at Wright-Patterson AFB when the decision was made after studying various options to assign the new AWACS to Tinker AFB in the 70's as they had the room and ability to do the security upgrades required.  In the early 90's they were joined by the Navy E-6's from Hawaii as they share the same platform and made depot maintenance easier as the Navy was a little bit slow with maintenance of wide bodied aircraft (told to me by a former Commander of the E-6's).  After 9-11, we saw the European AWACS arrive here so our AWACS could be flying all the missions necessary for the US overseas.  That right there shows the cooperation with our allies in making sure we all stay safe. My more than two cents.  I think Chuck Hagel is doing an outstanding job as Secretary of Defense against all odds with the obstruction by Republicans in the House and Senate who are more concerned about Benghazi then they are our active duty military and our veterans.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel Visits Chinese Aircraft Carrier Liaoning

Sitting here reading this and thinking how the world has changed when you have an American Secretary of Defense touring a Chinese Aircraft Carrier while Russia is saber rattling in the Ukraine.  If you had told me that five years ago, I would have laughed and thought you were nuts.  Years ago when I worked for the Air Force one of the Lt Colonel's in our office was an Advance Agent for President Nixon who went to China and then later to Russia in advance of the President's visit to both countries. In those days, the military supplied a lot of advance agents.

Can still remember him talking about being spied on in Moscow when you corner of the ceiling.  We kidded him about being watched all the time in the room and how did it feel when he changed clothes -- said he kept looking up in the corners of the ceiling wanting to put a towel over the cameras.

Today's visit to the Chinese Aircraft Carrier, Liaoning, is such a step forward in our relations with China that it is hard to put into words.  Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel continues to impress and definitely was the right person for the position.

There is no way that I would have ever guessed that a US Secretary of Defense would be in China and tour their prized carrier.  This email from DoD says it all:

Hagel Visits Chinese Aircraft Carrier Liaoning

04/07/2014 03:54 PM CDT

Hagel Visits Chinese Aircraft Carrier Liaoning By Cheryl Pellerin American Forces Press Service QINGDAO, China, April 7, 2014 - On Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's first official visit to China, the Peoples' Liberation Army allowed him, in response to a request made in January, to become the first foreign visitor to tour the sleek refitted Russian aircraft carrier -- the PLA's first -- called Liaoning. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, is greeted by U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark W. Gillette, right, U.S. defense attaché to China, and Chinese military officers in Qingdao, China, April 7, 2014. Hagel visited the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning while in Qingdao, the first foreigner to do so. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo  China is Hagel's third stop after multiday meetings in Hawaii and Japan on his fourth trip to the Asia-Pacific region since becoming defense secretary. After a day of meetings here tomorrow, Hagel will stop in Mongolia to meet with government and military leaders there before starting home April 10. Liaoning is moored at Yuchi Naval Base in its home port of Qingdao in east China's Shandong province. "The secretary was very pleased with his visit today aboard the carrier Liaoning," Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said in a statement. Hagel understood the significance of the PLA's granting of his request for the tour, Kirby added, and the secretary was impressed by the professionalism of the ship's officers and crew. "He hopes today's visit is a harbinger of other opportunities to improve our military-to-military dialogue and transparency," the press secretary said. A defense official traveling with the secretary described the ship's tour as lasting about two hours, beginning with a briefing about the ship, its capabilities and operating schedule conducted by the two-star strike carrier group commander and the ship's commanding officer, Capt. Zhang Zheng. The briefers were good, and they invited and encouraged questions, the official said. Hagel and his guest, U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus, and others on the tour all asked questions, the official added. "The briefing lasted about 30 minutes, and then we saw medical facilities on the ship, some of the living quarters, the flight control station where they control flight operations, the pilot house, and the bridge, where they drive the ship," the defense official said. The secretary and his group also took a walking tour of the flight deck and saw launch stations and helicopter recovery stations as well arresting cables, "and got a briefing on how what we call in the U.S. Navy the 'landing signals officers' guide the aircraft in for an arrested landing on the flight deck," the official explained. He said the ship was extraordinarily clean, and the crew was sharp and informative. "Every sailor at every station where Hagel [stopped] for the tour knew exactly what their job was, and how important their job was, and exactly how to explain it to the secretary," the official said. Hagel had a lot of give-and-take discussions with the crew throughout the tour, and talked to them just as he talks to U.S. troops when he goes out to visit them, the defense official added. "The tour ended with a stop in the officers' dining area, where Hagel had a chance to sit down with junior officers, have some refreshments and just talk to them," the official said. "We all did. I sat down at a table with two junior female officers, and everybody did the same thing." The crew members were very impressive and very dedicated, he observed. "It's a new capability they're trying to develop, and I think they all appreciate the importance of it to the PLA, but also the difficulty of it," the official said. "On more than one occasion, the officers who were with us said quite frankly they know they have a long way to go in naval aviation. It is a difficult military capability to develop and to perfect, ... and they expressed that they believe they can still learn much from us in terms of how to get better at it." The ship has three launching stations for jet aircraft, four arresting wires, a complement of about 1,500 sailors, one sixth of whom are officers, and there were 90 women in the crew, both officers and enlisted service members, the defense official said. Liaoning has been out on sea trials almost 20 times, and officials know they still have to do more, he added. Compared with U.S. aircraft carriers, Laioning isn't as big or fast, and it doesn't carry as many aircraft or as many types of aircraft, the official said, but it's a real aircraft carrier, capable of launching and recovering jet combat aircraft. "We asked them when they would have an operational naval air wing on the ship, and the captain said there's no timeline for that right now," the official said. "They aren't at the state where they're declaring that sort of operational readiness." The defense official said the opportunity for Hagel and his group to tour the aircraft carrier today was a significant step in China's attempts to be transparent and open. "I would say that as this trip to Beijing begins for the secretary, today was a good first step in terms of trying to develop more openness and transparency," the defense official said.

Sequester Effects on Secretary of Defense, OU's Max Westheimer Airport Control Tower Plus Norman City Council Elections

We have the Secretary of Defense taking a pay cut but not members of Congress?  When are members of Congress going to give back a portion of their pay to stand with their employees?  

From Reuters:  Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will take a voluntary pay cut as a show of solidarity with Pentagon employees who will have to take unpaid time off over the coming months, a Defense Department spokesman said on Tuesday. 

Hagel will give back the equivalent of 14 days' pay to the government, Pentagon spokesman George Little said. That would come to about $10,750, based on Hagel's salary of $199,700.

"My understanding is that there is a legal way to actually write a check, if you will, back to the U.S. Treasury," Little told reporters. 

Most of the Pentagon's 800,000 civilian employees will have to take 14 days of unpaid leave as it implements more than $40 billion in spending cuts before the fiscal year ends on September 30 as part of a blunt budget-cutting effort known as "the sequester" that will affect a broad range of government operations. 

Republicans and Democrats set up the sequester in 2011 as a worst-case scenario that would force them to find other ways to narrow trillion-dollar budget deficits, but they have been unable to do so. 

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan and David Alexander; Editing by Eric Walsh)

We have the Secretary of Defense taking a pay cut but not members of Congress?  When are members of Congress going to give back their pay to stand with their employees?  In fact members of the House should be refunding money to the US Treasury with their three-day work week Republican leadership has  implemented for 2013 since Republican are in control.

Then there is the part of Republicans going after Obama's daughters for taking a spring break vacation while the members of Congress are on another vacation - third of the year - first one coming ten days into session - all House vacations paid for by taxpayers.  House plans only 109 work days for 2013.  Let's see how that breaks out -- there are 260 days in a five-day work week and 156 days in a three-day week for the year and the House is not going to work even half of the 5-day and only 69% of the 3-day work week.

Why are the members of the House getting full pay and expenses?  Yet they have the nerve to keep holding sequestration hostage so other people have to take pay cuts while wealthy donors keep their tax loopholes.  Republicans are showing more each day they could less about the average American which makes the GOP outreach DOA as far as most of us are concerned.  Actions/words speak louder then GOP rhetoric.

Another story crossed the wire yesterday in a Press Release from the University of Oklahoma that they will be funding the Max Westheimer Control Tower during this time of sequestration:

OU To Keep Max Westheimer Tower Open

4-2-13
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                             
CONTACT: Public Affairs, (405) 325-1701 

NORMAN – University of Oklahoma President David L. Boren today announced that OU will provide bridge funding to keep the Max Westheimer Tower open and operating until budget issues are resolved in Washington. 

Non-appropriated auxiliary funds will be used by the University to provide the resources to staff the tower from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 

“OU has one of the top aviation education programs across the nation and internationally,” Boren said.  “It is one of only 29 programs accredited by the AABI (Aviation Accreditation Board International).  

“The OU program is expected to continue to grow rapidly,” Boren said.  “Our first concern is the safety of our student pilots.  Max Westheimer is one of the busiest airports in Oklahoma.  It has almost 60,000 take-offs and landings annually, almost half the number of Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers Airport.” 

Ken Carson, Director of OU’s Aviation program, said, “The department and most importantly, our students are very pleased by the support of the University and the announcement by President Boren.  We have always viewed our flight operations at Westheimer as a holistic safety management approach, and air traffic control services are key to safe, orderly and efficient operations for both OU aircraft and the General Aviation aircraft which use Westheimer.” 

Boren also said that maintaining a tower-controlled airport is of great importance to the community and is an important contribution by the University to Norman’s economic development.  

John Woods, President and CEO of the Norman Chamber of Commerce, said  “The University’s and President Boren’s commitment to the Norman community has always been above and beyond.  Providing bridge funding for the contract tower program at Max Westheimer Airport proves that commitment to not only the crucial flight programs at OU but for the direct economic benefits our airport provides Norman.  This is just another example of the great partnership Norman has with the University of Oklahoma and why we are grateful for the OU presence in our community.”  

While Republicans complain about contract control towers shutting down for their wealthy donors, University of Oklahoma President David Boren acts to find a way to insure the Max Westheimer tower stays operational.  President Boren is a former US Senator and Oklahoma Governor who understands how Government should work as he was a Senator in the days when both sides worked together for the good of the Country.  This is the perfect example of the difference between a long time Democrat who reacts by doing what is necessary to keep the tower open versus whine from the Republicans who caused the sequester to go in effect as Speaker Boehner said he got 98% of what they wanted with the sequester agreement which means the Republicans own sequester.

Now Republicans try to blame the sequester on President Obama.  How dumb do Republicans think the American people are?  We understand very well that Republicans in Congress refuse to close loopholes which allow the wealthy and large businesses to pay a lower tax rate then the average American.  Obama and Democrats want loopholes closed for the wealthy -- the GOP in Congress for the most part says NO!  Yet these obstructionists want to blame Obama for sequester going into effect.  The President warned the GOP there would be dire consequences but the GOP went right ahead with their stubbornness and obstructionist tactics.

Yesterday in the City of Norman where I live, we reelected Mayor Cindy Rosenthal for a third term. That was not shocking as her GOP opponent sent out some of the nastiest fliers I have ever witnessed and over the years I have witnessed a lot of nasty ones.  Don't think her opponent could tell the truth if he had to after those fliers that could be picked apart easily.  My neighbor supported the GOP candidate while I supported Cindy for the third time.  Know a lot of Republican women who supported her the first time and that has grown over the years with both GOP men and women supporting her because the local GOP has been fielding such bad candidates.  Guess we also had a Liberty candidate who I never heard of until I saw his signs yesterday and looked him up.  Together the two opponents could not get enough votes together in this non-partisan election to beat our Mayor.

Still remember the first election when I was attacked for supporting Cindy Rosenthal who is a Democrat as it was unpatriotic for me to support her.  It was actually very easy to support her as the GOP candidate had only recently started voting and was a developer - both rule out my support for any Mayor's candidate.  GOP has given up on me today as I refuse to attend any functions or give them support in any way.

What I found interesting was the three incumbents who were defeated were Republicans.  That is what happens across the board when you run negative campaigns instead of what you want to do for the City of Norman.  When your fliers are filled with lies like the ones from the GOP candidate for Mayor, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of voters.  Some of the Republicans in my neighborhood refuse to vote for any Republicans because of the hard right GOP here in OK and around the Country.

One neighbor told me that we need to start at the local level and build a coalition to get the obstructionist GOP out of the way at all levels.  We share the same sentiments that the Tea Party, John Birchers, Republican Assemblies and Militia have been bad for the GOP with taking it too hard right.  We now call ourselves centrist because conservative no longer works as we decided we cannot support the hard right GOP or the social issues of today's GOP with their war on women, gays, education, etc.

After talking to my neighbor earlier, I decided to call some Republicans I know in Norman today to ask them if what the GOP in DC is doing on sequester by holding it hostage to keep tax loopholes for wealthy donors affected their vote for Mayor and City Council. Made ten calls and 9 out 10 said it had an effect as they are sick and tired of Republicans at all levels.  The tenth person was already supporting Rosenthal and like me didn't have a city council election.

Are the City of Norman elections a sample of what is to come in 2014?  Mine is not scientific but I do know a lot of mad Republicans at the hard right track of the GOP on many issues including sequester and not closing tax loopholes for the wealthy.  Know others who have already left the party - we do have one thing in common -- we refuse to vote for the GOP in 2014.  With the GOP candidates coming forward like Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruze, you can extend that voting Democrat to 2016 as well.

Congratulations to Mayor Rosenthal on winning re-election.  She is the best Mayor of any place I have lived in my life.  She wants what is best for all Norman residents not just a few. Must admit I breathed a sigh of relief last night when I saw the results as she was ahead the entire evening.  Now Norman can continue to move forward not backward.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel Meeting with Veterans Groups Today

Secretary of Defense Hagel gives Veterans a voice in his tenure at the Department of Defense

This is one reason that Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel garnered so much support among not only active duty but retirees veterans in his nomination fight with Senate Republicans.  We knew that a priority with the Secretary of Defense would be a reach out to veterans groups on how they can receive the help they need in the future.  The House GOP killed the veterans job bill last year which the military community will never forget. Saw this email in my inbox this morning from ForeignPolicy.com which brought a smile to my face as it is a promise kept from the Secretary of Defense that he will never forget our veterans.

Already received a few emails asking if I saw that Hagel was meeting with Veterans Groups so word is spreading that Veteran's voices will be heard at the Department of Defense under the new Secretary of Defense:

Hagel meets with more than 20 veterans groups today 

MARCH 21, 2013By Gordon Lubold   

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will meet with representatives from about 20 veterans and military groups for a roundtable discussion on a host of issues, from the fiscal 2014 budget to transition assistance to veterans employment to the mental health of the force.  

Who's attending today's meeting? A who's who of veterans and military groups, Situation Report is told: representatives from the Air Force Association, the American Legion, AMVETS, the Armed Services YMCA, the Association of the United States Army, Blue Star Families, Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the Marine Corps League, the Military Child Education Coalition, the Military Officers Association of America, the National Military Family Association, the Navy League, Operation Homefront, the Reserve Officers Association, the Student Veterans of America, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), the USO, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, the Vietnam Veterans of America, Wounded Warrior Project, Fisher House Foundation, Inc., and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (Hiring Heroes Program). 

Then, tonight, Hagel boards a military jet for Tampa, where he will "RON" (remain overnight). On Friday morning, he'll have a "working breakfast" with Adm. Bill McRaven, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. Then he'll preside over the change of command at U.S. Central Command, the combatant command that could be known as the tinderbox command since it's responsible for some of the countries that pose the biggest threats to international security: Iran, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and more than a dozen others. Gen. Lloyd Austin is taking over for Gen. Jim Mattis, otherwise known as "Chaos," who is retiring. 

Staffers on a plane - Acting Chief of Staff Marcel Lettre, Senior Military Assistant Lt. Gen. Tom Waldhauser, and chief speechwriter Jacob Freedman. 

Reporters on a plane  - None.  

Is the Distinguished Warfare Medal the "New Coke" of medals? 

Hagel's meeting today with the veterans groups is about budgets and other issues, but the one topic that will generate the most lively discussion will be the Distinguished Warfare Medal. The medal, announced as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta walked out the door, recognizes the contributions of drone pilots -- to many, the unsung heroes of modern day warfare. But it has caused an uproar on Capitol Hill, in the Pentagon, and from groups across Washington. Critics decry less the creation of the medal than its "precedence" -- where it sits in the hierarchy of medals for the hierarchy-heavy military. The new medal will be above the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and just below the Legion of Merit and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Many in the ground service believe its placement denigrates medals recognizing acts of merit, heroism, or valor in a combat zone since it would be typically awarded to a drone pilot who maneuvers planes remotely.
It's likely the award would only be given under rare circumstances -- and for highly classified operations. That may have contributed to the thinking in the Pentagon that its creation wouldn't have caused so many problems.

Still, although the award underwent what one Pentagon official referred to as a "serious process" and the service chiefs all apparently signed off on it, there is now widespread recognition that the vetting process should have been better. "There's a sense that all of the right  bases weren't touched and that the degree of opposition was underestimated," the official told Situation Report.

Although it wasn't his doing, Hagel confronted the controversy soon after entering office and, perhaps seeking credibility with the uniforms, directed that a study look at the award and its precedence. But the review does not necessarily mean there will be big changes. "It's not leaning in any direction," the official said.

Some officials suggest the award could be downgraded to below the Bronze Star but, possibly, still above the Purple Heart. Or, the Bronze Star and the Bronze Star with the "V" device for valor could be split into two -- an unprecedented move for awards -- giving the new Distinguished Warfare Medal precedence over the Bronze Star, but not over the Bronze Star with "V," in a move that would still put valor above joysticks. Even some of the award's most ardent supporters think changing the precedence of the medal in some form would probably be acceptable. But Dave Deptula, the retired three-star who oversaw the Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance program, says the fight over the medal represents legacy thinking.

"We need to be able to award brains as well as brawn," he told Situation Report this week. "And doing so takes nothing away from those who risked their lives in combat. The fact of the matter is that we have moved from an era of industrial age warfare to an information age where the battle space is not defined by lines on the ground and can occur in every domain." 

Read More from the Situation Report about North Korea at Foreign Policy.com

Looking forward to four years of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel at DoD who is the first enlisted man to hold this prestigious position which is fitting for a man who has worked hard to get where he is today from the days of an Infantryman in Vietnam.  Looking forward to his first trip back to Capitol Hill as Secretary of Defense to face the nastiest bunch of Republican Senators I have witnessed in a hearing.  Wonder if Sen Cruz of TX will bring up 'Friends of Hamas' again?  Sorry, couldn't resist.  Still cannot believe those hearings of Hagel's filled with half-truths and outright lies against the former Senator from NE.


Have to admit that the funniest part of the article comes from his visit to Tampa later today:

Reporters on a plane  - None. 

That made me laugh as it is so fitting that no DC press is accompanying the Secretary of Defense on his trip to CENTCOM.  Bet President Obama would love to leave some of the White House Press Corps behind when he travels like NBC's Chuck Todd who made a fool of himself once again this time in Israel when he asked questions not one question:

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both jabbed at NBC's Chuck Todd for asking multiple questions at a press conference in Israel on Wednesday

Time for a restart on the White House Press Corps - out with a lot of the old like Chuck Todd - in with new, younger reporters who seem better fitted for the task.  Maybe some younger reporters have actually filled out the NCAA Basketball Tournament Brackets like the President.  Todd is just one of many jerks in the White Press Corps.  Don't see how the Press Secretary Carney handles all the dumb questions thrown at him in his Press Conferences from the White House and on the Presidential trips.  

Bet President Obama didn't realize he was going to explode GOP heads when he filled out his Bracketology picks for the NCAA Tournament as Speaker Boehner used the moment to insert politics about the budget.  Then GOP heads are exploding all over on how well he gets along with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu who he calls Bibi which Republicans hate.  Whiners!  Then there is one of my most disliked WH Reporters Chuck Todd getting outed for being the jerk he is with his questions in Israel. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is meeting with Veterans Groups today and flying to CENTCOM in Tampa with "no press".  To top it all off, the NCAA Tournament is underway.  Good week so far when you ignore the Congress and RNC.