Friday, August 2, 2013

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- August 2, 2013

Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testify before the House Armed Services Committee on the Strategic Choices and Management Review in Washington, D.C., Aug. 1, 2013. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

Pentagon Officials Press Congress For More Time On Budget Cuts -- Reuters

(Reuters) - A day after the Pentagon outlined the stark choices it confronts due to looming budget cuts in coming years, top defense officials pressed Congress to give them the time and flexibility to make the reductions without undermining security.

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter warned lawmakers on Thursday that the Pentagon could not hit its budget targets under the law in the next few years without "drastic measures that are not strategically or managerially sound," like grounding aircraft or putting employees on unpaid leave as was done this year.

"It takes time to downsize forces, to cut employees, to close bases, to reap savings from reforms. These strategic adjustments take time," Carter told a committee in the House of Representatives. "Flexibility and time is essential."

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MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE NEWS BRIEFS

Hagel Forecasts Massive Cuts to Troop Numbers -- Military.com

Military considers cutting 25% of Army personnel, Marines to trim budget for sequester -- McClatchy News

Branches of Military Battle Over Shrinking War Chest -- Wall Street Journal

Panel: UN reliance on private military security companies growing, lacks transparency -- AP

Russian military shipbuilding: an update (part 1) -- Russian Military reform

South Africa's Navy crippled by lack of qualified personnel -- Defence Web

Eye on future, India mulls options for nuclear-powered aircraft carrier -- Times of India

Panama Finds Possible Missile Control Vehicles in N. Korean Freighter -- Global Security Newswire

BAE profits down 8% but firm remains hopeful on £4.5bn Saudi Typhoon order -- The Guardian

GCHQ: inside the top secret world of Britain's biggest spy agency -- The Guardian

France to cut military staff by 12 percent in six-year budget -- Reuters

At Long Last, French Military Receives First A400M -- AP

GCHQ accused of selling its services after revelations of funding by NSA -- The Guardian

Germany nixes surveillance pact with US, Britain -- AP

New Cemetery in Russia: Germany Still Burying Eastern Front Dead -- Spiegel Online

Pentagon downplays prospects of cancelling F-35, bomber -- Reuters

The Electric Warship -- IEEE Spectrum

US Navy’s Plan for 306-Ship Fleet Fading Away -- Military.com

Corps Preps CH-53K for First Flight -- Defense Tech

VXX Becomes One-Horse Race -- Aviation Week

Boeing approves one more year of C-17 production on anticipated demand -- Flight Global

Pentagon, Lawmakers Deal Blows to Navy Fast-Strike Missile Effort -- National Journal

Big Hit, But No Platforms Mentioned in US Army Portion of SCMR -- Defense News

Post-Afghanistan, Special Operations to Shift to Conflict Prevention -- National Defense

Military Bid for Next Stuxnet Confronts Hacker Resistance -- Bloomberg

Obama open to making changes to surveillance, lawmakers say -- Reuters

‘Classification inflation’ at Pentagon under investigation: GAO -- Washington Times

Manning leaks caused diplomatic 'horror and disbelief:' testimony -- Reuters

Senate Confirms Top 2 US Officers for New Terms -- Defense News

The U.S. Military Doesn't Want Your Porn, SpongeBob, or New York Review of Books -- National Journal

US military struggling to stop suicide epidemic among war veterans -- The Guardian

Soldiers testify at court-martial that lieutenant ordered fatal shootings -- Stars and Stripes/The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.

Fort Hood shooting suspect renounces citizenship -- Military Times

NSA documents vindicate some of Snowden's claims -- Thomas Lifson, American Thinker

A Strategy for the Defense Industry -- David E. Tashji and Thaddeus B. Kubis, Prosper With Knowledge

Military contracting: our new era of corporate mercenaries -- Arjun Sethi, The Guardian

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