Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 1, 2018

Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks to soldiers assigned to Task Force Southwest at Camp Sharob in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, March 22, 2018. DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Dominique A. Pineiro

Stars and Stripes: Army hopes new units will help break Afghanistan stalemate

FORT POLK, La. — Seventeen years in the infantry have turned Army 1st Sgt. Shaun Morgan into a hard-charging grunt, but the veteran of five combat tours who recently deployed to Afghanistan is prepared to take a back seat and let that nation’s forces lead the fight.

It won’t be easy, said Morgan, a company senior enlisted leader with the Army’s new 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade. The unit is charged with advising Afghan soldiers closer to the front lines than conventional U.S. troops have operated in several years. But he believes his unit — the Army’s first brigade of specially trained combat advisers — is the right formation to take the lead in the mission that top Pentagon brass hope will break a long stalemate in the 16-year fight against the Taliban.

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- April 1, 2018

U.S. Brigade Arrives in Afghanistan to Advise, Strengthen Afghan Forces -- US Department of Defense

US Orders 8 More Drone Systems For Afghan Forces -- Tolo News

Russia, Taliban 'laughed' at US claims of Moscow arming fighters -- Al Jazeera

Ehud Barak Lifts the Lid on Israeli Army’s Most Elite Unit’s Special Ops -- Haaretz

Israeli Woman Finds Military Drone Lost 18 Months Ago -- Haaretz

Boeing and Kuwait cement Super Hornet deal -- Defense News

India increases deployment of troops along border with China near Tibetan region -- Economic Times

India slowly building military muscle from Ladakh to Arunachal on the China front -- Times of India

China’s J-20 Ready for War, Jet Designer Says - Others Aren’t So Optimistic -- Sputnik

China teams up with Russia to develop rocket-launched reconnaissance drone -- TASS

Why Russia's Armata Tank Could Take on NATO's Best (and Not Even Need a Crew to Fight) -- Charlie Gao, National Interest

Is Russia Getting Ready to Sell India the Deadly S-400 Air Defense System? -- National Interest

German Tornado Aircraft No Longer Fit for NATO Operations - Reports -- Sputnik

MoD sparks outrage by removing 'HM' initials from Armed Forces Facebook page as users accuse military top brass of disrespecting the Queen -- Daily Mail

NSC Readies Major Overhaul in US Arms Exports -- Breaking Defense

US Navy Littoral Combat Ship to Operate Swarms of Attack Drone Ships -- Warrior Maven

Schedule at Risk for Navy F-35C Fighters to be Combat Ready by End of Year -- USNI News

US Air Force aims to lower F-35 sustainment costs to that of an F-16 -- Defense News

Not Cutting F-35 Buy, But Depot Structure May Change: CSAF Goldfein -- Breaking Defense

Army Future Vertical Lift hones in on attack recon, long-range assault -- Defense News

Air Force May Approve Enlisted Pilots for First Time in 75 Years -- Military.com

New Air Force leader to bring space war-fighting focus to the Pentagon -- Defense News

Air Force: It’s time to pull the plug on JSTARS; Congress: Not so fast -- Space News

In Defense Of The M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle -- Task & Purpose

After a CIA career in the shadows, Gina Haspel to face the spotlight of controversy -- L.A. Times

Incoming NSA chief has a reputation for winning ‘all the important fights.’ Russia will be his biggest test yet. -- Washington Post

Air Force Finally Acknowledges Its Uniforms And Gear Are Not Made To Fit Women -- Task & Purpose

Destroyer with a history shows US flag in Pacific -- CNN

Break and Remake the U.S. Navy Surface Fleet -- James Holmes, National Interest

Skeptics Ask: Can Army Field Armed Robots By 2024? -- Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., Breaking Defense

The Most Overused (And Annoying) Military Sayings Ever -- Task & Purpose