Author: Tim J. Clark

Air Force – New Leadership

A Different Type Of Air Force Leader, (Los Angeles Times)…Julian E. Barnes and Peter Spiegel, June 10, 2008, Pg. 8

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates took action Monday to dramatically reorient the leadership of the Air Force, calling for the nomination of the first non-fighter or bomber pilot to lead the service since its inception after World War II.

Over time, the move could lead the service to give more emphasis to missions that support ground wars like those in Iraq and Afghanistan, such as cargo flights and in-air refueling, over more traditional roles like air dogfights.

Schwartz is head of U.S. Transportation Command, which coordinates the Pentagon’s worldwide transportation operations and manages military logistics.

Army and NFL – Reducing Head Injuries

Head Injuries, (CBS)…Kimberly Dozier, June 9, 2008 , 6:30 PM

Now to a health concern involving American troops in Iraq. Head injuries from roadside bombs are among the biggest threats to frontline soldiers. But Pentagon officials may have found a better way to provide protection. Technology used on the football field could soon be adapted for the battlefield.

It was one of those eureka moments. Army doctors home from Iraq and Afghanistan were watching NFL players pound it out and thought, that’s what our soldiers need, helmets like that. Because believe it or not, the effects on the brain of this can be a lot like this – blasts strong enough to shake and even bruise the brain often leading to traumatic brain injury known as TBI. Today an estimated 30 percent of troops who’ve served in combat suffer from TBI after repeated exposures to blasts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The army has sent out a call to NFL helmet makers like Riddell telling them apply their technology to combat helmets and we’ll buy hundreds of thousands of them.

They’ve done it before. Founder John Riddell invented World War II’s classic web suspension helmet. A different war means different challenges.

We’re looking for a pad system that is compatible with the advanced combat helmet. We’re looking for pads that can meet our requirements of sustaining blunt trauma at 10 feet per second.

Star Wars: Progress

Proving Missile Defense, (Washington Times)…John E. Carey, June 9, 2008  Pg. 25

…Today, Navy ships have shown they can reach targets on the edge of space, almost anywhere within the atmosphere, and down close to the ground. These ships equipped with the Aegis ballistic missile defense system have shown they could destroy a North Korean ballistic missile headed for Japan, the United States or any number of targets in the Pacific region.

The Navy’s Ballistic Missile Defense Program grew from decades of Navy missile defense and guided missile ship development and President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative. SDI, once derisively dubbed “star wars” by critics and most of the media, has evolved from a space-based concept into a more realistic sea and land-based “system of systems.”

Today the at sea effort by the U.S. Navy and Japan’s Navy is one of the more demanding and successful elements of the ballistic missile defense effort. Japan’s Navy already deploys this capability aboard its four Kongo class Aegis guided missile destroyers.

National Preparedness: New President

No Time For ‘Nobody Home’ (Washington Post)…Richard Armitage and Michele A. Flournoy, June 9, 2008, Pg. 17

…The “nobody home” phenomenon that occurs between Election Day and the inauguration, as the old administration empties out and the new one has yet to fill its ranks, poses serious risks. It is imperative that this transition proceed quickly and effectively. As Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently noted, “It’s important for us to get as many principals in positions as rapidly as possible in a time of war.”

… But the world does not wait for presidencies to get established. Several American presidents have been tested within their first few months: Kennedy became embroiled in the Bay of Pigs (April 1961); Nixon ordered secret bombing campaigns in Cambodia (March 1969); Clinton inherited a deteriorating situation in Somalia (May 1993); and George W. Bush had to deal with China’s grounding of a U.S. Navy EP-3 aircraft (April 2001).

The next president is even more likely to be tested early. The nation cannot afford to wait six months to have key national security officials in place. We should aim to have them in office within days or, at most, weeks of Jan. 20, 2009.

Columbia: Negotiations

Tough Intellectual Takes Rebel Reins In Colombia, (Washington Post)…Juan Forero and Steven Dudley

The death of the world’s oldest rebel commander has ushered in a new chapter in Colombia’s long civil conflict, with a bookish communist intellectual now leading a waning guerrilla force against a government convinced of its ability to deliver a resounding defeat.

In a rare one-on-one interview with The Washington Post in 2000, one of his last, Cano said he was open to negotiations, but he did not hesitate to state the FARC’s main objective — to rule Colombia. “For the long term, we have it defined: We want to be in power,” he said.

Southeast Asia: Successes and Homework

Asian Gains Seen In Terror Fight, (New York Times)…Eric Schmitt, June 9, 2008, Pg. 1

The deadliest terrorist networks in Southeast Asia have suffered significant setbacks in the past three years, weakened by aggressive policing, improved intelligence, enhanced military operations and an erosion of public support, government officials and counterterrorism specialists say.

The United States and Australia, in particular, have played major roles in helping Southeast Asian countries combat terrorist threats in the region.

Good illustration on an international approach at the regional level in combating terrorism.  On the U.S. side, involves Special Operations, FBI, CIA, AID to name a few.

I added the word “Homework” in the title to remind myself that this would be a good example  for illustrating application of all the key points related to “Quality Leadership.”

Technology, Perfection, Prevention

Where ‘The Land Is On Fire’ (Newsweek)…Sami Yousafzai and Ron Morea

Article states that more than a 100 people have been killed by U.S. Predator strikes since 2006 that may include non-combatants.

…In the United States, few would question that brutal calculus—one thing that both presidential candidates and the vast majority of citizens would agree upon is the legitimacy of going after the Qaeda network in Pakistan’s tribal badlands. But Pakistan’s new civilian leadership complains that the U.S. strikes—and the collateral damage they’ve caused—are making the job of pacifying the area harder. At ground level, in mountain hamlets like Damadola, things aren’t always as clear as they may seem through the viewfinder of a deadly, high-flying drone.

Technology such as the Predator is not perfect,  but improvements will continue to be made to help ensure that the right target is hit at the right time by the right weapon.  Preventing the need for the application of military power is a more challenging problem.

Air Force Leadership Changes: Variation Principle

Moseley: We Need A Failsafe To Human Error (Air Force Times)…Vago Muradian, June 9, 2008  Pg. 12

A day after Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked for and received his resignation June 5, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley gave this exclusive interview to staff writer Vago Muradian. 

…  Following the Minot incident, I would say more than 95 percent of my focus has been about getting this right, and we had a commander-directed inquiry. I commissioned Maj. Gen. [Polly] Peyer to conduct a blue ribbon review, which gave us 120 or so specific things to address.

My fundamental tasking to her was, “Is there something bigger here? Is this just an isolated case of a human frailty or are there systemic bigger issues that we have to find and fix?”

Relative to the variation principle, reference to “isolated case” refers to special cause variation. Reference to “systemic” refers to common cause variation.   If the problem is due to common causes, a permanent and fundamental change is needed. A special cause refers to a temporary or fleeting event.  Required action would be ensuring execution on existing policies and procedures.

A second article, Air Force Shake-Up May Lead To Deeper Overhaul
(Christian Science Monitor)…Gordon Lubold, June 9, 2008, infers a systemic issue. “Extraordinary” refers to special cause variation.

…Gates’s nominee for Air Force secretary will reportedly be Michael Donley, now a top Pentagon aide. He will have to examine the institutional culture that led to the incidents in the first place. A Pentagon investigation directed by Gates in March concluded that there were systemic problems the service had failed to address.

The US Air Force must undertake a wholesale assessment of itself in the wake of the extraordinary firings last week of its top two officials, say analysts.

Partnerships — Info Analysis

The Pentagon’s Latest Recruits: Professors (Washington Post)…Stephen Barr, June 9, 2008 Pg. D1

Military power requires brainpower, and the Defense Department is moving to engage a new generation of scientists and engineers to conduct research that may pay off in technological breakthroughs for the nation’s military.

One of the ideas mentioned in the article is development of models for improving data analysis, that would help predict  innovations and avoid being technologically surprised by another nation or adversary.