Meanwhile, south of Toledo...

As President Obama touts the tough actions his administration is taking against China to protect the U.S. automobile industry in a suburb south of Toledo, workers at a tank-manufacturing plant a little further south of Toledo are worried about the actions his administration is taking against them.

The Pentagon wants to halt production of the Abrams tank, which employs hundreds in Lima, Ohio, the Associated Press reports. Although members of Congress have tried to restore funding for the tank, the White House has threatened to veto it. From the AP report:

Weapons manufacturer bribes Congress to buy tanks that Pentagon doesn't want?

The Pentagon wants to save $3 billion by freezing refurbishing work on its M1Abrams tanks, but the tank’s manufacturers are donating to Congressional campaigns to bribe members of Congress to lobby for their continued funding.

While the M1 tank has survived the Cold War, two conflicts in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan, its value has declined in US efforts abroad. Aside from being vulnerable to improvised bombs, the tanks don’t serve much of a purpose while warfare is limited.

Their primary purpose is to destroy other tanks, according to Paul D. Eaton, a retired army general. Their usefulness is therefore limited in modern counterinsurgency warfare. The US Army already has more than 2,300 M1’s deployed and about 3,000 more being stored at a military base in California.

Real cost of gas at Afghan bases: $400/gal. - World Watch - CBS News

Real cost of gas at Afghan bases: $400/gal. - World Watch - CBS News: "Keeping American vehicles rolling in Afghanistan while avoiding the perils of hauling in fuel via ground transportation is costing the military big time.
Frosty relations between the U.S. and Pakistan - which led to Pakistan closing its border to Afghanistan-bound truck traffic- haven't helped, either."

'via Blog this'

Defense.gov News Article: DOD Set for ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repeal

Defense.gov News Article: DOD Set for ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repeal: "The repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law is slated to take effect tomorrow, a senior Defense Department official told reporters today.
The repeal of the law will mean gay and lesbian service members may be open about their sexual orientation. The department is ready for repeal, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will discuss the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law tomorrow at a Pentagon news conference."

'via Blog this'

Tom Coburn’s cuts: Military’s Tricare Prime health care program targeted - The Washington Post

Tom Coburn’s cuts: Military’s Tricare Prime health care program targeted - The Washington Post: "Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) wants to cut taxpayer funding for non-military elements of the Defense Department, starting with making retired, uninjured service members pay more for what he described as “extremely low-cost health care for life” for themselves, their spouses and dependents under the Tricare Prime system."

Pentagon Will Help Families Travel to Dover - NYTimes.com

Pentagon Will Help Families Travel to Dover - NYTimes.com

Mr. Gates said that these were among the recommendations of a task force he had appointed in February, and that many of its recommendations would be put in place starting next month. Details of the other recommendations were not immediately available.

He was asked at the news conference if he could describe his feelings during a recent visit to Dover as he mulled the policy, which has been in place since 1991.

“Actually, no,” he replied. “I will tell you that it was very diffic

Gates gets the Medal of Freedom - POLITICO.com Print View

Gates gets the Medal of Freedom - POLITICO.com Print View: "President Barack Obama on Thursday surprised departing Defense Secretary Robert Gates with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, praising Gates’s “profound sense of duty.”

In a farewell ceremony that was at turns somber, emotional and wry on a grassy parade ground below the brooding facade of the Pentagon, Obama hailed the low-key Gates and his service to eight presidents."

Leon E. Panetta Bio | POLITICO.com

Leon E. Panetta Bio | POLITICO.com: "From 1964 to 1966, he served as First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army and received the Army Commendation Medal. He worked as a U.S. Senate legislative assistant and then became Director of the U.S. Office for Civil Rights for the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, and later as Executive Assistant to the Mayor of New York City."

Pentagon cancer research budget comes under scrutiny

Pentagon cancer research budget comes under scrutiny

As the Pentagon seeks to trim spending, there are some programs Congress believes the military can't do without. Among them: cancer research.

For almost 20 years, the Defense Department has been the recipient of more than $3.6 billion for cancer research. The programs have never been requested in any presidential budget, and are outside the Pentagon's traditional mission of battlefield medicine and research.

Nonetheless, lawmakers, prodded by grass-roots lobbyists, have annually added in the money as part of the appropriations process.

With Congress now debating a spending bill for the remainder of this fiscal year - and both parties calling for budgetary restraint - lawmakers have shown no inclination to curtail this spending. The Senate Appropriations Committee recently added $250 million to the fiscal 2011 Continuing Resolution for cancer research.

NationalJournal.com - Tanker Fight Highlights Washington's Expensive Influence Game - Friday, February 25, 2011

NationalJournal.com - Tanker Fight Highlights Washington's Expensive Influence Game - Friday, February 25, 2011: "The Air Force has been trying to award the contract since 2001, but a surreal mix of outright criminality, corruption, and government incompetence derailed the two prior attempts to finalize a deal to replace the military’s aging fleet of tankers, which are used to refuel jets, bombers, and other planes in mid-flight."

US Tanks

U.S. Department of Defense Announces Latest Contract Awards : Veterans Today

U.S. Department of Defense Announces Latest Contract Awards : Veterans Today: "Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Inc., Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $48,934,856"

Gates announces major cuts in defense budget - News - Stripes

Gates announces major cuts in defense budget - News - Stripes: "Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday announced sweeping cuts and a significant shift in priorities for next year’s defense budget, with more money for servicemembers and federal employees but less for some major defense contractors.

Calling his plan a “reform budget,” Gates said he would eliminate the $11 billion VH-71 Presidential Helicopter program, end production of the F-22 Raptor at 187 aircraft, negotiate less expansive ways to build three DDG-1000 destroyers and drop the $87 billion vehicle portion of the Army’s Future Combat Systems program."

Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle to Be Canceled, Officials Say - NYTimes.com

Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle to Be Canceled, Officials Say - NYTimes.com: "It was supposed to be a tank that swims, a new way for the Marines to storm hostile beaches.

But as military budgets come under pressure, the 38-ton landing craft that turns into an assault vehicle seems destined to be the next bit of high-tech wizardry to bite the dust.

Pentagon and industry officials say the defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, is poised to cancel the long-delayed $14.4 billion program on Thursday, when he is expected to announce a new round of belt-tightening at the Pentagon. The hybrid vehicle, being built by General Dynamics, is the most expensive weapons system to be cut since Mr. Gates canceled or trimmed three dozen programs in April 2009."

Defense firms lure retired generals - The Boston Globe

Defense firms lure retired generals - The Boston Globe
An hour after the official ceremony marking the end of his 35-year career in the Air Force, General Gregory “Speedy’’ Martin returned to his quarters to swap his dress uniform for golf attire. He was ready for his first tee time as a retired four-star general.

But almost as soon as he closed the door that day in 2005 his phone rang. It was an executive at Northrop Grumman, asking if he was interested in working for the manufacturer of the B-2 stealth bomber as a paid consultant. A few weeks later, Martin received another call. This time it was the Pentagon, asking him to join a top-secret Air Force panel studying the future of stealth aircraft technology.

Martin was understandably in demand, having been the general in charge of all Air Force weapons programs, including the B-2, for the previous four years.

He said yes to both offers.

Senate Passes Arms Control Treaty With Russia, 71-26 - NYTimes.com

Senate Passes Arms Control Treaty With Russia, 71-26 - NYTimes.com: "The Senate gave final approval on Wednesday to a new arms control treaty with Russia, scaling back leftover cold war nuclear arsenals and capping a surprisingly successful lame-duck session for President Obama just weeks after his party’s electoral debacle.

The 71-to-26 vote sends the treaty, known as New Start, to the president for his signature, and cements what is probably the most tangible foreign policy achievement of Mr. Obama’s two years in office. Thirteen Republicans joined a unanimous Democratic caucus to vote in favor, exceeding the two-thirds majority required by the Constitution."

Obama Pushes G.O.P. on Start Treaty - NYTimes.com

So ignore the picture of the President and look at the others around him: Sec. James Baker, Sec. Henry Kissinger, Sec. Brent Scowcroft, Senator Lugar, Senator Nunn.



President Obama made remarks during a meeting to discuss the new START treaty in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on Thursday.

Obama Pushes G.O.P. on Start Treaty - NYTimes.com: "President Obama escalated the pressure on the Senate on Thursday to approve a new arms control treaty with Russia before the end of the year, saying, “This is not a matter that can be delayed.” But a new survey of Republican senators cast doubt on his chances of success.

The White House is trying to press ahead with a vote on the treaty, known as New Start, even though Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the lead Republican negotiator on the issue, said earlier this week that he opposed voting on the treaty in the lame-duck session of Congress because there was not enough time to work out a deal."

John McCain Attacks Rand Paul's 'Isolationism' In Willingness To Cut Defense Spending

DoD Buzz | McCain Warns of GOP Isolationists

"I think there are going to be some tensions within our party," McCain said during a conference put on by Foreign Policy Initiative, a DC-based think tank. "I worry a lot about the rise of protectionism and isolationism in the Republican Party."

A prime example, McCain continued, was Rand Paul, Kentucky's next U.S. Senator.

"I admire his victory, but ... already he has talked about withdrawals [and] cuts in defense," McCain said.

Indeed, Paul appears to have taken after the more libertarian side of foreign policy issues, much like his father, Texas Rep. Rand Paul (R)

SolarEagle To Soar For Five Years | EarthTechling

SolarEagle To Soar For Five Years | EarthTechling: "With an $89 million contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA),�Boeing’s Phantom Works group is promising to have an unmanned, solar-powered aircraft soaring more than 11 miles above Earth by 2014, the company announced in a�press release. The goal for the initial demonstration flight is 30 days aloft, but the long-term plan for the craft, part of a program called Venture II, is five years in the skies. Yes, five years."

Off-limits list: GTSI Corp. suspended from federal contracts

Federal officials on Friday suspended one of the nation's largest government contractors from receiving new work, alleging that the Northern Virginia company inappropriately went through other firms to gain access to contracts set aside for small companies.

The U.S. Small Business Administration's action imperils hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for GTSI Corp., a top-50 contractor that has relied on the Pentagon and the rest of the federal government for more than 90 percent of its sales in recent years.

At issue is work GTSI did as a subcontractor for small businesses serving as the prime contractors on government contracts.

"There is evidence that GTSI's prime contractors had little to no involvement in the performance of contracts, in direct contravention of all applicable laws and regulations regarding the award of small business contracts," an SBA official wrote in a letter to GTSI's chief executive, Scott W. Friedlander. "The evidence shows that GTSI was an active participant in a scheme that resulted in contracts set-aside for small businesses being awarded to ineligible contractors."