Weekly Volcano Blogs: Walkie Talkie Blog

Posts made in: 'Defense Department' (194) Currently Viewing: 131 - 140 of 194

April 7, 2014 at 7:33am

Monday Morning Joe: Military bases are safer, Navy could go broke, iHelicopters, wifi fingernails ...

Green Bean Java at 72nd and South Hosmer in Tacoma is a bit hard to maneuver through.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 4.7.14 >>>

Snowden was awarded for sparking a transformative debate about surveillance programs.

Two F-16s were scrambled after the aircraft strayed into restricted airspace over D.C.

On average, military bases are safer than similarly sized American cities. The violence at Fort Hood may best be explained as a workplace shooting, not a uniquely military tragedy.

The military could speed up deployment of a land-based missile defense shield in Europe to hem in a resurgent Russia.

The vice commander of the Air Force's 12th Flying Training Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph has been relieved after investigators learned he exchanged emails with the wife of a subordinate officer.

Widespread opposition has yet to form around any single Pentagon proposal to cut a specific weapon system, indicating most could be implemented despite lawmakers' protestations on behalf of parochial interests.

The Navy 2020: Bigger, better, possibly broke.

U.S. Army, Marines struggle with infantry vehicle replacements.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel delivered a two-pronged warning to Asia Pacific nations Sunday, announcing that the U.S. will send two additional ballistic missile destroyers to Japan to counter the North Korean threat, and saying China must better respect its neighbors.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will tour a Chinese aircraft carrier today as the first foreign visitor aboard the ship,

Second Lt. Sage Santangelo wasn't able to retake the Infantry Officer Course, but other female volunteers might get that chance, thanks to a case she made to the commandant of the Marine Corps this year.

U.S. Marines recently landed K-MAX and MH-6 Little Bird helicopters autonomously using an i-Pad like mini-tablet.

Sixty years and changing: The U.S. Air Force Academy.

True science of parallel universes.

The best dark matter signal that scientists have ever recorded.

The largest known galaxy cluster in the distant universe.

Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney died. He was 93.

Why?: Japan's Takara Tomy Arts has created a collection of stick-on fake fingernails featuring embedded LEDs and tiny antennas that light up whenever the wireless NFC functionality of a nearby smartphone is being used.

Read an exclusive excerpt from Rob Lowe's new memoir.

Microsoft has six original TV series in production.

Get an extended look at the new Godzilla movie.

Finally: which Winona Ryder character are you

Then there's this...

April 5, 2014 at 8:09am

Saturday Morning Joe: Learning from Fort Hood, tracking N. Korea, bacon-flavored Ritz crackers ...

Evergreen Cafe in downtown Tacoma is more of a walkable spot to grab espresso.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 4.5. 14 >>>

The Army released the names of the three soldiers killed by Army Spc. Ivan Lopez during a shooting spree Wednesday at Fort Hood, Texas, before Lopez, 34, turned the gun on himself.

The latest shooting at Fort Hood highlights the need to improve security on military posts across the country.

Despite evidence that suggests Spc. Ivan Lopez had an argument before going on a shooting rampage, investigators said they may never determine what compelled the Fort Hood soldier to kill three soldiers and wound 16 others before taking his own life.

Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh: Tracking "inside threats" is challenging.

How Obama lost Afghanistan.

Northeast Asia has become a potential powder keg. What should China do to prepare itself for possible conflict?

North Korea on Friday accused the United States of being "hell-bent on regime change" and warned that any maneuvers with that intention will be viewed as a "red line" that will result in countermeasures.

North Korea managed to fly (and crash) a couple rudimentary drones over Seoul. Do its drones pose a threat?

Lawmakers question utility of Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review.

Lawmakers are pushing back against a Navy review to potentially ban the sale of tobacco on Navy and Marine Corps facilities.

The Army along with its sister services passed along its "Unfunded Priorities List" for fiscal 2015 this week.

The Associated Press reports that a Chinese ship involved in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has detected a "pulse" today in the southern part of the Indian Ocean.

The A-10 Warthog looks especially awesome and futuristic in this photo.

Don't forget Mike Judge's new HBO comedy Silicon Valley premieres Sunday.

Free Comic Book Day hype. We're about a month away from the most important holiday of the year (May 3), which happens to fall the day before Star Wars Day.

Toadies' have a new brew from the folks at the Martin House Brewing Company, Rubberneck Red beer.

Finally: Bacon-flavored Ritz crackers.

What are you going to do today?

April 4, 2014 at 7:17am

Friday Morning Joe: Fort Hood heroism, military wish list, Army in Europe, drone war, Muppet man ...

Paesan Kitchen and Bar serves espresso via the Slayer, a powerful, slick industrial-quality machine.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 4.4.14 >>>

Army mourning loss of soldiers at Fort Hood.

One of the three soldiers killed in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood died while trying to hold a door shut that would have led the gunman to a room packed with military personnel.

The U.S. military services have sent Congress wish lists that include $36 billion in priority items that were not included in the Pentagon's 2015 budget proposal. But actual passage of the lists seems unlikely.

Without the benefit of a full defense review covering force levels to support national needs, Hagel has left civilian support for the Pentagon largely untouched.

Budget cuts threaten military readiness, officials said.

Hagel said sending another permanent Army brigade to Europe could be a possibility.

The Senate Intelligence Committee voted to declassify parts of the panel's controversial 6,200-page report that is harshly critical of the CIA's Bush-era interrogation program.

Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh and Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James on defended plans to scrap the A-10 fleet and retire roughly 40 C-130s.

Army's part in the so-called Pacific Pivot remains in the concept phase.

A new kind of drone war: UCAV vs. UCLASS

Latest Army Virtual Battle Space release adds realism to scenarios, avatars.

Joint Base Lewis-McChord Arrowhead soldiers play a part in Operation Alaska Shield.

Nine ingenious urban hacks to make the city smarter.

The best part of Letterman's retirement announcement is that it was revealed by R.E.M.'s Mike Mills.

Bill Murray explains his bucket list on Letterman.

Surreal reversed footage of a man walking backward in Tokyo.

Watch the first seven minutes of FX's Fargo.

The Big Bang Theory will have a special Star Wars Day episode ...

What the Internet looks like as a subway map.

Finally!

April 3, 2014 at 6:49am

Thursday Morning Joe: Fort Hood shooting, Russians ready, invisible tanks, Superman vs. "Gravity" ...

Emerald Bay Espresso guards the Madrona Pointe Apartments off Center Street. No, really.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 4.3.14 >>>

A U.S. soldier with mental health issues shot dead three people and injured at least 16 on Wednesday before shooting himself at an army base in Fort Hood, Texas.

Fort Hood's commander said soldier was treated for behavior and mental health "issues."

Wednesday's mass shooting by an Army specialist in Fort Hood, Tex., put the Pentagon on a dreaded, if increasingly familiar, footing as officials grappled to understand how yet another insider threat went undeterred.

Shootings at U.S. military bases over the years.

NATO general: Russians capable of quick strike.

The Senate Intelligence Committee will take a major step forward today toward publicly releasing portions of its massive 6,300-page report on Bush-era interrogation tactics.

Arms control and materials-security initiatives can continue despite political tensions with Russia, Obama administration officials say.

The unfolding crisis in Ukraine has prompted a new and forceful wave of commentary lamenting U.S. passivity in the world

Boeing lobbies Congress to add EA-18 funding.

Soldiers will return to the field to test different camouflage patterns as the Army looks to meet requirements laid out by Congress to find a camouflage pattern that could be used across the military.

Researchers are one step closer to creating shields that could render parked tanks and aircraft virtually invisible.

The Raytheon Co. is challenging the Navy's decision to halt manufacturing of the Tomahawk cruise missile in 2016.

Betrayed military spouses often keep quiet for fear of losing benefits.

Why freezing yourself is a terrible way to achieve immortality.

The daily schedules of the world's greatest geniuses.

What if Superman entered the film Gravity?

In case you haven't seen the Spider-Baby ad ...

Courtney Love says she has reunited with the original members of Hole.

Watch the new trailer for Lucy with Scarlett Johansson.

What will you do at work today?

April 2, 2014 at 7:11am

Wednesday Morning Joe: Russian forces are ready, AMPV anger, MRAP tug-o-war, military contracts, 6-year-old Navy SEAL, Flea ...

A brief moment of sunshine at the Coffee Cove on Tacoma's Center Street.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 4.2.14 >>>

Russia has massed all the forces it needs on Ukraine's border if it were to decide to carry out an "incursion" into the country and it could achieve its objective in three to five days.

NATO foreign ministers moved to beef up the defenses of front-line alliance members feeling menaced by a more assertive Russia, with Secretary of State John Kerry proclaiming the U.S. commitment to their security is "unwavering."

Alliances realign as latest superpower pulls out of Afghanistan.

A suicide bomber wearing a military uniform killed six police officers today inside the heavily fortified Interior Ministry compound in the heart of Kabul.

NATO's foreign ministers ordered an end to civilian and military cooperation with Russia.

A group of closely held companies received the Defense Department's biggest contract last month, a potentially $10 billion award for special operations equipment and services.

General Dynamics Land Systems cannot and will not compete for the Army's largest surviving weapons program, the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, unless the service changes how it is handling the program.

A sneak peek at Marines' New Amphibious Combat Vehicle.

Remotely piloted aircraft have spawned a new breed of professional aviator that the Air Force says is here to stay.

Three Army women honored for extraordinary courage, character.

7th Civil Support Command begins Operation Saber Guardian 14.

Soldiers may soon be shelving their collection of desert boots and lacing up the Army's new, modernized jungle boots.

The U.S. military has more Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles in Afghanistan that it can bring home - and Afghanistan, India and Pakistan are locked in a three-way competition for them.

Child gets wish to be a Navy SEAL for a day.

Former senior World Bank lawyer Karen Hudes claims elongated-skull non-human creatures are hiding amongst us.

Spotify starts rolling out a new darker redesign.

Jack White has released a new song.

Is anyone watching Courtney Love's web series?

Finally: Flea's memoir.

Finally: A robot band covers the B-52's.

Singers on a plane...

April 1, 2014 at 7:38am

Tuesday Morning Joe: Army involuntary separation, military cyborg office, best military bromance, robot space surgeons ...

The Tully's in Tacoma's Stadium District has daily trivia questions.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 4.1.14 >>>

The Navy lifted a lockdown at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor after ordering personnel to shelter in place for nearly two hours.

CIA officer confirmed no protests before misleading Benghazi account given.

Sequestration would degrade military readiness, senior military officials recently told a Senate panel.

The involuntary separation of soldiers from the force may be necessary as the Army draws down in strength over the next few years.

Japan today lifted a self-imposed ban on weapons exports, introducing new rules covering the arms trade in a move supporters say will boost Tokyo's global role, but which unnerved China.

The United States should work directly with Taiwan to actively promote peace and stability in Asia.

Putin's imaginary Nazis.

The Pentagon improved its buying power on 51 of its 80 programs in 2013, resulting in $23 billion of procurement savings.

A Senate investigation concludes waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods provided no key evidence in the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

After months of criticism about how the military accounts for the remains of fallen U.S. service members from foreign battlefields, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Monday he will create a single Pentagon-level office to oversee the worldwide mission.

The Air Force is planning to join with European allies to create an ISR or tanker consortium.

Troops might be able to replace heavy night vision goggles strapped to their helmets with contact lenses.

The long-awaited Army Regulation 670-1, with new rules on tattoos, hairstyles, grooming and uniform wear, went into effect Monday.

Defense Secretary Hagel gave his support to moves by the services to consider banning tobacco sales on bases and ships.

Thousands of soldiers and others have signed a White House petition calling for the president to order the Army to reconsider just-released appearance and grooming regulations they contend are 'racially biased' against black women.

Chinese warlords Bai Chongxi and Li Zongren had the best bromance in military history.

Inside the military's new office for cyborgs.

Army testing combat boots, camouflage patterns.

Army Medicine is near completion in the implementation of its secure healthcare-messaging system, the Army Medicine Secure Messaging Service, to all 52 of its military treatment facilities worldwide.

Testing is about to begin on futuristic robot space surgeons.

Michael Stipe is inducting Nirvana into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Finally: George Lucas explains the birth of lightsabers.

The Flaming Lips has created a companion to Dark Side of the Moon.

Watch a deleted scene from last weekend's Saturday Night Live that really should've aired.

The Pink Panther is being rebooted yet again.

Game of Thrones 9-minute recap...

March 29, 2014 at 7:25am

Friday Morning Joe: Russia goes primal, CommiExchanges, Guard could lose Apaches, Pentagon digs drones, Patatap fun...

Sipping Out is the embedded espresso stand at Flipping Out Burger in Tacoma.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 3.29.14 >>>

Obama asked the Russia leader to withdraw troops during a phone call initiated by Putin.

A primal instinct was behind Russia's annexation of Crimea, and its one shared by other powers.

Pentagon to adapt drones for tougher aerial battles.

The U.S. Army's top leaders defended their proposal to strip the Army National Guard of its AH-64 Apaches attack helicopters as part of a cost-saving move.

Jeremiah Denton Jr., who as an American prisoner of war in Vietnam made the world aware of the abuse POWs were suffering, died Friday at 89 in a Virginia Beach hospice.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has paid tribute to retiring Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, who is stepping down as head of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency.

Air Force looks to cost-effective technologies to sustain future operations.

Defense officials have ordered a review of options that include consolidating commissaries and exchanges, as well as having commissaries adopt an "Exchange-like business model."

A New York congressman is calling for a presidential review of the Medal of Honor cases of two Marines who in 2008 gave their lives to halt a suicide bomber with a truck full of explosives in Ramadi, Iraq.

A veteran of the war in Afghanistan died of a heroin and cocaine overdose last year while receiving treatment at a Miami Veterans Affairs residential treatment facility, according to a VA inspector general report released.

Government stalwart mobility provider BlackBerry got some additional leverage in the form of full operational capacity for its BlackBerry 10 to run on Defense Department networks.

Abby Martin's exclusive interview with former NASA Astronaut and ISS Commander, Leroy Chiao, about U.S.-Russian cooperation in space, life on other words and the reality of the film Gravity.

Watch a lost interview with philosopher Michel Foucault on madness and history.

Patatap lets you make tunes and pictures with your computer keyboard (instead of boring old words).

New York magazine's "100 Years of New York Music" issue celebrates everyone from Debbie Harry to Billie Holiday and includes a portfolio of new photos.

Chrissie Hynde's Dark Sunglasses, her new record, arrives June 10.

Silicon Valley, HBO's delightful new Mike Judge comedy, which stars T.J. MIller, Kumail Nanjiani and other funny dudes, premiere's April 6.

This may not make a lick of sense but it sure is pretty...

March 28, 2014 at 7:17am

Friday Morning Joe: Great Power Politics, Silver Stars, M109 upgrade, European Command bump, KISS stage banter...

Kimball Espresso Cafe in Gig Harbor has awesome pastries.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 3.28.2014 >>>

The Air Force has relieved nine officers, allowed a commander to retire and will discipline 91 others as a result of a cheating scandal among intercontinental ballistic missile launch officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont.

The Army and NATO are watching "very carefully" the troop deployments and the exercises they're doing in Russia, said Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno.

Eight soldiers from 3rd Special Forces Group were honored with the Silver Star, the nation's third highest award for valor, for their actions in Afghanistan.

The recent crisis between Russia and the West over Crimea, and the ongoing tensions between China and Japan, are ushering a return of Great Power Politics where U.S. power and influence is challenged.

The U.S. military's gradual, 20-year drawdown in Europe looks to be abruptly ending as the Russian invasion of Crimea casts a spotlight on U.S. European Command and fuels calls for reshaping the military mission there after decades of post-Cold War calm.

The U.S. Army is moving forward with plans to develop upgraded versions of the M109 self-propelled howitzer in one of the service's few bright acquisition spots.

Secretary of the Army John McHugh swore in Brad R. Carson as the 31st Under Secretary of the Army, and Chief Management Officer of the Army.

Seven Soldiers from the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit will join members of the U.S. National Shooting Team to compete in the International Shooting Sports Federation, or ISSF, World Cup starting today.

Department of Defense announced plans of integrating technologically sophisticated, yet tactical, hearing protection devices for soldiers engaged in overseas combat operations and local training exercises.

Former US Defense Secretary James Schlesinger has died, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he served as a counselor and trustee. He was 85.

The true guide to gear you need to commute by bicycle.

A lot of plans are underway for Batman's 75th anniversary.

Time's latest cover story is on the last days of Mad Men.

Of course Bill Murray wore PBR pants at the Caddyshack Golf Tournament.

Finally: Paul Stanley's awesome stage banter compilation and Metalocalypse clips.

Finally II: Dunkin Donuts has introduced the Peeps donut.

Is he playing in the Death Star or what?

March 27, 2014 at 7:23am

Thursday Morning Joe: Sequestration hurts benefits, cheap stealth in ocean, air war costly, cupcake ATM, Dreamworks dad's superhero son ...

A women in a leopard print bikini served us coffee at Lady Bug Espresso in Tacoma.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 3.27.14 >>>

A new classified intelligence assessment concludes it is more likely than previously thought that Russian forces will enter eastern Ukraine.

President Obama and European leaders pledged to bolster the NATO alliance and vowed that Russia would not be allowed to run roughshod over its neighbors. But the military reality on the ground in Europe tells a different.

Russian President Vladimir Putin likely would not have been deterred from invading the Crimean peninsula even if European countries had spent more on defense.

The general in charge of the F-35 told a U.S. House panel he sees more delays ahead - four to six months - for the often-troubled fighter jet program.

Lt. Gen. Howard K. Bromberg, the Army G-1, told members of the House Armed Services Committee that with sequestration will come a slowdown in soldier compensation and benefits in order to maintain readiness and modernization.

Air Force aircraft maintenance mechanics recently teamed up with depot employees to standardize processes for work performed on a satellite communications system and tactical radios.

First female National Guard soldiers graduate Field Artillery School.

U.S. military seeking cheap stealth on ocean floor.

The Navy is testing several new next-generation cruise missiles as potential replacements for the battle-tested Tomahawk.

Air war has, in effect, become as costly as naval war. What are the implications for strategy?

Future drugs will allow prisoners to serve an 1,000-year sentence in 8 hours.

Dad who works for Dreamworks turns son into amazing superhero.

Good News: Rolling Stone has a new cover story on Kiss.

Whoa: Kevin Smith's Hollywood Babble-On may be coming to AMC.

Trippy: A new trailer for the Wachowskis' Jupiter Ascending.

Finally: new cupcake ATM.

Of Course: A man named Christopher Reeves was arrested this week ... while wearing a Superman T-shirt.

Welcome home!

March 26, 2014 at 7:21am

Wednesday Morning Joe: BRAC plea, Benghazi bust, infantry robots, Maj. Gant rise & fall, Facebook vs. virtual reality

While Espress-O-Yourself in Fircrest has a tight-fit drive-thru system, it's coffee is tasty.

GRAB A CUP AND READ THE MORNING REPORT FOR 3.26.14 >>>

Army leaders push for another BRAC round.

Congress' multiple investigations of the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, have cost the Pentagon millions of dollars and thousands of hours of personnel time.

The bilateral security agreement between the United States and Afghanistan has still not been signed, sealed and delivered, creating budget uncertainty and potentially significant logistical problem.

The head of U.S. Pacific Command believes America does not possess the capacity to conduct amphibious assaults in the wake of a crisis, as it did during World War II.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has pushed back a vote on its controversial report on Bush-era interrogation techniques until next week.

U.S. Army Human Resources Command established a provisional Cyber Branch, to provide career management, development and readiness to the Army's cyber forces.

Are aircraft carriers the new West Berlin?

The U-2 spy plane is a better suited than the Global Hawk for early warning of a North Korean attack.

The admiral in charge of all U.S. military forces in the Pacific says some of his needs for attack submarines are going unmet.

The secretary of the Army said he will have the final say on whether a disgraced Brig. Gen. Jeffrey A. Sinclair at the center of a sexual misconduct case retires at a lower rank with sharply reduced retirement pay.

As South America continues increasing its defense expenditures, air fleet modernization is driving numerous requirements and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future.

Three things have to happen before infantry robots hit the battlefield.

The Defense Health Agency is moving ahead with plans to cover the costs of some laboratory tests that Tricare, by law, cannot.

Training and operations can put such tremendous physical and psychological stresses on warfighters that their immune systems may be compromised.

This is not only a story about disgraced U.S. Army Special Forces major James Gant. This is also a story about a story about Jim Gant.

Neat shot of two Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft supercarriers-the USS George H.W. Bush and USS Harry S. Truman-cruising together in the Arabian Sea.

In your face Facebook.

Video of the Chicago subway jumping its tracks.

Good News: You can spend the night in a television antenna above Prague.

Neil Patrick Harris and Billy Eichner ambush New Yorkers.

The History Channel has renewed Vikings.

Welcome...

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News and entertainment from Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s most awesome weekly newspapers - The Ranger, Northwest Airlifter and Weekly Volcano.

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