Panetta Announces Medal For Drone Pilots -- NBC
They fight the war from computer consoles and video screens.
But the troops that launch the drone strikes and direct the cyberattacks that can kill or disable an enemy may never set foot in the combat zone. Now their battlefield contributions may be recognized.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced Wednesday that for the first time the Pentagon is creating a medal that can be awarded to troops who have a direct impact on combat operations, but do it from afar.
"I've seen firsthand how modern tools, like remotely piloted platforms and cyber systems, have changed the way wars are fought," Panetta said. "And they've given our men and women the ability to engage the enemy and change the course of battle, even from afar."
Read more ....
MILITARY AND INTELLIGENCE NEWS BRIEFS
Medal will honor troops engaged in cyber ops, drone strikes -- Washington Post
A New “Afar” Medal: What Does It Mean? -- Mark Thompson, Time
N. Korea nuke test may offer intelligence clues -- Army Times/AP
N.Korea 'Has 100 Mobile Missile Launch Platforms' -- Chosun Ilbo
Pentagon Assessing Nork Threat: Pentagon conducting urgent assessment of North Korean mobile ICBM threat. -- Washington Free Beacon
South Korea Shows Off New Cruise Missile -- Defense News/AFP
China Dominating Orbital Space -- Strategy Page
Syria may have moved chemical weapons -- CNN
The UK Has Lost Nearly 450 Drones In Iraq And Afghanistan Over The Last 5 Years -- Business Insider/The Guardian
Rosoboronexport fully obeys UN sanctions against Iran -- Voice of Russia
Russian Weapons Orders Reach $37.3 Billion, Export Agency Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Russia Signs Record $17.6 Bln in Arms Contracts in 2012 -- RIA Novosti
Russia Touts New Submarine -- RIA Novosti
Britain says intelligence sharing crucial despite abuse risks -- Reuters
Canadian government may have underestimated cost of new resupply ships -- Canada.com
Obama Vows To Defend Japan With U.S. Nuclear Umbrella -- Defense News/AFP
U.S. troops prep for new role in Afghanistan -- Army Times
F-35B returns to flight -- Flight Global
Pentagon stands by use of lithium-ion batteries on F-35 fighters -- Reuters
Welsh buys into F-35 marketing hype -- Eric Palmer Blog
The Saga of the F-35…And the Coming Sequester Flak -- Mark Thompson, Time
Navy: No New Weapons System on Our Future Carrier-Based Drone -- Danger Room
FAA official: No armed drones in U.S. -- Washington Times
No court for drone oversight, says GOP -- The Hill
Is WMD the Next Counterinsurgency? Some Army Planners Think So -- Paul McLeary, Defense News
The Centrality of the Marine Corps in the Emerging Defense Posture -- Information Dissemination
Failing to Fund Defense Will Have Consequences -- Jim Talent, NRO
Killing Isn't Cool: Why the Pentagon hates Obama's drone war. -- Micah Zenko, Foreign Policy
Helping Kids Through Mom’s Deployment -- Battleland/Time
The new defense reality -- Rep. Ander Crenshaw, The Hill
Defensive Drift: The president and his policymakers do not understand war. -- Bing West, NRO