FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – American Liberty News (ALN) – in collaboration with respected national security expert Paul Crespo and the Center for American Defense Studies (CADS) – provides our readers the PDB:
Not the President’s Daily Brief, but almost as good – PAUL’S DAILY BRIEFING.
Get Your Best Daily Defense and Foreign Affairs Intelligence Here in One Brief. Read the summaries or dive deeper via the linked articles.
NATIONAL GUARD
DAMN, THAT’S OLD! BUT NOT SAME AS OUR ORIGINAL MILITIAS – Guard turns 386 years old, but still has growing pains. Tuesday marks the 386th birthday for the National Guard as the service component comes off a series of non-stop domestic missions and back-to-back deployments during the Global War on Terrorism.
POLITICS
Don’t drag the military into politics. American respect for its military is plummeting. It has dropped by 30 points in the past five years in surveys conducted by the Reagan Foundation. In their recently released poll, less than half of respondents have a great deal of trust and confidence in America’s military. Unless both civilian and military leaders take corrective actions to repair the breach, this will impede recruiting, diminish unit cohesion, and damage the bond between the military and the public it serves.
DAMN STRAIGHT! – White House feels heat to free Paul Whelan. President Biden faces growing pressure to secure the release of former Marine Paul Whelan from Russia captivity after WNBA star Brittney Griner was released in a trade. We’ll share where negotiations are and what’s holding up a deal.
POCAHONTAS MAY BE RIGHT – Sen. Warren presses Defense Secretary about ex-Google CEO Schmidt’s potential conflicts when he advised Pentagon on AI. Sen. Elizabeth Warren pressed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s involvement in influential panels that helped shape policy in an industry where he was investing.
PENTAGON WOKE WATCH
NOT FOR LONG – Democrats scuttle debate over ‘woke’ military policies … for now. House Democrats on Tuesday staved off a floor debate over “woke” military policies regarding force diversity, but likely only for a short while.
House Republicans prepare to take over and pursue records on gender identity from Pentagon. Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee will push the Defense Department next year to produce all records that include terms related to gender identity.
VICTIM OF TRANS ‘CULT’ – Retired Navy SEAL and trailblazer for transgender troops ‘detransitioning,’ critical of VA care. A decorated Navy SEAL who became the most high-profile veteran to advocate for allowing transgender Americans to serve openly in the U.S. military is no longer living as a woman and says he regrets contributing to the growing acceptance of trans rights for youth.
HOW DID AIR FORCE SURVIVE WITHOUT THIS? – Nearly two dozen Air Force Honor Guardsmen are sporting beards following policy change. The Air Force Honor Guard, the outward facing group of service members whose mission is to represent the ideal airmen to the American public, has started allowing those with shaving waivers to sport beards.
Military interests parachute into Supreme Court cases on LGBTQ rights, elections. How much influence do amicus briefs tied to military interests have on the Supreme Court? It depends, experts say, but one played a major role in a 2003 case dealing with affirmative action.
DEFENSE BUDGET
Congress supersizes munitions production with emergency authorities. Congress is set to allocate more than $8 billion to bolster high-priority munitions production while granting the Pentagon wartime procurement powers to help Ukraine fight Russia and refill U.S. stockpiles.
NATIONAL SECURITY
HELL YES – Lawmakers introduce bill to ban TikTok, citing national security. Bipartisan bill follows FBI warnings about Beijing’s sway over the world’s largest social-media platform.
Lawmakers ask Pentagon chief for details on waivers allowing retired generals to consult for foreign governments. Three House members on Tuesday sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to ask for additional details about how former generals receive waivers to consult on behalf of foreign governments.
HOMELAND SECURITY
Marine vet faces US charges for training Chinese military pilots. A 2017 indictment alleges that Marine veteran Daniel Edmund Duggan gave Chinese nationals training in military aviation.
US charges seven with military technology plot on Russian orders. The US has charged five Russians and two Americans with conspiracy related to procurement and money laundering on behalf of the government in Moscow.
Former Green Beret soldier, Oath Keeper member Jeremy Brown found guilty on six of 10 counts. Jeremy Brown, the self-described Oath Keepers member and lauded 20-year U.S. Army Special Forces soldier, was found guilty Monday in six of ten counts related to possessing illegally registered guns, explosives and classified Defense Department documents.
CHINA THREAT
VALID COUNTERPOINT? – Stop building a military to attack China. Scenes of thousands of Chinese citizens protesting the government’s draconian COVID restrictions must be a dagger in the heart of the D.C. establishment. For years now, members of Congress, government officials, military leaders, and think-tank talking heads have been issuing dire warnings about the imminent and existential threat posed by China. These warnings are frequently followed in the same breath with appeals for more military spending to keep pace with the “pacing challenge” of the 21st century.
US, allies mull paths for engaging China to ward off conflict over space exploration. “I’m a Star Trek fan, so I’m optimistic,” said former NASA official Mike Gold about the Artemis Accords facilitating space cooperation for terrestrial rivals.
U.S, Japan wrap-up weeklong training to control far-flung armies. U.S. and Japanese troops concluded their largest-ever command post exercise this week, honing skills to fight and win without large bases that might be targeted by missiles.
RUSSIA THREAT – UKRAINE WAR
US poised to approve Patriot missile battery for Ukraine. U.S. officials say the Biden administration is poised to approve sending a Patriot missile battery to Ukraine.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 294. At least three explosions have been heard in the centre of Ukrainian capital Kyiv, as officials said they have shot down a number of Iranian-made Shahed drones. Russia has dismissed a reported three-step peace proposal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying Kyiv needed to accept new “realities.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said progress would not be possible without considering these realities.
Ukraine forces shoot down drones as Kyiv hit by multiple explosions. Officials say 13 Iranian-made drones shot down as air raid sirens sound in capital and surrounding area
Russia could run out of reliable rockets, artillery shells early next year, Pentagon says. Dwindling stockpiles is likely forcing Russian troops to use older, “degraded” ammo, a senior U.S. military officer said.
Kremlin says no peace for Ukraine by Christmas (or New Year’s). Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said a withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine was “out of the question” and urged Kyiv to accept illegal annexations as “new realities.”
NORTH KOREA THREAT
US forces launch space unit in South Korea amid North’s growing threat. U.S. Forces Korea launched a new space forces unit on Wednesday as the allies ramp up efforts to better counter North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats.
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY – NATO, MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA
Slovakia readies transfer of upgraded MiG-29 warplanes to Ukraine. In a potentially major reinforcement of Ukraine’s air combat capability, Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister announced his country is preparing to transfer Soviet-made Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jets to the Ukrainian Air Force in coordination with the United States.
Uprising by Somali clans puts al-Qaeda-linked militants on the defensive. After Somalia’s government put its backing behind the clan militias, they began to retake territory from al-Shabab.
Upgraded Greek air base serves growing interest for US drones. Several U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones have found a new base in the newly upgraded Larissa air base in Greece, as American military officials keep an eye on NATO’s southern and eastern borders.
CRITICAL PART – ‘A simple [ITAR] circuit breaker’ needed for Aussie nuke subs: Rep. Courtney. If Australia needs US tech for its AUKUS upgrade, arms transfer legislation could get in the way, unless Congress acts, says key US lawmaker.
US MILITARY
OOORAH! – Next America-class amphibious assault ship to be named ‘Fallujah.’ The Navy’s America-class amphibious assault ship LHA-9 will receive the name “Fallujah” to remember the first and second Battles of Fallujah in the Sunni Muslim province of al-Anbar during the Iraq War.
The Air Force is trying out a new kind of tanker: its C-17 cargo plane. In October, the 62nd Airlift Wing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, put its own resources to the test to refuel an F-15E Strike Eagle with a C-17 during Exercise Rainier War.
How many ships? Lawmakers set to establish independent commission to study Navy’s structure. The “right” size of the future Navy fleet has become a hot political football. Can an independent commission break the impasse?
The new B-21 bomber is designed for weapons that aren’t invented yet. On December 2, the US Air Force unveiled the B-21 Raider, its first new bomber in over 30 years.
Army pushes ahead with landmine that attacks from above, with European theater in mind. Textron Systems received two Army contracts in 2022 for anti-tank munition development and production. Eventually, the service wants to network such top-attack weapons with a bottom-attack landmine.
Army’s Mobile Protected Firepower vehicles will give light infantry units added punch. Lots of combat power in a small package.
HE EARNED IT – SEMPER FI, DEVIL DOG! – Marine Corps’ top dog promoted to private 1st class. Unlike Chesty XV, Chesty XVI hasn’t attacked any scabbards or tried to jump on guests at parades.
END of PDB
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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End this Woke BS now
Days after Biden took office, Sec Def Austin and Gen Milley conducted a 60 day stand down to “root out extremism.” Part of it was a mission change for the Department of Defense Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It was a policy office, but it is now a clearinghouse for force structure and mission planning.
Yep. Gotta make certain that units only deploy with the approved mix of races and genders. Oh, and they are now empowered to rewrite mission orders they feel reflect institutional racism, or trans-phobia, or etc, etc. 1SG, USA, Ret
Their real mission was/is to remove all real Americans from the military and to add the fake ones where they can do their puppet master thing..
That’s a bunch of crap. Many years ago during time of war I served in the Navy. We were told the military was neutral and we should remember that. No letters to our congressmen or anything like that. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, but Gen. Millie whose nothing more or less than Biden’s boot licker has turned our Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force in nothing but a bunch of political puppets for dictator Biden and his Fascist partners in crime who’re doing their level best to destroy our once free nation. The one that other countries looked to for help in time of stress.
The National Guard was formed in 1636? How did this happen?
Because a bunch of idiotic damn fools voted or people like Clinton, Obama and Biden.
Best move would be to replace the current Pentagon trash with real Americans.