Defense One

“Efficiency” was the word of the weekend at the Reagan National Defense Forum here. Defense-startup executives were giddy at the prospect of gaining comparative advantage through Trump-administration attacks on Pentagon bureaucracy, while lawmakers cautioned that substantive changes would require their review. Audrey Decker reports from Simi Valley, California: https://lnkd.in/gHhq_BwW

In Ideas: The Assad regime in Syria has become a casualty of Moscow’s increasingly desperate efforts in Ukraine, and its collapse is a strategic and operational blow that undermines the narrative of Russia as ascendant, Kyiv as doomed, and Vladimir Putin as strategic mastermind. Read the commentary by John R. Deni, PhD: https://lnkd.in/gw3diNTA

From his first memo on the job, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has centered the tending and extending of ties with America’s allies and military partners. One busy day—Wednesday, Nov. 20—offers a lens on the breadth and intricacy of his efforts. Bradley Peniston reports from Laos: https://lnkd.in/gu8uF8mi

Welcome to this week's edition of the D Brief.

In case you missed it, I published a commentary in Defense One last week on how Elon Musk's "Algorithm" for driving efficiency could apply to DoD. My bottom line: "The military is different because its ultimate purpose—to protect the nation—is based on value judgements about threats, risks, and sufficiency. How secure does the nation want to be and against what types of threats depends on who you ask and what they value." The concept of "efficiency" becomes strained when instead of balancing costs and revenue you are trying to balance across competing values. https://lnkd.in/eyugkn55

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Defense One, the top source for news, analysis, and commentary on the future of defense and national security, is thrilled to welcome Meghann Myers to the newsroom, to cover land warfare and other topics. Myers has a wealth of experience covering the military, first as a reporter for Army Times and Navy Times, and then as Pentagon Bureau Chief for Military Times. She is well known inside and outside the Pentagon for her hard-hitting journalism, and has done freelance work for The War Horse and other publications. She earned a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. "I'm delighted to add Meghann to our team," said Defense One Executive Editor Bradley Peniston. "Her experience, deep sourcing, and dogged approach will all be great assets for our newsroom."

Russia will likely provide technology to help China build better submarines, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said Saturday.  “That has the potential of closing American undersea dominance to the PRC,” Adm. Sam Paparo said during the Halifax Security Forum. My latest for Defense One

Welcome to the D Brief. We hope you have a restful week ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

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