Reuters
NATO on July 4 extended Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s contract by another year, opting to stick with an experienced leader as war rages on the alliance’s doorstep rather than try to agree on a successor. Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, has been the transatlantic security alliance’s leader since 2014 and his tenure has already been extended three other times.
Stars and Stripes
Suicides in the Active-duty military increased in the first three months of 2023 compared to the same time last year, according to a newly released Pentagon report. The Defense Suicide Prevention Office revealed in its quarterly report that the overall number of active-duty suicides—94—from January through March was up 25 percent compared to the number of troops—75 —who took their own lives in the first three months of 2022.
Task & Purpose
The Air Force’s elite Pararescue teams are looking for a new boat. Among the features they’d like to get: a rigid-hull craft that can drop by parachute into the middle of the ocean from a C-130 or C-17, can carry a six-person team up to 300 nautical miles at 35 knots, and has room for at least two soaking wet astronauts.
Air & Space Forces Magazine
Virtually every part of the Department of the Air Force’s drive to modernize is being shaped by Secretary Frank Kendall’s seven Operational Imperatives—lines of effort that address the most important and urgent challenges facing the Air Force today. Now, the department and industry are working together to develop solutions for each imperative, and the results will likely change the Air Force and Space Force for the next generation. Keep up with all the latest news on each Operational Imperative.
Defense News
Amid the rows of fighter aircraft, drones, and helicopters at the Paris Air Show, an uptick in the displays of one key class of ground-based systems stood out: the radars and launchers of missile defense. On the sidelines of the show, European officials met to discuss the continent’s varied proposals for developing new air and missile defense systems, with Germany leading a 17-nation-strong initiative to procure off-the-shelf capabilities, and France pushing for a smaller, organic approach to building up European industry.
Subscription Required
The New York Times
The leaders represented the three biggest powers bidding to reshape a global order dominated by the U.S., convening over video feeds at a virtual summit meeting on July 4. But beyond the unity implied by their joint appearance, each seemed focused on his own, different aim. For President Vladimir Putin of Russia, that meant projecting strength in the aftermath of the uprising by the Wagner mercenary group. For China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, the summit was another opportunity to assail the U.S. by calling for an end to “hegemonism” and “power politics.” For India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, the meeting’s host, it was a way to signal his country’s rising stature.
CNN
The U.S. State Department on June 30 released its long-awaited Afghanistan After Action Review report, which found that both the Trump and Biden administrations’ decisions to pull all U.S. troops from Afghanistan had detrimental consequences, and details damning shortcomings by the current administration that led to the deadly and chaotic U.S. withdrawal from that country after nearly two decades on the ground.
POLITICO
An Alabama senator’s blockade of military nominations is about to hit a new phase, and it will have a major impact at the highest levels of the Pentagon. Starting July 10, four members of the eight-member Joint Chiefs of Staff will begin retiring. And if Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s blockade holds, it’ll mean half the chiefs—the leaders of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, along with the chair—will have no successor in place.
One More Thing
6th Air Refueling Wing
A KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing and three F-35A Lightning IIs assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing flew over Walt Disney World Resort, Fla., July 4, 2023. The flyover was conducted in celebration of the Fourth of July and highlighted the 100th anniversary of the Walt Disney Company and of air refueling, a capability that enables global reach for the Air Force.
