Disembark Walk

 

Participants in the live-fire exercise Jaded Thunder disembark from a Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey after an incentive flight at Hulman Field in Terre Haute, Ind., Aug. 22, 2021. Participants received a tour of the aircraft as part of the incentive flight.

Essex View

 

The amphibious assault ship USS Essex transits the Arabian Sea, Sept. 13, 2021.

Austin Swears in Pentagon's New Special Operations Chief

 Sept. 17, 2021 | BY Jim Garamone , DOD News

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III  swore in Christopher Maier as the Defense Department's new assistant secretary for special operations and low-intensity conflict.

Maier, who was administratively sworn in June, is the first Senate-confirmed SOLIC chief under new parameters for the job.

The assistant secretary job has two roles, Maier said in an interview. While it has the policy role it's always had supporting the undersecretary for policy, DOD and Congress have also directed SOLIC to serve as the service secretary for special operations forces. 

"It's a bifurcated reporting structure [and] kind of tells you that SOLIC straddles a number of different areas," he said.

Maier will have civilian oversight of U.S. Special Operations Command in the administrative chain of command, but not in the operational chain of command. Wearing one hat, he will be the defense secretary's civilian advisor for special operations issues and will report directly to the secretary. 

Wearing the other hat, he will serve as a more traditional assistant secretary in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy where he'll coordinate policies on special operations, counterterrorism, humanitarian issues and counternarcotics. 

Austin holds regular meetings with the service secretaries, Maier said. "So, [it will be] the Army, Navy, Air Force and me," he said. "It's an interesting arrangement, certainly not how somebody traditionally would have viewed this role."

Like a service secretary, Maier will be involved in the "man, train, equip" requirements for special operations forces. "In conjunction with [Army Gen. Richard] Clarke, the Socom commander, we will do a number of things in that role — setting the long term strategic goals and where we're trying to go; the objectives we're trying to meet; how training and recruiting, all these sort of manpower-related things, support that."

Maier will also have oversight on the budget. "As each one of [the special operations] components is building their individual budgets … it will bubble up to the overall SOF budget," he said. "We have the ability to set the objectives and then really look at how those investments and other monetary things are being done, and then advocate on behalf of Socom on the Hill."

Maier is also involved in the role special operations forces will play in the future and has been involved in deliberations on the global posture review, which will be released soon. What roles will special ops forces play in strategic competition with China and Russia? How will over-the-horizon counterterrorism operations work? How does training foreign militaries fit into the picture? 

Maier also wants to emphasize what is a special operations mission and what missions should, or could, be done with more conventional forces. He noted that there is a gray area between special ops and conventional forces. "We could see special operations forces begin a mission and turn it over to conventional forces," he said.

"SOF has particular expertise that can be done in small numbers [with] low visibility," Maier said. Over the past 20 years, special ops forces have built "tremendous partnerships with counterparts in foreign militaries that gives us a tremendous reach globally."

In a competition with China and Russia, this special operations forces mission set may enable placement and access to "unlock a lot of other joint force capabilities against near-peer adversaries that they probably can't match," he said.

Maier said he is humbled to have this new job, and he promised to focus on the sacrifices that have been made to date by operators and their families. "I do think the requirements on SOF will continue, and it'll continue to be a national asset," he said. "SOF is a key part of where the country is going from a national defense perspective towards competition and really being a high return on investment."

Flag Folders

 

A Marine and sailors fold an American flag during a 9/11 remembrance ceremony aboard the USS Portland in the Indian Ocean, Sept. 11, 2021.

Forward Force

 

U.S. Air Force Academy’s Thaddaeus Dewing maneuvers around University of Evansville soccer players during a game at the academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept. 12, 2021.

Blasting Ops

 

Air Force Senior Airman Leonard Jacob conducts media blasting operations at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Sept. 13, 2021. The process removes paint and corrosion so the part can be inspected for damage before it is recoated and painted.

Line of Fire

 

A soldier fires an M1A2 120 mm round during training at Konotop range, Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland, Sept. 13, 2021.

Air Assault

 

Army Spc. Jess Stieneke rappels from a tower during an air assault course at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Sept. 14, 2021.

Sling Load Ops

 

Soldiers sling load an M777A2 howitzer onto a Marine Corps CH-53E while conducting elevator training drills during Steel Crucible at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, Sept. 14, 2021. The exercise is designed to increase joint air assault proficiency.

Night Vision

 

Marines conduct an ammunition resupply during training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 14, 2021.

Ready Rappel

 

Soldiers rappel from an Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during an air assault course at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, Sept. 16, 2021.

Military Honors

 

Service members participate in an armed forces full honor wreath-laying ceremony at President William H. Taft’s Memorial Gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery, Va., Sept. 15, 2021. The wreath-laying ceremony was held to commemorate Taft's 164th birthday.

Cavalry Convoy

 

Soldiers prepare to convoy to their next location during Saber Junction 21 at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, Sept. 14, 2021. Saber Junction is a training rotation designed to evaluate and assess the readiness of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment to execute unified land operations in a joint, combined environment and to promote interoperability with participating allied and partner nations.

Remembrance Ceremony

 

Air Force Col. Jesse J. Friedel and Japan Air Self-Defense Force Maj. Gen. Takahiro Kubota salute in honor of prisoners of war and missing in action personnel during the POW and MIA remembrance retreat ceremony at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Sept. 3, 2021.

Drill Team Toss

 

U.S. Army Drill Team members toss M1903 Springfield rifles into the air during a performance at Fort Lee, Va., Sept. 11, 2021.

Colombia Freefall

 

Airmen perform a military freefall jump in Rionegro, Colombia, Sept. 3, 2021, during Ángel de los Andes Cooperación VII, a Colombian-led search and rescue exercise.

Marine Ops

 

Marines conduct military operations in urban terrain exercises at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., Sept. 9, 2021.

COVID Testing

 

Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Matthew Hardin administers a COVID-19 test in Liberty Village at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Sept. 3, 2021.

Official Says Domestic, Partner Nation Industrial Capability Critical to Security

 Sept. 15, 2021 | BY David Vergun , DOD News

Every day, people across America are designing, building and producing critical materials and technologies to ensure that the armed forces have every advantage and capability they need, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial policy said.

Jesse Salazar spoke today at the George Mason University School of Business in Arlington, Virginia.

"Our defense industrial base allows us to preserve our military advantages and deter our adversaries," he said.

"Domestic manufacturing advances our national security by providing supply chain resilience and the capacity to respond in the case of a national emergency," Salazar said. 

However, for many years, American industrial and manufacturing capacity has declined, he said.

"We have to address this. We must onshore domestic defense capabilities," Salazar said, meaning ensuring that critical manufacturing must be located in the United States.

"Clear market signals and investment priorities will unlock the power of American entrepreneurship, technological breakthroughs and individual achievement," he suggested.

Salazar mentioned the importance of the defense industrial bases of allies and partners.

"We recognize that we cannot exclusively look to American sources for all the items we procure. Strategically, we see great value in building closer cooperative ties," he said.

Key allies and partners who have been especially helpful, he said, include Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, Canada, the United Kingdom and other NATO nations.

Spotlight on NATO

For example, he said that Australia's sophisticated approach to rare earth processing could help the United States build capacity here.

Canada supplies high-purity aluminum metal needed for fabricating space, military and automotive products. Additionally, Canada hosts a germanium zinc refinery, which imports ores from an Alaskan mine, he said.

The U.K. is advancing development of batteries that are useful in military applications, he said. The U.K. also has advanced forging and casting techniques.

Australia increased its defense budget 3% this year and is spending the most on acquisition and sustainment since World War II, he noted.

The department is working with Congress to ensure it has the authority to invest in key military industrial assets produced by allies such as Australia and the U.K., he said.

Another possibility is expanding the use of Security of Supply Arrangements, he said.

The SOSA agreement is used when the U.S. defense industrial base needs to source goods, services and raw materials from the global marketplace to support national security and defense requirements.

The DOD is also evaluating options to improve the effectiveness, flexibility and speed of the Defense Production Act, he said.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Australian Minister of Defence Peter Dutton Opening Remarks at Bilateral Meeting

 Sept. 15, 2021

---

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III:  Well, good morning, everyone, and Minister Dutton, it's an honor to welcome you to the Pentagon. Thanks for making a long trip, and you've been on the road quite a -- quite a while now, so we really, really appreciate having you here.  I look forward to our discussions today and to our participation in the 31st Australia-United States ministerial consultations tomorrow.

As you know, this past weekend, we commemorated the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and that cast a special light on the 70th anniversary of ANZUS.  Australia, one of our oldest allies, invoked the ANZUS Treaty for the first time and the only time after 9/11, sending your forces to -- for two decades -- ago to fight shoulder-to-shoulder alongside the United States.  And so Minister Dutton, the American people will forever be grateful, and we will always remember Australia's steadfast support.

And I also want to personally thank you for your letter -- letter of condolence after the ISIS-K terrorist attack in Kabul that killed 13 of our heroic service members and so many Afghan civilians.  We're also grateful to Australia for standing alongside us for the very end of our military mission in Afghanistan, and we're looking forward to continuing our close cooperation.

I'm hoping that our discussions today will further strengthen our alliance in new and unique ways.  The alignment between our countries has never been greater than it is today.  We see the same challenges.  We share the same sense of urgency.  And we're cooperating closely on force posture, strategic capabilities, regional engagement and military operations, and all of that strengthens our ability to deter threats to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

So Mr. Minister, thanks again for being here, and I look forward to a productive discussion today.

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE PETER DUTTON:  Well, Mr. Secretary, thank you very much for those very warm remarks.  Thank you to you and to your colleagues for the preparation ahead of today's meeting, and we do have a very significant point in history that is before us, and the opportunity for our two nations to continue the work that we've done over generations.

I was in New York in the January following the 9/11 attacks, and felt the raw emotion there, the smell still from the smoldering wreck and the raw emotion that was evident on the streets, and as you went across the United States.  They were flying flags, and the patriotism was on display.  But America rose to deal with that issue, and the 20-year anniversary, whilst some of those stories will never fade, and the pain will never go away for many of those families and their descendents now of those killed there.  It is a reminder of the need for us to continue our relationship to stare down that evil and to deal with whatever the next century might hold.

And for us, this celebration of the seven -- 70th anniversary is a significant one because as we know, the position in the Indo-Pacific is deteriorating.  And as we know, only together with the United States, with the United Kingdom, with their Five Eyes partners otherwise can we provide the true effect to protecting our nations and our people.

So it's a great honor to be with you at the Pentagon, steeped in history, and that collaboration, as you say, over a long period of time.

I'll finish on this note in relation to Afghanistan.  We were shoulder-to-shoulder, and as you know, Prime Minister Howard was in Washington at the time of the strike on the United States 20 years ago.  And we have been able to take 4,100 people out of Kabul, which for a population of 25 million in our case is a significant effort.  It would not have been possible to remove one of those individuals, one of those little girls or boys or young women without the support of your 4,000 troops and the thousand British troops there, as well.  There's no other country in the world that had the capacity to hold that airport.  And despite the criticism and despite those with 20/20 hindsight, we achieved success in withdrawing those people and starting a new life for them only because of the efforts of the United States, and I'm very grateful for that.

And our task now is to make sure that we strengthen this relationship even further, and there are many opportunities for us to do that today.  So thank you so much.  It is a great honor to be here with you and -- and your staff.

SEC. AUSTIN:  Thank you, sir.