Gen.: Clinton Lost Launch Codes for Mos.

"According to a former chairman of the joint chiefs, Clinton managed to mislay not for hours, but for months, the special plastic card with the codes that in military and White House parlance is called 'the biscuit.' Without it, the president is theoretically unable to order a nuclear launch.
The extraordinary revelation comes towards the end of a new memoir from retired Army Gen. Hugh Shelton, who served under President Clinton as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called 'Without Hesitation: The Odyssey of An American Warrior.'"

Military Folks Financially More Savvy Than Civilians

"The first-ever 'Military Financial Capability Study' finds that service members are more likely than civilians to keep up with monthly expenses, save for their kids' education, avoid payday lenders, invest in stocks and bonds, and even check on their own credit scores.
Where military members clearly need more financial counseling is credit card balances. Twenty-seven percent carry more than $10,000 in credit card debt versus only 16 percent of civilians surveyed.
But overall 'we can definitely say that [military personnel] are more savvy than the general population' regarding personal finances, said John M. Gannon, president of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation."

US-Saudi Arms Deal Ripples Through Region

"The Obama administration notified Congress of plans to sell as many as 84 new F-15 fighter jets, helicopters and other gear with an estimated $60 billion price tag.
The proposed deal -- one of the biggest single U.S. arms sales -- is clearly aimed at countering Iran's rising military might and efforts to expand its influence.
But it ties together other significant narratives in the region, including an apparent retooling of Israeli policies to tacitly support a stronger, American-armed Saudi Arabia because of common worries about Iran."

RealClearWorld - Britain Bows Out of the Security Game

This should be cautionary. I have believed for years that this is the desired end-state of the American Left. To spend and obligate us into a finacial postion htat we can on longer project power in the world. This strategy not only includes growing already massive social entitlemens, but also in the "patriotic" efforts to expand personnel costs for the military itself, such as education giveaways (Post 9/11 GI Bill) that they know will be passed as a matter of course.

"In announcing the cutbacks, Mr. Cameron promised that Britain would still 'punch above its weight.' His words ring hollow.
The British army, already cut a third since the end of the Cold War, will lose another 7,000 soldiers, dropping to 95,500 Tommies from 102,500, one-sixth the size of the U.S. Army. Also gone will be 40% of the British army's tanks and 35% of its artillery, thus making it very difficult to replicate the sort of armored blitzkrieg that Britain carried out against Iraq in 1991 and 2003. In the future Britain will be able to keep only one brigade of about 7,500 soldiers in the field long-term, well below the number deployed today in Afghanistan."

Brides Across America - SpouseBUZZ

"Brides Across America
Brides Across America was born on a realization that our country needs to do more to support our troops and their families. Bringing bridal and military together is a marriage made in heaven! Bridal salons are uniting across America to donate and giving away wedding gowns to qualified military brides.

The wedding industry is making a difference and giving brides to be the opportunity to find the wedding gown of their dreams as well as alleviating financial stress of purchasing a wedding gown.

Each store will be preparing a select number of gown to give away. Most of the gowns are samples and overstocks and are worth approximately $500 to $3000. Dresses range in sizes from 4-22 and will be given away on a first-come, first serve basis as long as you qualify."

The National Guard - 45th BCT receives new spy in the sky

"The RQ-7 UAS, known as the Shadow, is operated by Company B, 45th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 45th IBCT. The Shadow is the newest addition to the Oklahoma Army National Guard’s unmanned vehicle systems. Numerous Unmanned Aerial Platforms have proven themselves to be valuable assets in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Shadow is capable of operating in a wide variety of climates during anytime of the day or night. It has a variety of modern optical and communication systems to include; forward looking infrared, real time feedback and has the ability to function as an airborne communication relay system, all of which increase the safety and effectiveness of U.S. and allied Servicemembers."

Why is Obama putting a Fannie Mae/Goldman Sachs lobbyist/consultant as NSA? | Washington Examiner

"Obama last week tapped Tom Donilon as National Security Advisor. What’s Donilon’s resume? I summarized it when folks floated his name as potential White House chief of staff:
He was a top lobbyist at Fannie Mae during the housing bubble, when Fannie fought — with Democratic help — to avoid any restrictions or curbs on its work to inflate home values and get more people under mortgage. Before that, Donilon was a lobbyist at O’Melveny and Myers, where Fannie was a client.
In 2008, according to his financial disclosure forms, Donilon was a paid consultant for Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Apollo Investments."

Wall St. mogul picked for State Department post - Washington Times

"Thomas R. Nides, a six-figure fundraiser for Hillary Rodham Clinton during her 2008 presidential run, disclosed his compensation from Morgan Stanley in a recent filing with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
Mr. Nides, the company's chief operating officer, also said he remains eligible for additional bonus money at Morgan Stanley, which repaid its share of the federal bailout last year."

Information Warfare: Wi-Fi For Tanks

"Russia is in a hurry to update its military, and is following the American example of using commercial technology. In this case, they are adapting Wi-Fi and WiMax wireless networking type tech for battlefield use. This will include the use of satellite links to tie it all together across Russians vast spaces. Most nations have resisted adopting Wi-Fi for military use, because of security vulnerabilities. But Russia has some of the best Internet engineering and cryptography talent on the planet. If they can apply that to their military wi-fi, they may have another hi-tech export."

U.S. Says Military Can Respond to Domestic Cyberthreats - NYTimes.com

"The new approach will begin with a Department of Homeland Security team deploying to Fort Meade, Md., home to both the National Security Agency, which specializes in electronic espionage, and the military’s new Cyber Command. In exchange, a team of military networking experts would be assigned to the operations center at the Homeland Security Department.
The rules were detailed in a memorandum of agreement signed in late September by Janet Napolitano, the secretary of homeland security, and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, but they were not released until last week."