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30 January 2023

Wall Street Journal | U.S. weapons industry unprepared for a China conflict, report says

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The war in Ukraine has exposed widespread problems in the American armaments industry that may hobble the U.S. military’s ability to fight a protracted war against China, according to a new study.

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New York Times | U.S. extends troop deployments in Romania, at Ukraine war’s doorstep

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The Pentagon will keep several thousand American troops in southeast Romania for at least nine more months, closer to the war in neighboring Ukraine than any other U.S. Army unit, officials said on Saturday.

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Stars and Stripes | US to buy new Abrams tanks for Ukraine because military has no spares, Pentagon says

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New Abrams tanks will be purchased by the U.S. to supply to Ukraine because the Defense Department doesn’t have any spares, delaying the shipment as Ukrainian forces prepare for an expected Russian offensive, a Pentagon spokeswoman said Thursday.

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Military Times | Enrollments in VA medical care spiked after PACT Act passage last year

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Veterans Affairs officials saw a surge in patients enrolling in department health care services following the passage of sweeping military toxic exposure legislation last summer, but leaders are confident they have hiring plans in place to absorb the extra work.

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Responsible Statecraft | Iraq, Afghanistan provide lessons on US weapons flows

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Will this latest batch of weapons headed to Ukraine finally win the peace? While this is possible, do we fully understand what we are giving up to do so? As history shows, no matter how advanced a weapon is, someone will eventually figure out a way to counter it.

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Cato Institute | When federal interest payments come to exceed the military budget: Time to stop defending the rest of the world

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Unwilling to raise taxes as it also shovels ever‐​more cash into social programs old and new, Congress simply borrows additional money as if loans need not be repaid. The publicly held national debt hit 100 percent of GDP and is heading toward the record of 106 percent set in 1946, at the conclusion of the worst war in human history. Within a decade the US faces trillion‐​dollar deficits for as far as government analysts can budget. By mid‐​century the Congressional Budget Office expects the debt/​GDP ratio to run around 185 percent. And that assumes policymakers don’t do anything stupid, like approve massive new spending programs without paying for them. Which, unfortunately, is as certain as the rising of the sun.

DC News Now | Concerned Veterans for America on free emergency mental health care

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“We’re hoping to see it implemented in a way that’s true choice: where the veteran has freedom, free of care that the bill will get paid and freedom to go when he needs to and not have any other consequences,” Duerstine explained.

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The Overwatch | Florida veteran explains how the state can lead the way on VA reform

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The simple answer is that veterans should have greater choice in where they seek their health care. There are clear actions the incoming Congress can take in its first days to get the ball rolling.

Military Times | New VA initiative helped house more than 40K vets last year

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Veterans Affairs staffers helped move more than 40,000 veterans into permanent housing last year, surpassing their goal and establishing new pathways to help individuals in need, officials announced today.

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Hartford Courant | An Army veteran is evacuating Afghanistan refugees more than a year after headlines faded away

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The U.S. Army veteran helped refugees escape from war-torn Afghanistan during the often-chaotic days in August 2021 at Kabul International Airport. But though the headlines from those desperate scenes have faded long ago, Plitsas is still working nearly 18 months later from his Fairfield home — and saving evacuees as recently as last week.

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