THE NEW YORK TIMES
"U.S. Warship Arrives in Stockholm for Military Exercises, and as a Warning"
4 JUNE 2022
ABOARD U.S.S. KEARSARGE, in the port of Stockholm — If ever there was a potent symbol of how much Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has altered Europe, the sight of this enormous battleship, bristling with 26 warplanes and 2,400 Marines and sailors, moored among the pleasure craft and tour boats that ply this port, would certainly be it.
“No one in Stockholm can miss that there is this big American ship here in our city,” said Micael Byden, the supreme commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, standing on the amphibious assault ship's deck in the shadow of a MV-22 Osprey under a clear sky on Saturday.
“There are more capabilities on this ship,” he marveled, “than I could gather in a garrison.”
In this perennially neutral country that is suddenly not so neutral, the U.S.S. Kearsarge, which showed up just two weeks after Sweden and Finland announced their intention to seek membership in NATO, is the promise of what that membership would bring: protection if President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia turns his ire toward his Nordic neighbors.
But the ship is also a warning to Sweden and Finland of their own potential obligations should a conflict arise, as Gen. Mark Milley, America’s most senior military commander, made clear during a visit Saturday.
“The Russians have their Baltic fleet,” General Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, but NATO would have its own slew of member countries wrapped around the Baltic Sea once Sweden and Finland join.
In essence, the Baltic would become a NATO lake, save for St. Petersburg and Kalingrad.
“From a Russian perspective, that would be very problematic for them, militarily speaking,” General Milley said.
Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden, appearing in a shipboard news conference beside General Milley, sought to emphasize the defensive nature of NATO.
But military experts say that there is a clear expectation that Sweden and Finland’s accession to the alliance means that they would contribute to any maritime chokeholds that NATO might put in place in the Baltic Sea in the event of a war with Russia, a potentially tall order for the historically nonaligned countries.
Both countries want security assurances, particularly from the United States and other NATO allies, during this interim period while negotiations with Turkey are holding up their formal membership to the military alliance.
Sweden’s Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist told reporters in Washington two weeks ago that the Pentagon had pledged several interim security measures: U.S. Navy warships steaming in the Baltic Sea, Air Force bombers flying over Scandinavian skies, army forces training together and American specialists helping to thwart any possible Russian cyberattacks.
But while President Biden has pledged that the United States would help defend Sweden and Finland before they join the alliance, American officials have refused to say specifically what form that help would take, beyond what General Milley characterized Saturday as a “modest increase” in joint military exercises.
The refusal of any NATO country to send actual troops into Ukraine, Nordic officials acknowledged, lays bare the difference between promises of military help for friendly countries versus that under a Senate-ratified treaty that says an attack on one is an attack on all — NATO’s famous Article 5.
Still, the Kearsarge is in the Baltic Sea to take part in exercises meant to teach NATO, Swedish and Finnish troops how to carry out amphibious assaults — storming land that has been seized by, say, Russia.
It is a hugely complex kind of war operation — think the D-Day landing during World War II — that requires coordination between air, land and naval units in what military planners call a “combined arms” mission.
If the exercises go according to plan, thousands of marines, sailors, pilots and other troops from 16 different countries will be seizing a beach head in the Stockholm archipelago.
It is exactly the kind of military operation that Russia has not managed to pull off yet in Ukraine, and that inability to do so, military experts say, is a big part of why Russia has not managed to take the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa.
Pentagon officials note that when thousands of Russian marines landed in southern Ukraine on the Sea of Azov coastline on Feb. 25 to target Mariupol, they did so some 43 miles to the east of the city, avoiding having to do an actual contested amphibious assault.
Along with the rupturing of the notion that the Russian military is an efficient machine, the request by Sweden and Finland to join NATO is perhaps the biggest unintended consequence of Mr. Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.
Instead, Mr. Putin is now facing the prospect of a NATO military alliance that is not just on his doorstep but wrapped around part of the house.
The 2004 accession of Latvia and Estonia to NATO stretched its Baltic border with Russia for just over 300 miles; Finland’s joining the alliance would add another 830 miles, putting St. Petersburg almost within artillery range.
Sweden, meanwhile, shares a maritime border with Russia, as does Finland.
Within a day of Finland’s leaders announcing their country should apply for NATO membership, the Kearsarge, named after a Civil War Union sloop famous for sinking Confederate ships, was heading to join Finnish and Swedish navies for training.
In fact, NATO has scheduled many shows of force with Sweden and Finland.
“A whole host of exercises that didn’t exist on the exercise schedule are there now,” said Charly Salonius-Pasternak, a military expert with the Finnish Institute of International Affairs in Helsinki.
The emerging partnership is a two-way street.
For NATO, beyond wrapping the alliance all around Russia’s western border, the entry of Sweden and Finland allows military planners to reconceptualize all of northern European defenses.
In the past, the alliance had to make compromises about where to concentrate troops, headquarters and command and control to provide to best advantage.
All of this will undoubtedly draw the ire of Mr. Putin, who has long complained about the expansion of the military alliance into what he sees as his own sphere of influence.
“There’s going to be an almost continuous presence of non-Finnish military units in Finland,” Mr. Salonius-Pasternak said.
“Are they the key to Finnish defense?"
"No."
"But it probably adds to the calculus of our eastern neighbor.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u- ... 40815539c4
THE DOD
Re: THE DOD
THE WASHINGTON POST
"U.S. defends weapons aid to Ukraine as ‘numbers clearly favor the Russians’"
Bryan Pietsch
16 JUNE 2022
Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended ongoing weapons and security aid to Ukraine by saying that “the numbers clearly favor the Russians” in the war’s current state.
Ukraine has in recent weeks sent urgent pleas for more weapons, as it has been outmanned and outgunned in defending its eastern Donbas area from Russia.
Ukraine has lost ground in recent days, with Russia forecast to gain control of the key city of Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region of Donbas in the coming weeks.
Milley, speaking to reporters on Wednesday from Brussels, said the United States was working to give “as much capability as fast as we can … to ensure that Ukraine can be successful on the battlefield.”
“Right now, Severodonetsk, the city is probably three-quarters taken by Russian forces, but the Ukrainians are fighting them street by street, house by house, and it’s not a done deal,” he said, adding that “there are no inevitabilities in war.”
President Biden announced Wednesday that the United States would send Ukraine an additional $1 billion in defense assistance, including artillery, rocket systems, coastal defense weapons and ammunition.
Additional arms are to be provided from other nations, including three multiple-launch rocket systems from Germany, helicopters from Slovakia and additional artillery from Canada, Poland and the Netherlands.
The United States and its European allies have gradually expanded the weaponry they have provided Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion.
But they continue to withhold certain systems, including fighter jets, and have provided only limited numbers of other arms for fear they might be used to attack deep into Russian territory.
Milley said the United States has already sent Ukraine more than 6,500 Javelins and 20,000 other anti-armor systems, among the nearly 97,000 antitank systems that he said have been provided to Ukraine by the international community — “more antitank systems than there are tanks in the world.”
“We have on a number of occasions gone down line by line what they need that is relevant in this fight,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said of the Ukrainians.
“So we feel pretty confident that we’re working hard to give them what they think is relevant.”
Missy Ryan and Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u- ... adeda31730
"U.S. defends weapons aid to Ukraine as ‘numbers clearly favor the Russians’"
Bryan Pietsch
16 JUNE 2022
Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended ongoing weapons and security aid to Ukraine by saying that “the numbers clearly favor the Russians” in the war’s current state.
Ukraine has in recent weeks sent urgent pleas for more weapons, as it has been outmanned and outgunned in defending its eastern Donbas area from Russia.
Ukraine has lost ground in recent days, with Russia forecast to gain control of the key city of Severodonetsk in the Luhansk region of Donbas in the coming weeks.
Milley, speaking to reporters on Wednesday from Brussels, said the United States was working to give “as much capability as fast as we can … to ensure that Ukraine can be successful on the battlefield.”
“Right now, Severodonetsk, the city is probably three-quarters taken by Russian forces, but the Ukrainians are fighting them street by street, house by house, and it’s not a done deal,” he said, adding that “there are no inevitabilities in war.”
President Biden announced Wednesday that the United States would send Ukraine an additional $1 billion in defense assistance, including artillery, rocket systems, coastal defense weapons and ammunition.
Additional arms are to be provided from other nations, including three multiple-launch rocket systems from Germany, helicopters from Slovakia and additional artillery from Canada, Poland and the Netherlands.
The United States and its European allies have gradually expanded the weaponry they have provided Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion.
But they continue to withhold certain systems, including fighter jets, and have provided only limited numbers of other arms for fear they might be used to attack deep into Russian territory.
Milley said the United States has already sent Ukraine more than 6,500 Javelins and 20,000 other anti-armor systems, among the nearly 97,000 antitank systems that he said have been provided to Ukraine by the international community — “more antitank systems than there are tanks in the world.”
“We have on a number of occasions gone down line by line what they need that is relevant in this fight,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said of the Ukrainians.
“So we feel pretty confident that we’re working hard to give them what they think is relevant.”
Missy Ryan and Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/u- ... adeda31730
Re: THE DOD
REUTERS
"U.S. to boost military presence in Europe as NATO bolsters its eastern flank"
By Aislinn Laing, Andrea Shalal and Robin Emmott
June 29, 2022
Summary
* Finland, Sweden to join NATO after ratification
* Biden promises more troops, weapons to Europe
* NATO agreed new force structure to deter Russia
* Madrid protesters call for more arms to Ukraine
MADRID, June 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden pledged more American troops, warplanes and warships for Europe on Wednesday as NATO agreed the biggest strengthening of its deterrents since the Cold War in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Biden's commitment at the Madrid summit "to defend every inch of allied territory" came as the U.S.-led military alliance also set in motion a new plan to reinforce the Baltic states and Poland against any future Russian attack.
With more German, British and other allied troops to be on alert to deploy eastward, the United States is also adding to the 100,000 personnel already in Europe by sending more warships to Spain, planes to Britain, pre-positioned weapons to the Baltics and more soldiers to Romania.
"We mean it when we say an attack against one is an attack against all," Biden said.
However, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi played down a threat of a near-term armed confrontation between NATO and Russia.
"There is no risk of a military escalation."
"We must be ready, but there is no risk," he said.
The Baltics originally sought permanent NATO bases and as much as a tenfold increase to NATO's troop presence from around 5,000 multinational soldiers prior to the Ukraine invasion, as well as adding air and maritime defences.
What NATO agreed on Wednesday falls short of that, but it means more allied troops in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, more equipment, weapons and ammunition sent to the region, and setting up a system of rapid reinforcements.
NATO leaders agreed to move towards putting more than 300,000 troops at higher readiness.
In the past, the alliance relied on far fewer troops - some 40,000 - to be first in line to respond to any Russian attack or other crises.
"President (Vladimir) Putin's war against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and has created the biggest security crisis in Europe since the Second World War," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference.
"NATO has responded with strength and unity."
The United States will also create a new permanent army headquarters in Poland, which was immediately welcomed by Polish president Andrzej Duda, as Warsaw long sought a permanent U.S. military base on its soil.
"It is a fact that strengthens our safety a lot ... in the difficult situation which we are in," Duda said.
As NATO also agreed a long-term military and financial aid package for Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees gathered in central Madrid to call for more arms for their nation, which is now facing a war of attrition against superior Russian artillery in the east of the country.
Ukrainian student Kateryna Darchyk, 20, told Reuters: "We ask for NATO to give us weapons because we have soldiers, we have people ready to fight for Ukraine, men and women who are ready to protect their country."
END OF NORDIC NEUTRALITY
In addition, NATO's 30 leaders invited Finland and Sweden into the alliance, a decision that once ratified would end decades of Nordic neutrality by putting the two countries under the United States' nuclear umbrella.
"The significance of this really can't be overstated," Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters.
"We're seeing the expansion of the alliance, which is exactly the opposite of what Putin wanted."
"He wanted less NATO, he's getting more."
That was made possible after Turkey dropped its veto against the two countries' progress to membership following four hours of talks on Tuesday evening in Madrid, ending weeks of drama that threatened allied unity.
As part of the deal, Sweden and Finland agreed not to support Kurdish militant groups.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had threatened to block their bids over Ankara's accusations the two countries supported a Kurdish militia in northern Syria.
Turkey views the militia as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is also deemed a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.
Both Finland, which has a 1,300 km (810 mile) border with Russia, and Sweden, home of the founder of the Nobel Peace Prize, are now set to bring well-trained militaries into the alliance, possibly giving NATO Baltic Sea superiority.
"We are not yet covered by NATO's Article 5," Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told Reuters, referring to NATO's collective defence clause.
"Our aim is that period should be as short as possible," he said.
Additional reporting by Sabine Siebold, Belen Carreno, Humeyra Pamuk and Guillermo Martinez and Kylie MacLellan in London and Giulia Segreti in Rome, writing by Robin Emmott; Editing by Tomasz Janowski
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us ... 022-06-29/
"U.S. to boost military presence in Europe as NATO bolsters its eastern flank"
By Aislinn Laing, Andrea Shalal and Robin Emmott
June 29, 2022
Summary
* Finland, Sweden to join NATO after ratification
* Biden promises more troops, weapons to Europe
* NATO agreed new force structure to deter Russia
* Madrid protesters call for more arms to Ukraine
MADRID, June 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden pledged more American troops, warplanes and warships for Europe on Wednesday as NATO agreed the biggest strengthening of its deterrents since the Cold War in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Biden's commitment at the Madrid summit "to defend every inch of allied territory" came as the U.S.-led military alliance also set in motion a new plan to reinforce the Baltic states and Poland against any future Russian attack.
With more German, British and other allied troops to be on alert to deploy eastward, the United States is also adding to the 100,000 personnel already in Europe by sending more warships to Spain, planes to Britain, pre-positioned weapons to the Baltics and more soldiers to Romania.
"We mean it when we say an attack against one is an attack against all," Biden said.
However, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi played down a threat of a near-term armed confrontation between NATO and Russia.
"There is no risk of a military escalation."
"We must be ready, but there is no risk," he said.
The Baltics originally sought permanent NATO bases and as much as a tenfold increase to NATO's troop presence from around 5,000 multinational soldiers prior to the Ukraine invasion, as well as adding air and maritime defences.
What NATO agreed on Wednesday falls short of that, but it means more allied troops in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, more equipment, weapons and ammunition sent to the region, and setting up a system of rapid reinforcements.
NATO leaders agreed to move towards putting more than 300,000 troops at higher readiness.
In the past, the alliance relied on far fewer troops - some 40,000 - to be first in line to respond to any Russian attack or other crises.
"President (Vladimir) Putin's war against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe and has created the biggest security crisis in Europe since the Second World War," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference.
"NATO has responded with strength and unity."
The United States will also create a new permanent army headquarters in Poland, which was immediately welcomed by Polish president Andrzej Duda, as Warsaw long sought a permanent U.S. military base on its soil.
"It is a fact that strengthens our safety a lot ... in the difficult situation which we are in," Duda said.
As NATO also agreed a long-term military and financial aid package for Ukraine, Ukrainian refugees gathered in central Madrid to call for more arms for their nation, which is now facing a war of attrition against superior Russian artillery in the east of the country.
Ukrainian student Kateryna Darchyk, 20, told Reuters: "We ask for NATO to give us weapons because we have soldiers, we have people ready to fight for Ukraine, men and women who are ready to protect their country."
END OF NORDIC NEUTRALITY
In addition, NATO's 30 leaders invited Finland and Sweden into the alliance, a decision that once ratified would end decades of Nordic neutrality by putting the two countries under the United States' nuclear umbrella.
"The significance of this really can't be overstated," Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters.
"We're seeing the expansion of the alliance, which is exactly the opposite of what Putin wanted."
"He wanted less NATO, he's getting more."
That was made possible after Turkey dropped its veto against the two countries' progress to membership following four hours of talks on Tuesday evening in Madrid, ending weeks of drama that threatened allied unity.
As part of the deal, Sweden and Finland agreed not to support Kurdish militant groups.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had threatened to block their bids over Ankara's accusations the two countries supported a Kurdish militia in northern Syria.
Turkey views the militia as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which is also deemed a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union.
Both Finland, which has a 1,300 km (810 mile) border with Russia, and Sweden, home of the founder of the Nobel Peace Prize, are now set to bring well-trained militaries into the alliance, possibly giving NATO Baltic Sea superiority.
"We are not yet covered by NATO's Article 5," Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told Reuters, referring to NATO's collective defence clause.
"Our aim is that period should be as short as possible," he said.
Additional reporting by Sabine Siebold, Belen Carreno, Humeyra Pamuk and Guillermo Martinez and Kylie MacLellan in London and Giulia Segreti in Rome, writing by Robin Emmott; Editing by Tomasz Janowski
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us ... 022-06-29/
Re: THE DOD
REUTERS
"Exclusive: U.S. readies new $1 billion Ukraine weapons package"
By Idrees Ali and Mike Stone
August 5, 2022
WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The Biden administration's next security assistance package for Ukraine is expected to be $1 billion, one of the largest so far, and include munitions for long-range weapons and armored medical transport vehicles, three sources briefed on the matter told Reuters on Friday.
The package is expected to be announced as early as Monday and would add to about $8.8 billion in aid the United States has given Ukraine since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that President Joe Biden had not yet signed the next weapons package.
They cautioned that weapons packages can change in value and content before they are signed.
However, if signed in its current form, it would be valued at $1 billion and include munitions for HIMARS, NASAMS surface-to-air missile system ammunition and as many as 50 M113 armored medical transports.
The new package follows a recent Pentagon decision to allow Ukrainians to receive medical treatment at a U.S. military hospital in Germany near Ramstein air base.
Last Monday, the Pentagon announced a separate security assistance package for Ukraine valued at up to $550 million, including additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
The White House declined to comment on the package.
The new package would be funded under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), in which the president can authorize the transfer of articles and services from U.S. stocks without congressional approval in response to an emergency.
HIMARS play a key role in the artillery duel between Ukraine and Russia has been described as "grinding" with very little movement of the front line in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
Since Russian troops poured over the border in February in what Putin termed a "special military operation", the conflict has settled into a war of attrition fought primarily in the east and south of Ukraine.
Moscow is trying to gain control of the largely Russian-speaking Donbas, comprised of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, where pro-Moscow separatists seized territory after the Kremlin annexed Crimea to the south in 2014.
So far the United States has sent 16 HIMARS to Ukraine and on July 1 pledged to send two National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS).
It was unclear if the NASAMS launchers, made jointly by Raytheon Technologies Corp and Norway's Kongsberg, are already in Ukraine if the munitions were for launchers donated by another country, or if they were being prepositioned.
The United States previously committed 200 M113 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine.
The armored personnel carriers outfitted with medical equipment could make the fight with Russia more survivable for Ukrainian troops who could then be sent to Germany for further medical treatment.
The Kyiv government said in June that 100 to 200 Ukrainian troops were being killed per day.
Reporting by Idrees Ali and Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken and Josie Kao
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ex ... 022-08-05/
"Exclusive: U.S. readies new $1 billion Ukraine weapons package"
By Idrees Ali and Mike Stone
August 5, 2022
WASHINGTON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - The Biden administration's next security assistance package for Ukraine is expected to be $1 billion, one of the largest so far, and include munitions for long-range weapons and armored medical transport vehicles, three sources briefed on the matter told Reuters on Friday.
The package is expected to be announced as early as Monday and would add to about $8.8 billion in aid the United States has given Ukraine since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that President Joe Biden had not yet signed the next weapons package.
They cautioned that weapons packages can change in value and content before they are signed.
However, if signed in its current form, it would be valued at $1 billion and include munitions for HIMARS, NASAMS surface-to-air missile system ammunition and as many as 50 M113 armored medical transports.
The new package follows a recent Pentagon decision to allow Ukrainians to receive medical treatment at a U.S. military hospital in Germany near Ramstein air base.
Last Monday, the Pentagon announced a separate security assistance package for Ukraine valued at up to $550 million, including additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).
The White House declined to comment on the package.
The new package would be funded under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), in which the president can authorize the transfer of articles and services from U.S. stocks without congressional approval in response to an emergency.
HIMARS play a key role in the artillery duel between Ukraine and Russia has been described as "grinding" with very little movement of the front line in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.
Since Russian troops poured over the border in February in what Putin termed a "special military operation", the conflict has settled into a war of attrition fought primarily in the east and south of Ukraine.
Moscow is trying to gain control of the largely Russian-speaking Donbas, comprised of Luhansk and Donetsk provinces, where pro-Moscow separatists seized territory after the Kremlin annexed Crimea to the south in 2014.
So far the United States has sent 16 HIMARS to Ukraine and on July 1 pledged to send two National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS).
It was unclear if the NASAMS launchers, made jointly by Raytheon Technologies Corp and Norway's Kongsberg, are already in Ukraine if the munitions were for launchers donated by another country, or if they were being prepositioned.
The United States previously committed 200 M113 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine.
The armored personnel carriers outfitted with medical equipment could make the fight with Russia more survivable for Ukrainian troops who could then be sent to Germany for further medical treatment.
The Kyiv government said in June that 100 to 200 Ukrainian troops were being killed per day.
Reporting by Idrees Ali and Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Mary Milliken and Josie Kao
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ex ... 022-08-05/
Re: THE DOD
FOX NEWS
"Biden unsettles Marine Band members by campaigning for Democrats at official event where they played"
Houston Keene
31 AUGUST 2022
EXCLUSIVE: President Biden unsettled members of the U.S. Marine Band when he campaigned for Democrats at an official White House event where they played, a source familiar with the inner workings of the band told Fox News Digital.
On Tuesday, Biden visited the Keystone State with the Marine Band in tow for an event where he promoted Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman as they seek higher offices in this fall's midterm elections.
"Presumptuous of me to say that."
"But think about doing me a favor."
"Please, please elect the attorney general to the Senate."
"Elect that big ol’ boy to be governor," Biden said, mixing up which offices the two Democrats are seeking.
Shapiro is running for governor against GOP candidate Doug Mastriano while Fetterman is facing down Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz for the open Senate seat.
"I was unaware active duty service members can wear the uniform at political rallies."
"Ask Defense Secretary Austin if there is an exception to that regulation for Democrat campaign events," the source familiar with the band's inner workings told Fox News Digital.
"Anyone with eyes to see knows that the Marine Corps just gave an in-kind contribution to Pennsylvania Democrats before the midterm elections," the source continued.
"And they’ll do so again on Thursday in Philadelphia."
When asked for comment on the band members’ reaction to the president's actions, the Department of Defense (DOD) pointed Fox News Digital to the White House, which did not provide a comment to Fox News Digital.
The Marine Band did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Mike Chamberlain, director of government watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT), told Fox News Digital it’s "never a good look for the President, or any other government official, to appear to use taxpayer resources for partisan campaign purposes."
"However, the President and Vice President are specifically exempted from the Hatch Act, the law which restricts federal employees’ engagement in partisan political activity," Chamberlain said regarding the president’s stumping.
"Regardless of whether there’s an official violation, we at Protect the Public’s Trust believe that officials should be held to the same standards regardless of party or ideology and would hope that the activities of President Biden are held to the same level of scrutiny as those of any of his predecessors," he continued.
Democrats criticized Trump in 2020 for making election-related remarks during a White House event where the band played.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... 82573d1dc5
"Biden unsettles Marine Band members by campaigning for Democrats at official event where they played"
Houston Keene
31 AUGUST 2022
EXCLUSIVE: President Biden unsettled members of the U.S. Marine Band when he campaigned for Democrats at an official White House event where they played, a source familiar with the inner workings of the band told Fox News Digital.
On Tuesday, Biden visited the Keystone State with the Marine Band in tow for an event where he promoted Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman as they seek higher offices in this fall's midterm elections.
"Presumptuous of me to say that."
"But think about doing me a favor."
"Please, please elect the attorney general to the Senate."
"Elect that big ol’ boy to be governor," Biden said, mixing up which offices the two Democrats are seeking.
Shapiro is running for governor against GOP candidate Doug Mastriano while Fetterman is facing down Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz for the open Senate seat.
"I was unaware active duty service members can wear the uniform at political rallies."
"Ask Defense Secretary Austin if there is an exception to that regulation for Democrat campaign events," the source familiar with the band's inner workings told Fox News Digital.
"Anyone with eyes to see knows that the Marine Corps just gave an in-kind contribution to Pennsylvania Democrats before the midterm elections," the source continued.
"And they’ll do so again on Thursday in Philadelphia."
When asked for comment on the band members’ reaction to the president's actions, the Department of Defense (DOD) pointed Fox News Digital to the White House, which did not provide a comment to Fox News Digital.
The Marine Band did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Mike Chamberlain, director of government watchdog Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT), told Fox News Digital it’s "never a good look for the President, or any other government official, to appear to use taxpayer resources for partisan campaign purposes."
"However, the President and Vice President are specifically exempted from the Hatch Act, the law which restricts federal employees’ engagement in partisan political activity," Chamberlain said regarding the president’s stumping.
"Regardless of whether there’s an official violation, we at Protect the Public’s Trust believe that officials should be held to the same standards regardless of party or ideology and would hope that the activities of President Biden are held to the same level of scrutiny as those of any of his predecessors," he continued.
Democrats criticized Trump in 2020 for making election-related remarks during a White House event where the band played.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... 82573d1dc5
Re: THE DOD
FOX NEWS
"Biden's Army secretary responds to ‘woke’ criticisms, says DEI programs 'important'"
Houston Keene
10 OCTOBER 2022
President Biden’s secretary of the Army responded to the criticism that the military branch was becoming "woke," saying the branch’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs are "important."
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth spoke at a Monday discussion with other military leaders on national security and the branch’s modernization efforts.
While speaking at the event, Wormuth responded to the criticisms that the Army is going "woke" by saying the DEI programs being forced on soldiers are "important."
"We get criticized, frankly, sometimes for being ‘woke,'" Wormuth said.
"I'm not sure what ‘woke’ means."
"I think ‘woke’ means a lot of different things to different people."
"But, first of all, if ‘woke’ means we are not focused on warfighting, we are not focused on readiness, that doesn’t reflect what I see at installations all around the country or overseas when I go and visit," the Army secretary continued.
"I do think we do have a wide range of soldiers in our Army, and we've got to make them all feel included," Wormuth said.
"And that’s why a lot of our diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are important."
Wormuth’s comments come as the U.S. military faces a recruitment crisis amid criticisms that leadership have become too "woke."
The United States Air Force Academy in Colorado recently faced criticism after Fox News Digital revealed that a diversity training instructed cadets to use words that "include all genders" and to refrain from saying things like "mom" and "dad."
The slide presentation titled, "Diversity & Inclusion: What it is, why we care, & what we can do," advised cadets to use "person-centered" and gender-neutral language when describing individuals.
"Some families are headed by single parents, grandparents, foster parents, two moms, two dads, etc.: consider ‘parent or caregiver’ instead of ‘mom and dad,'" the presentation said.
"Use words that include all genders: ‘Folks’ or ‘Y’all’ instead of ‘guys’; ‘partner’ vs. ‘boyfriend or girlfriend.’"
An Air Force Academy spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital that the diversity training will help improve the cadets' "warfighting effectiveness."
"As part of the Diversity & Inclusion Cadet Leadership Program, this conversation was developed by cadet leaders and USAFA staff to introduce all cadets to Department of the Air Force definitions of diversity and inclusion, as well as how these concepts enhance our warfighting effectiveness," the spokesperson said at the time.
Fox News Digital's Jessica Chasmar contributed reporting
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/biden ... 7855c2a04d
"Biden's Army secretary responds to ‘woke’ criticisms, says DEI programs 'important'"
Houston Keene
10 OCTOBER 2022
President Biden’s secretary of the Army responded to the criticism that the military branch was becoming "woke," saying the branch’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs are "important."
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth spoke at a Monday discussion with other military leaders on national security and the branch’s modernization efforts.
While speaking at the event, Wormuth responded to the criticisms that the Army is going "woke" by saying the DEI programs being forced on soldiers are "important."
"We get criticized, frankly, sometimes for being ‘woke,'" Wormuth said.
"I'm not sure what ‘woke’ means."
"I think ‘woke’ means a lot of different things to different people."
"But, first of all, if ‘woke’ means we are not focused on warfighting, we are not focused on readiness, that doesn’t reflect what I see at installations all around the country or overseas when I go and visit," the Army secretary continued.
"I do think we do have a wide range of soldiers in our Army, and we've got to make them all feel included," Wormuth said.
"And that’s why a lot of our diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are important."
Wormuth’s comments come as the U.S. military faces a recruitment crisis amid criticisms that leadership have become too "woke."
The United States Air Force Academy in Colorado recently faced criticism after Fox News Digital revealed that a diversity training instructed cadets to use words that "include all genders" and to refrain from saying things like "mom" and "dad."
The slide presentation titled, "Diversity & Inclusion: What it is, why we care, & what we can do," advised cadets to use "person-centered" and gender-neutral language when describing individuals.
"Some families are headed by single parents, grandparents, foster parents, two moms, two dads, etc.: consider ‘parent or caregiver’ instead of ‘mom and dad,'" the presentation said.
"Use words that include all genders: ‘Folks’ or ‘Y’all’ instead of ‘guys’; ‘partner’ vs. ‘boyfriend or girlfriend.’"
An Air Force Academy spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital that the diversity training will help improve the cadets' "warfighting effectiveness."
"As part of the Diversity & Inclusion Cadet Leadership Program, this conversation was developed by cadet leaders and USAFA staff to introduce all cadets to Department of the Air Force definitions of diversity and inclusion, as well as how these concepts enhance our warfighting effectiveness," the spokesperson said at the time.
Fox News Digital's Jessica Chasmar contributed reporting
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/biden ... 7855c2a04d
Re: THE DOD
FOX NEWS
"Kilmeade presses Biden spokesman on Pentagon's new findings on Afghanistan exit: 'Disaster'"
Story by Bailee Hill
30 NOVEMBER 2022
The White House pushed back on a bombshell DOD report alleging the Chinese utilized the U.S. Afghanistan withdrawal as a propaganda gift to undermine American influence across the globe.
"Fox & Friends" co-host Brian Kilmeade grilled National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby over the report, calling out the Biden administration for its handling of what many critics call the botched exit and how it impacted alliances.
"Nations like China and Russia took a look at what we did in Afghanistan, and we've talked about this many, many times over the last year, and had to marvel at the speed, the efficiency of their effectiveness that very small number… of troops… are able to move that many Afghans safely out of that country," Kirby said Wednesday.
"No other nation in the world can do that."
Kilmeade pushed back on Kirby's remarks, citing how the withdrawal was conducted while noting the 13 service members that lost their lives during the exit.
"The way we did it, the way we promised that government would stand up, the way we were going to leave in and have a transition, the disaster that took place is one of the many problems, along with the soldiers that are suffering now by the way," he said.
"You could argue that Russia invaded Ukraine because of it."
The Defense Department released its annual report Tuesday, revealing that China used the exit to influence American influence overseas.
"The PRC employed multiple diplomatic tools in an attempt to erode U.S. and partner influence," the report reads, including "highlighting the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan."
Despite the findings, Kirby was adamant the report suggests Chinese officials were not necessarily successful in undermining U.S. partnerships abroad.
"The report said that China attempted to capitalize on it," Kirby said.
"That's a big difference from saying that they did or were able to capitalize on this…"
"They spread propaganda about everything," he responded.
Biden's DOD has focused on China as America's top global adversary throughout his time in office.
The report says the PRC is working toward "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" by 2049 and is also vastly expanding its nuclear arsenal.
Biden has long defended his handling of the withdrawal both during and after the process, arguing there was no clean way to end U.S. deployment in the region.
"We have admitted and acknowledged that not everything about the withdrawal was done perfectly, that there were certainly mistakes made," Kirby said.
"We've investigated those mistakes."
"We owned up for those."
Kilmeade continued to press Kirby on Afghanistan becoming a "terror haven" for al Qaeda and asked why President Biden has not been briefed on the issue.
At least 100 U.S. citizens and thousands of Afghan allies were stranded in the country under Taliban rule upon the U.S. withdrawal.
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ki ... d9c5310a01
"Kilmeade presses Biden spokesman on Pentagon's new findings on Afghanistan exit: 'Disaster'"
Story by Bailee Hill
30 NOVEMBER 2022
The White House pushed back on a bombshell DOD report alleging the Chinese utilized the U.S. Afghanistan withdrawal as a propaganda gift to undermine American influence across the globe.
"Fox & Friends" co-host Brian Kilmeade grilled National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby over the report, calling out the Biden administration for its handling of what many critics call the botched exit and how it impacted alliances.
"Nations like China and Russia took a look at what we did in Afghanistan, and we've talked about this many, many times over the last year, and had to marvel at the speed, the efficiency of their effectiveness that very small number… of troops… are able to move that many Afghans safely out of that country," Kirby said Wednesday.
"No other nation in the world can do that."
Kilmeade pushed back on Kirby's remarks, citing how the withdrawal was conducted while noting the 13 service members that lost their lives during the exit.
"The way we did it, the way we promised that government would stand up, the way we were going to leave in and have a transition, the disaster that took place is one of the many problems, along with the soldiers that are suffering now by the way," he said.
"You could argue that Russia invaded Ukraine because of it."
The Defense Department released its annual report Tuesday, revealing that China used the exit to influence American influence overseas.
"The PRC employed multiple diplomatic tools in an attempt to erode U.S. and partner influence," the report reads, including "highlighting the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan."
Despite the findings, Kirby was adamant the report suggests Chinese officials were not necessarily successful in undermining U.S. partnerships abroad.
"The report said that China attempted to capitalize on it," Kirby said.
"That's a big difference from saying that they did or were able to capitalize on this…"
"They spread propaganda about everything," he responded.
Biden's DOD has focused on China as America's top global adversary throughout his time in office.
The report says the PRC is working toward "the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" by 2049 and is also vastly expanding its nuclear arsenal.
Biden has long defended his handling of the withdrawal both during and after the process, arguing there was no clean way to end U.S. deployment in the region.
"We have admitted and acknowledged that not everything about the withdrawal was done perfectly, that there were certainly mistakes made," Kirby said.
"We've investigated those mistakes."
"We owned up for those."
Kilmeade continued to press Kirby on Afghanistan becoming a "terror haven" for al Qaeda and asked why President Biden has not been briefed on the issue.
At least 100 U.S. citizens and thousands of Afghan allies were stranded in the country under Taliban rule upon the U.S. withdrawal.
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ki ... d9c5310a01
Re: THE DOD
FOX NEWS
"Pentagon issues warning after Turkish airstrikes threaten American troops in Syria"
Story by Peter Aitken
3 DECEMBER 2022
The Pentagon has urged Turkey to stand down on its plan to invade Syria as the operation could endanger U.S. troops in the country.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin offered his condolences to his counterpart Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar for the loss of life in the Istanbul bombing that occurred last month and prompted military action in Syria.
But Austin stressed that the airstrikes – and the impending ground invasion of Syria – directly threatens the safety of U.S. personnel working in Syria.
"Secretary Austin called for de-escalation, and shared the Department’s strong opposition to a new Turkish military operation in Syria," according to a readout of the call between Austin and Akar.
Turkey launched a series of airstrikes in northern Syria following the bombing on Nov. 13 that killed six people and injured at least 80 other people.
Turkish authorities arrested an Arab Syrian woman whom they linked with Kurdish militias, but the militias denied any involvement.
Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan authorized a military response in Syria, called "Operation Sword-Claw," which aimed to take out the People’s Defense Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan’s Worker’s Party (PKK).
A Kurdish general told Fox News last week that NATO ally Turkey is planning to carry out a massive ground invasion of Syria in an effort to target the same Kurdish groups that partnered with the U.S. military in its campaign against ISIS.
U.S. military officials have also raised concerns that the operation could end up providing an opportunity for some 10,000 ISIS detainees to escape confinement.
Brigadier Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, said Wednesday, "Recent air strikes in Syria directly threatened the safety of U.S. personnel who are working in Syria with local partners to defeat ISIS and maintain custody of more than 10,000 ISIS detainees."
Ryder noted that an "Immediate de-escalation is necessary to maintain focus on the defeat-ISIS mission and ensure the safety and security of personnel on the ground committed to the defeat-ISIS mission."
One military official said that Syria presents ideal conditions for ISIS to continue growing its ranks and regaining its former operating capacity: CENTCOM chief Gen. Erik Kurilla visited the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria and said ISIS has looked to exploit the conditions in the camp as a means of gaining new recruits to its cause.
"The SDF mission to clear ISIS from the camp continues: This is a critical, wide-ranging operation which will make the camp safer for all residents," Kurilla said following his visit.
"We’ve already seen ISIS members holding women and girls enslaved in chains inside the camp, torturing camp residents, and seeking to spread their vile ideology."
Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pe ... 2fd1892eb4
"Pentagon issues warning after Turkish airstrikes threaten American troops in Syria"
Story by Peter Aitken
3 DECEMBER 2022
The Pentagon has urged Turkey to stand down on its plan to invade Syria as the operation could endanger U.S. troops in the country.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin offered his condolences to his counterpart Turkish Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar for the loss of life in the Istanbul bombing that occurred last month and prompted military action in Syria.
But Austin stressed that the airstrikes – and the impending ground invasion of Syria – directly threatens the safety of U.S. personnel working in Syria.
"Secretary Austin called for de-escalation, and shared the Department’s strong opposition to a new Turkish military operation in Syria," according to a readout of the call between Austin and Akar.
Turkey launched a series of airstrikes in northern Syria following the bombing on Nov. 13 that killed six people and injured at least 80 other people.
Turkish authorities arrested an Arab Syrian woman whom they linked with Kurdish militias, but the militias denied any involvement.
Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan authorized a military response in Syria, called "Operation Sword-Claw," which aimed to take out the People’s Defense Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan’s Worker’s Party (PKK).
A Kurdish general told Fox News last week that NATO ally Turkey is planning to carry out a massive ground invasion of Syria in an effort to target the same Kurdish groups that partnered with the U.S. military in its campaign against ISIS.
U.S. military officials have also raised concerns that the operation could end up providing an opportunity for some 10,000 ISIS detainees to escape confinement.
Brigadier Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon’s press secretary, said Wednesday, "Recent air strikes in Syria directly threatened the safety of U.S. personnel who are working in Syria with local partners to defeat ISIS and maintain custody of more than 10,000 ISIS detainees."
Ryder noted that an "Immediate de-escalation is necessary to maintain focus on the defeat-ISIS mission and ensure the safety and security of personnel on the ground committed to the defeat-ISIS mission."
One military official said that Syria presents ideal conditions for ISIS to continue growing its ranks and regaining its former operating capacity: CENTCOM chief Gen. Erik Kurilla visited the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria and said ISIS has looked to exploit the conditions in the camp as a means of gaining new recruits to its cause.
"The SDF mission to clear ISIS from the camp continues: This is a critical, wide-ranging operation which will make the camp safer for all residents," Kurilla said following his visit.
"We’ve already seen ISIS members holding women and girls enslaved in chains inside the camp, torturing camp residents, and seeking to spread their vile ideology."
Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/pe ... 2fd1892eb4
Re: THE DOD
REUTERS
"Allies offer more weapons to Ukraine, but no decisions made on tanks"
By Idrees Ali and Tom Balmforth
January 20, 2023
Summary
* U.S. urges Ukraine to hold off offensive
* No agreement reached on Leopard tanks at Ramstein meeting
* U.S. general says it will be hard to eject Russian forces
* Improvised memorials laid in Russia for Dnipro victims
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany/KYIV, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Western allies on Friday dampened Ukraine's hopes for a rapid shipment of battle tanks to boost its firepower for a spring offensive against Russian forces, with the United States urging Kyiv to hold off from mounting such an operation.
The top U.S. general, speaking after a meeting of the allies at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, also said it would be very hard for Ukraine to drive Russia's invading forces from the country this year.
The run-up to the Ramstein meeting had been dominated by the issue of whether Germany would agree to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, or permit other countries that have them to do so.
In the end, no decision on supplying Leopards was reached on Friday, officials said, although pledges were given for large amounts of other weapons, including air defence systems and other tank models.
"We had a frank discussion on Leopards 2."
"To be continued," Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleskii Reznikov said after the meeting.
The United States was also holding fast to its decision not to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine yet, a senior U.S. official said in Washington.
In Ramstein, U.S. General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news conference: "From a military standpoint, I still maintain that for this year, it would be very, very difficult to militarily eject the Russian forces from every inch of Russian-occupied Ukraine."
The developments likely came as a disappointment to Ukraine, as the war unleashed by a Russian invasion last February grinds on, with no solution nor let-up in sight.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had specifically requested more battle tanks.
Ukraine was hit especially hard this week, reporting 44 people confirmed dead and 20 unaccounted for after a Russian missile attack on an apartment block in Dnipro.
Russians in St Petersburg and Moscow have been laying flowers at improvised memorials to the victims.
GERMANY WARY
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a news conference at the end of the Ramstein meeting that while time was of the essence for Ukraine to take the fight to Russia's forces in the spring, Ukraine was well-equipped even without the Leopards.
"Ukraine is not dependent on a single platform," he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration faces pressure at home to supply more advanced weaponry.
A group of U.S. senators visiting Kyiv on Friday blasted the delays.
"We should not send American troops to Ukraine, but we should provide Ukraine with whatever we would give our troops if they were fighting on the ground," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters Ukraine's backers needed to focus not only on sending new weapons, but supplying ammunition for older systems and helping maintain them.
For its part, the Kremlin said supplying tanks to Ukraine would not help and that the West would regret its "delusion" that Kyiv could win on the battlefield.
Germany has been under heavy pressure to allow Leopards to be sent.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrat party is traditionally sceptical of military involvements and wary of sudden moves that could cause Moscow to further escalate.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he could not say when there would be a decision on the tanks but Berlin was prepared to move quickly if there was consensus among allies.
"All pros and cons must be weighed very carefully," Pistorius said.
Defence ministers from NATO and other countries met at Ramstein amid concern that Russia would soon reenergize its military campaign to seize parts of Ukraine's east and south that it says it has annexed but does not fully control.
Zelenskiy thanked allies for their support at the start of the meeting, but said more was needed and more quickly.
"We have to speed up."
"Time must become our weapon."
"The Kremlin must lose," he said.
Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Philippa Fletcher, Angus MacSwan and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Frances Kerry and Rosalba O'Brien
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/uk ... erm=012123
"Allies offer more weapons to Ukraine, but no decisions made on tanks"
By Idrees Ali and Tom Balmforth
January 20, 2023
Summary
* U.S. urges Ukraine to hold off offensive
* No agreement reached on Leopard tanks at Ramstein meeting
* U.S. general says it will be hard to eject Russian forces
* Improvised memorials laid in Russia for Dnipro victims
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany/KYIV, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Western allies on Friday dampened Ukraine's hopes for a rapid shipment of battle tanks to boost its firepower for a spring offensive against Russian forces, with the United States urging Kyiv to hold off from mounting such an operation.
The top U.S. general, speaking after a meeting of the allies at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, also said it would be very hard for Ukraine to drive Russia's invading forces from the country this year.
The run-up to the Ramstein meeting had been dominated by the issue of whether Germany would agree to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, or permit other countries that have them to do so.
In the end, no decision on supplying Leopards was reached on Friday, officials said, although pledges were given for large amounts of other weapons, including air defence systems and other tank models.
"We had a frank discussion on Leopards 2."
"To be continued," Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleskii Reznikov said after the meeting.
The United States was also holding fast to its decision not to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine yet, a senior U.S. official said in Washington.
In Ramstein, U.S. General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news conference: "From a military standpoint, I still maintain that for this year, it would be very, very difficult to militarily eject the Russian forces from every inch of Russian-occupied Ukraine."
The developments likely came as a disappointment to Ukraine, as the war unleashed by a Russian invasion last February grinds on, with no solution nor let-up in sight.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had specifically requested more battle tanks.
Ukraine was hit especially hard this week, reporting 44 people confirmed dead and 20 unaccounted for after a Russian missile attack on an apartment block in Dnipro.
Russians in St Petersburg and Moscow have been laying flowers at improvised memorials to the victims.
GERMANY WARY
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a news conference at the end of the Ramstein meeting that while time was of the essence for Ukraine to take the fight to Russia's forces in the spring, Ukraine was well-equipped even without the Leopards.
"Ukraine is not dependent on a single platform," he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration faces pressure at home to supply more advanced weaponry.
A group of U.S. senators visiting Kyiv on Friday blasted the delays.
"We should not send American troops to Ukraine, but we should provide Ukraine with whatever we would give our troops if they were fighting on the ground," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters Ukraine's backers needed to focus not only on sending new weapons, but supplying ammunition for older systems and helping maintain them.
For its part, the Kremlin said supplying tanks to Ukraine would not help and that the West would regret its "delusion" that Kyiv could win on the battlefield.
Germany has been under heavy pressure to allow Leopards to be sent.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrat party is traditionally sceptical of military involvements and wary of sudden moves that could cause Moscow to further escalate.
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said he could not say when there would be a decision on the tanks but Berlin was prepared to move quickly if there was consensus among allies.
"All pros and cons must be weighed very carefully," Pistorius said.
Defence ministers from NATO and other countries met at Ramstein amid concern that Russia would soon reenergize its military campaign to seize parts of Ukraine's east and south that it says it has annexed but does not fully control.
Zelenskiy thanked allies for their support at the start of the meeting, but said more was needed and more quickly.
"We have to speed up."
"Time must become our weapon."
"The Kremlin must lose," he said.
Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Philippa Fletcher, Angus MacSwan and Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Frances Kerry and Rosalba O'Brien
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/uk ... erm=012123
Re: THE DOD
BUSINESS INSIDER
"Fighter jets are 'worthless' over Ukraine, and it's a sign of what US pilots and troops may face in future battles"
Story by insider@insider.com (Christopher Woody)
17 MARCH 2023
* Neither Russian nor Ukrainian aircraft have been able to establish air superiority over Ukraine.
* As a result, neither side is able to provide close air support to its troops on the front line.
* US pilots and ground troops may face a similar situation in future wars, US Air Force leaders say.
After a year of fighting, neither the Russian nor Ukrainian air forces have been able to take control of the skies over Ukraine.
This has severely limited the role that fighter jets have played in the conflict, and it's a preview of what US troops could face in the future, US Air Force officials say.
While Russian and Ukrainian aircraft are still active, each side's air-defense weapons — such as major Soviet-era anti-aircraft systems like the S-300 or newer shoulder-fired missiles like the US-made Stinger — have forced the other to make tactical adaptations, such as launching less-accurate rocket attacks from longer ranges rather than sending aircraft to provide close air support over the front lines.
Ukraine is estimated to have lost more than 60 aircraft and Russia more than 70, according to Gen. James Hecker, the commander of US Air Forces in Europe.
Hecker told reporters at the Air and Space Forces Association symposium that Russia's larger air force still has jets it could devote to the war, as does Ukraine — but there is an issue.
"The problem is both of the Russian as well as the Ukrainian success in integrated air and missile defense have made much of those aircraft worthless."
"They're not doing a whole lot because they can't go over and do close air support," Hecker said.
Long-range sensors and missiles allow Russian aircraft to target Ukrainian aircraft behind the front lines, further limiting Ukrainian operations, but Kyiv's jets continue to launch strikes on Russian forces, often relying on US weaponry to do so.
US-supplied anti-radiation missiles, which US engineers jury-rigged to operate with Ukraine's Soviet-designed jets, allow Ukrainian pilots to target Russian radars and anti-aircraft batteries and recently delivered US-made kits allow Ukrainian jets to launch gravity-dropped bombs longer distances.
Using those weapons and other assets, Ukraine's air force is able to do "a couple of strikes a day" at ranges "a little bit farther than HIMARS can get right now, but not real far out at all," Hecker said.
The lack of close air support for Russian and Ukrainian troops and the thicket of air-defense weaponry preventing it is a departure from what US troops have faced in recent wars, according to Gen. Charles Brown, the US Air Force chief of staff.
"We cannot predict the future of what kind of environment we're going to fight in, for one, but I fully expect it'll be much more contested," Brown said at the symposium on March 7.
"The amount of close air support we will do will probably be less than we've done in the past, typically in the Middle East, because that environment was that we didn't have an air threat or a surface-to-air threat."
Asked about Hecker's comments, Brown said that it was "spot on" to say that "in a contested environment it's going to be tough to execute the close air support."
"Close air support in a contested environment, that's not what we do, no matter who you are," Brown added.
'More contested environments'
Since taking over as the top US Air Force officer in August 2020, Brown has stressed that future battlefields will be more complex and deadly for the Air Force.
Brown's signature initiative, "Accelerate Change or Lose," has sought to replace the aircraft and other aspects of the force that are ill-suited for that environment — including the A-10 Thunderbolt, a ground-attack jet designed in the 1970s specifically for close-air-support missions.
Congress has long opposed retiring the A-10, objecting to its loss without a dedicated replacement, but lawmakers relented in December, allowing the Air Force to retire 21 of the jets in 2023.
The service had planned to retire the remaining 260 by the early 2030s, but Brown suggested that it may happen faster, saying that the jets will "probably" be "out of our inventory" over the next five to six years.
"The A-10 is great airplane."
"It's a great airplane in an uncontested environment."
"The challenge is we're going to be in more contested environments in the future," Brown said, adding that combatant commanders around the world have little interest in it because it's "a single-mission airplane."
Other aircraft can fill that role, Brown said.
"I've flown F-16s doing close air support."
"I've flown our bombers in combat doing close air support."
"We are very capable of doing close air support, the F-35 and all the other platforms."
While the low- and slow-flying A-10 is generally acknowledged to be more vulnerable to modern anti-aircraft weapons, experts and observers have expressed doubt that other jets can conduct the same kind of close-air-support missions as the Thunderbolt.
An apparent reduction in training requirements has also raised concern about the close-air-support skill set atrophying among US pilots.
Gen. Mark Kelly, who oversees US fighter pilot training as the commander of Air Combat Command, said that the way the Air Force conducts close air support, or CAS, is likely to change but the fact that A-10 pilots have filtered through the force means they will still influence how the service approaches the mission.
As a pilot who has been assigned to different aircraft, "one of the best things I saw was the influence of, say, an A-10 aviator in a Strike Eagle, of an A-10 aviator in an F-35, because they bring not only a mindset but a skill set that we need to keep doing that mission," Kelly said at the symposium on March 7.
"We have to do it a little bit different," Kelly said of future CAS operations, "so we're going to have to get our sensors in there and we're going to have to get our weapons in there" to support troops in combat.
Kelly contrasted Operation Desert Storm in 1991, which was proceeded by a six-week US-led air campaign to destroy Iraqi aircraft and air defenses, with the fighting in Ukraine, which in recent months has settled into an artillery battle with heavy casualties on both sides — losses that Kelly said are high "because no one has established air superiority and no one has been able to execute air-defense takedown."
The US Air Force needs to be able to do those missions "at the time and place" of its choosing to prevent US ground troops from experiencing those kinds of losses, Kelly said.
"I still think there's going to be some CAS."
"I think it's going to be very different," Kelly said, adding that the Air Force has to understand that it owes ground troops that, "first and foremost, any weapon coming off an airplane that they see comes off of a US airplane hitting someone across them, not the other way around."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/fi ... 7c17&ei=33
"Fighter jets are 'worthless' over Ukraine, and it's a sign of what US pilots and troops may face in future battles"
Story by insider@insider.com (Christopher Woody)
17 MARCH 2023
* Neither Russian nor Ukrainian aircraft have been able to establish air superiority over Ukraine.
* As a result, neither side is able to provide close air support to its troops on the front line.
* US pilots and ground troops may face a similar situation in future wars, US Air Force leaders say.
After a year of fighting, neither the Russian nor Ukrainian air forces have been able to take control of the skies over Ukraine.
This has severely limited the role that fighter jets have played in the conflict, and it's a preview of what US troops could face in the future, US Air Force officials say.
While Russian and Ukrainian aircraft are still active, each side's air-defense weapons — such as major Soviet-era anti-aircraft systems like the S-300 or newer shoulder-fired missiles like the US-made Stinger — have forced the other to make tactical adaptations, such as launching less-accurate rocket attacks from longer ranges rather than sending aircraft to provide close air support over the front lines.
Ukraine is estimated to have lost more than 60 aircraft and Russia more than 70, according to Gen. James Hecker, the commander of US Air Forces in Europe.
Hecker told reporters at the Air and Space Forces Association symposium that Russia's larger air force still has jets it could devote to the war, as does Ukraine — but there is an issue.
"The problem is both of the Russian as well as the Ukrainian success in integrated air and missile defense have made much of those aircraft worthless."
"They're not doing a whole lot because they can't go over and do close air support," Hecker said.
Long-range sensors and missiles allow Russian aircraft to target Ukrainian aircraft behind the front lines, further limiting Ukrainian operations, but Kyiv's jets continue to launch strikes on Russian forces, often relying on US weaponry to do so.
US-supplied anti-radiation missiles, which US engineers jury-rigged to operate with Ukraine's Soviet-designed jets, allow Ukrainian pilots to target Russian radars and anti-aircraft batteries and recently delivered US-made kits allow Ukrainian jets to launch gravity-dropped bombs longer distances.
Using those weapons and other assets, Ukraine's air force is able to do "a couple of strikes a day" at ranges "a little bit farther than HIMARS can get right now, but not real far out at all," Hecker said.
The lack of close air support for Russian and Ukrainian troops and the thicket of air-defense weaponry preventing it is a departure from what US troops have faced in recent wars, according to Gen. Charles Brown, the US Air Force chief of staff.
"We cannot predict the future of what kind of environment we're going to fight in, for one, but I fully expect it'll be much more contested," Brown said at the symposium on March 7.
"The amount of close air support we will do will probably be less than we've done in the past, typically in the Middle East, because that environment was that we didn't have an air threat or a surface-to-air threat."
Asked about Hecker's comments, Brown said that it was "spot on" to say that "in a contested environment it's going to be tough to execute the close air support."
"Close air support in a contested environment, that's not what we do, no matter who you are," Brown added.
'More contested environments'
Since taking over as the top US Air Force officer in August 2020, Brown has stressed that future battlefields will be more complex and deadly for the Air Force.
Brown's signature initiative, "Accelerate Change or Lose," has sought to replace the aircraft and other aspects of the force that are ill-suited for that environment — including the A-10 Thunderbolt, a ground-attack jet designed in the 1970s specifically for close-air-support missions.
Congress has long opposed retiring the A-10, objecting to its loss without a dedicated replacement, but lawmakers relented in December, allowing the Air Force to retire 21 of the jets in 2023.
The service had planned to retire the remaining 260 by the early 2030s, but Brown suggested that it may happen faster, saying that the jets will "probably" be "out of our inventory" over the next five to six years.
"The A-10 is great airplane."
"It's a great airplane in an uncontested environment."
"The challenge is we're going to be in more contested environments in the future," Brown said, adding that combatant commanders around the world have little interest in it because it's "a single-mission airplane."
Other aircraft can fill that role, Brown said.
"I've flown F-16s doing close air support."
"I've flown our bombers in combat doing close air support."
"We are very capable of doing close air support, the F-35 and all the other platforms."
While the low- and slow-flying A-10 is generally acknowledged to be more vulnerable to modern anti-aircraft weapons, experts and observers have expressed doubt that other jets can conduct the same kind of close-air-support missions as the Thunderbolt.
An apparent reduction in training requirements has also raised concern about the close-air-support skill set atrophying among US pilots.
Gen. Mark Kelly, who oversees US fighter pilot training as the commander of Air Combat Command, said that the way the Air Force conducts close air support, or CAS, is likely to change but the fact that A-10 pilots have filtered through the force means they will still influence how the service approaches the mission.
As a pilot who has been assigned to different aircraft, "one of the best things I saw was the influence of, say, an A-10 aviator in a Strike Eagle, of an A-10 aviator in an F-35, because they bring not only a mindset but a skill set that we need to keep doing that mission," Kelly said at the symposium on March 7.
"We have to do it a little bit different," Kelly said of future CAS operations, "so we're going to have to get our sensors in there and we're going to have to get our weapons in there" to support troops in combat.
Kelly contrasted Operation Desert Storm in 1991, which was proceeded by a six-week US-led air campaign to destroy Iraqi aircraft and air defenses, with the fighting in Ukraine, which in recent months has settled into an artillery battle with heavy casualties on both sides — losses that Kelly said are high "because no one has established air superiority and no one has been able to execute air-defense takedown."
The US Air Force needs to be able to do those missions "at the time and place" of its choosing to prevent US ground troops from experiencing those kinds of losses, Kelly said.
"I still think there's going to be some CAS."
"I think it's going to be very different," Kelly said, adding that the Air Force has to understand that it owes ground troops that, "first and foremost, any weapon coming off an airplane that they see comes off of a US airplane hitting someone across them, not the other way around."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/fi ... 7c17&ei=33