Why the military should educate its members about the Constitution Chris Dalton February 10 National Guard Master Sgt. George Roachs holds up a pamphlet of the U.S. Constitution on Jan. 17, 2021, in Washington. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Every American service member takes an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The oath is not to the country, the government, or the flag. It is to the Constitution. But precious few service members truly know what that oath means because the military makes no effort to teach it. I speak from experience: I served in the Marine Corps for nine years, after which I attended law school, where it took only a few weeks before I had learned infinitely more about the Constitution than I learned during my nine years defending it.
Listen to our radio diary about the composition of a Space Force anthem here.
The U.S. Space Force, a new military branch, celebrated its first birthday last month. But what exactly is its mission? We find out.
Guests
Todd Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project and Defense Budget Analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. (@ToddHarrisonDC)
From The Reading List
New York Times: “How Space Became the Next ‘Great Power’ Contest Between the U.S. and China” “Beijing’s rush for antisatellite arms began 15 years ago. Now, it can threaten the orbital fleets that give the United States military its technological edge.”
In 2018, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph F. Dunford described how the changing character of war and strategic landscape have “accelerated the speed and complexity of war” and contributed to a collapsed decision space. This is troubling for a navy in great power competition with potential adversaries who have increasingly capable long-range antiship missiles. This extended range and lethality, combined with the vulnerability of networks and ubiquitous use of communications, means naval forces are increasingly susceptible to adversary targeting. Distributed maritime operations (DMO) strive to counter this with distributed lethality, but the limiting factor is a commander’s decision cycle. Acknowledging the need for improved decision-making, then-Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John M.
In August of 2018, Vice President Mike Pence announced the establishment of the eighth branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Space Force, in a speech at the Pentagon. This was the first time in 70 years that a new branch would be added, aimed at putting the United States at the forefront of space exploration and strategic imperative.
As noted by the Military Times, Space Force was initiated to be tasked with providing “space expertise to combatant commanders,” as well as to be “composed of personnel from all services, with experts in operations, intelligence, engineering … prepared to deploy teams of space operators to Europe and Pacific by next summer.” Space Force aims to improve upon U.S. counterintelligence as a whole.
Published February 2, 2021, 6:54 PM
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Tuesday said the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has “zero authority” to allow Chinese survey vessel, Jia Geng, to stay in Philippine waters since the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) only gave the ship “emergency shelter” at the behest of the Chinese Embassy in Manila.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. (Twitter)
Locsin made this clarification in the wake of reports that Jia Geng anchored off Catanduanes waters for three days – from January 29 to February 1.
“DFA never gave permit to Jia Geng. But for humanitarian considerations, we ok’d Chinese embassy request for shelter against bad weather. The Coast Guard has zero authority to allow it. Only DFA. Not to stay. But seek shelter. Period. P I ,” the DFA secretary said in a tweet.