Outside the Beltway

Defense Secretary James Mattis has announced that the deployment of U.S. troops to the Mexican border will be extended through the end of this year.

Another part of the country that was once a Republican stronghold is now almost completely blue.

Losing the midterms is not going over well with the President.

A slight variant of the uniform from World War II and Korea is coming to a soldier near you.

Claiming it was because of the weather President Trump chose to skip a visit to a cemetery at the site of one of the bloodiest battles involving Americans in World War One.

My latest for War on the Rocks.

President Trump wants to send more troops than we have in Syria and Iraq combined to the border to deal with a non-existent threat.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is running for a third term under a dark ethical cloud. That probably won’t matter.

The situation isn’t as awful as portrayed by the AP—but it’s still pretty bad.

What was once a rare symbol of national mourning has become so commonplace as to be meaningless.

Seemingly out of nowhere yesterday, the Commander-in-Chief ordered the Pentagon to create a fifth service.

Two months ago, the President called on states to send National Guard troops to the border. As expected, they’re not guarding the border.

More signs of tension between President Trump and his Chief of Staff.

An oak sapling brought to the United States by French President Macron went missing over the weekend. The reason for its disappearance has been answered.

President Trump may be looking to push Chief of Staff John Kelly aside by giving him a next to impossible job.

After eight months in office, the pressures on Chief of Staff John Kelly continue to mount under a President who cannot be controlled and whose behavior will not change.

President Trump wants to send the military to the Mexican border. This is both unnecessary and a bad idea.

This isn’t your ordinary windy day.

We form stereotypes about generational cohorts when they’re very young and then freeze them.

Staffers are fleeing the administration like rats from a sinking ship.

Big problems for the Air Force.

The White House believes that it is ‘inappropriate’ to question Generals. This argument is not only wrong, it’s downright dangerous.

White House Chief Of Staff John Kelly publicly defended the President’s call to a military widow yesterday, but he got several facts wrong in the process.

President Trump once again revealed his true self at a press conference yesterday.

My apologies to Bob Dreyfuss and Rolling Stone.

Could Donald Trump’s comments about Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl on the campaign trail lead to the case against Bergdahl being dismissed? A military judge will have to decide.

Godspeed, John Glenn.

A senior congressional staffer is taking a new job that happens to coincide with her boss’ committee assignment.

My latest for War on the Rocks.

Marines, especially female Marines, will be allowed to be heavier in the new year.

The Marine Corps has removed the word “man” from nineteen of its military occupation specialty titles, leaving only a handful of iconic instances intact.

The Senate has passed an amendment to a military spending bill that would require women to register for the draft.

Bowe Bergdahl’s Court Martial has been delayed until 2017, which raises the possibility that comments by Donald Trump could result in Bergdahl getting off scot-free.

With Donald Trump now destined to become the GOP nominee, some Republican insiders are trying to put together another ‘too little, too late’ strategy to stop him.

My latest for War on The Rocks, “Professional Military Education and the Rigor Problem, has posted.

The great author Pat Conroy has died, aged 70, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

The end of Webbmentum is here, my friends.

It’s been suggested that subjecting women to a possible draft would make leaders less likely to go to war. Unfortunately, there’s no reason to believe this is true.

The Army Chief of Staff and Commandant of the Marine Corps told Congress that women should be required to register for the draft just like men are.

My latest for War on The Rocks, “The Inter-Service Wars Are Looking Like Calvinball,” has posted.

Tragedy in Tennessee.

The nine-year-old ‘Army Strong’ ad campaign is ended.

Marine special operations forces have called themselves “Raiders” for years. Now it’s official.

A woman discharged from the Marine Corps for violating multiple direct orders is fighting to the highest military court.

Ray Mabus is trying to make serving in the Navy and Marine Corps more attractive to women.

Vaccination has eliminated a disease that used to be a serious threat from the Americas.

A headline I did not expect to see, courtesy the Army Times: “Dakota Meyer engaged to Bristol Palin.”

Heather Havrilesky asks, “Why Are Americans So Fascinated With Extreme Fitness?