Looking beyond a Government Solution to Military Suicide
by Barbara Van Dahlen

Americans gave a collective sigh of relief upon learning that our country would not tumble over the fiscal cliff to begin the new year. Many of us have only a vague understanding of the complex financial issues that were debated and discussed as the nation celebrated the holidays and prepared for New Year’s celebrations. But we all heard—repeatedly—that had we gone over the cliff, we would have all suffered an increase in taxes and a cut in services. We were also told that if we went over the cliff, our military would have been subjected to severe cuts—cuts that might jeopardize national security and compromise the care of those who serve and their families. What most Americans don’t fully understand is that our military is facing substantial budgetary cuts regardless of recent or future decisions or deals associated with the fiscal cliff.  
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Lighting Our Way
 by Norm McCormack

The nature of combat requires that warriors be constantly on guard against and ready to respond to threats. Warriors have at their disposal a vast array tools to aid them in assessing the kind, level, and seriousness of potential threats. These run the gamut from “on the ground” human intelligence to highly sophisticated radio, electronic, and aerial interception and reconnaissance devices. Together, these sources of information provide a lot of data. These data are sometimes accurate, sometimes inaccurate, and often conflicting.
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