Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. Mike Mullen has made it clear he stands in agreement with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates that China’s military is standing in the way of improved U.S.-China relations.

“From what I see, in the request to visit [with Chinese military leaders in China] that has been ongoing with Secretary of Defense Gates, I certainly agree with his assessment that it is [China’s] military that’s holding us back,” Mullen said, according to the Department of Defense.

Gates has traveled to Singapore for the Shangri-la dialogue and conference for discussion with Asian military leaders.  China is not in attendance.

“Nearly all of the aspects of the relationship between the United States and China are moving forward in a positive direction with the sole exception of the military-to-military relationship,” said Gates.

Gates wanted to meet with the Chinese, but he was “disinvited” to the visit.  Gates and Mullen cite the United States’ arms deal with Taiwan as the reason for China’s response.

“The Taiwan arms sale is one we’re committed to and will continue to be committed too,” Mullen said. “It is in support of our national policy which is in support of the Taiwan Relations Act and it’s going to continue. The criticality of the military-to-military relationship with the Chinese can’t be overstated,” the chairman said, noting his personal attempts to meet with Chinese military leaders. “We need to have that. It has gone through fits and starts.

Mullen feels that a dialogue is crucial to a working partnership in the geopolitical spectrum.

“The whole idea of that engagement and relations is to understand us better and understand where we’re headed,” Mullen continued. “You have to ask the hard questions — we don’t have to agree on everything, but [the relationship needs] to improve so that we can have a better understanding of what our priorities are in creating a sustained, secure environment in that part of the world.”

Admiral Mike Mullen took to the Department of Defense’s blog to expand on his support for the START Treaty, saying it has “the full support of (the) uniformed military.”

“Some of you have expressed concern to me through Facebook and Twitter about Russian intent,” wrote Mullen. “I can tell you that I met with my Russian counterpart, General Makarov, several times during this process. These meetings not only provided a better understanding of our common challenges, but reaffirmed my belief that the Russian military is as committed to this treaty and the reduction of nuclear stockpiles as we are.”

Mullen highlighted the benefits of the treaty, specifically its ability to strike a harmonious note among three important goals of the Department of Defense.

“The new START Treaty achieves an important and necessary balance between three critical aims,” wrote Mullen. “It allows us to retain a strong and flexible American nuclear deterrent. It helps strengthen openness and transparency in our relationship with Russia. It also demonstrates our national commitment to reducing the worldwide risk of nuclear incident resulting from the continuing proliferation of nuclear weapons.”

Mullen also described some of the other virtues of the agreement, pointing to the continued and enhanced stability between the United States and the Russian Federation.

“A far as capability, we will retain our triad of bombers, ballistic missile submarines, and land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles in sufficient diversity and numbers to assure strategic stability between ourselves and the Russian Federation,” wrote Mullen. “We will also maintain sufficient capability to deter other nuclear states. In addition, the agreement provides for an array of important verification measures that are critical to both sides in monitoring compliance and ensuring transparency.”

Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen published his 2010 social media strategy recently.  The memo includes specific guidance and goals for the Joint Chiefs’ usage of social media which began in April 2009 with Admiral Mullen’s Twitter account.  “Currently, these social media sites are used primarily to replicate content on the Joint Staff website, official releases, and Pentagon Channel videos.”

The new new policy memo acknowledges that “while great effort is made to repurpose existing products and Joint Staff processes into content for the social media sites, it is a fairly stove-piped operation.”  Overall, the Chairman uses his social media presence to broadcast information and gather commentary for anecdotal evidence of message effectiveness, as well as tracking discussion trends on specific policy issues.

The two main obstacles to achieving the goals of the Joint Chiefs are (as per the memo):

1. How can aides be active in social media without impersonating the Chairman online, which would destroy the credibility of the whole effort?
2. How can DoD deal with the volume of comments, inquires, and questions that are posted to the sites?

While both represent unique challenges of a public figure on social media, DoD maintains “they are not insurmountable,” and the memorandum contains four objectives:

1. ENGAGE -DoD wants to engage in “interactive conversations with our followers” and plans to post more personalized content about the Chairman.
2. ALIGN -Admiral Mullen wants to use social media aggressively for messaging purposes, and plans to align content creation for social media with his Top 3 Priorities, and social media content will be brought in line with current Joint Staff processes and products, involving the entire public affairs shop, speech writers, editors, CAG, and Aides.
3. DRIVE – Admiral Mullen wants to use social media to “lead the discussion and focus questions,” in line with the recommendations on “narrative conflict” in the Joint Operating Environment report.
4. EXPAND – Just like pretty much everyone else, one thing that the Joint Chiefs are sure about expanding their social media presence.

Each objective has its own list of action items to be achieved by September ‘10.  Noteworthy goals for “Engage” include giving OCJCS PA Outreach and Operations personnel their own official Facebook profile, rolling social media queries into the existing CART system and developing a standardized process for public engagement via social media through Action Control Branch of SJS.  Also, video capabilities are being upgraded, including improved video outreach for schools and Joint Chiefs travel.

For “Align,” the Chairman plans to incorporate social media into his travel planning and transfer birthday notices and other “pronouncements” to online media, and for “Drive” he plans to use Twitter and blog posts strategically to advocate ideas advanced through his speeches.

Finally, Admiral Mullen has set tough goals for the Joint Chiefs’ social media presence, shooting for 13,000 Facebook fans and 25,000 Twitter followers.

While the jury is still out on whether the Joint Chiefs will meet their ambitious goals for their use of social media, at least they are moving forward with a comprehensive, well-articulated strategy.

The X-37B during launch preparations

Last week, Air Force Space Command launched Boeing’s X-37B unmanned space vehicle (USV) from an Atlas V rocket in Cape Canaveral.  That much was made public.  What wasn’t made public was what the spacecraft would be used for or when it’s coming back to Earth (although it can stay in space for at least 9 months at a time).

However, since there are no secrets in space (amateurs all over the world track pretty much everything shot into space and NORAD can track objects in space 4 inches across), DoD has dropped a few clues for some possible uses for the USV, starting with the Air Force press release issued the day of its launch.  Col. André Lovett, the 45th Space Wing vice commander and the launch’s commander said, ”this launch helps ensure that our warfighters will be provided the capabilities they need in the future.”

The phrasing he used – ensuring that our warfighters will be provided the capabilities they need – echoes a recommendation of the Joint Operating Environment Report released last month.  Because America’s 21st-century rivals see themselves as military competitors in space, the U.S. has to anticipate attacks to neutralize mission-critical technologies like GPS and the upgraded WideBand SATCOM satellites that make up the backbone of our armed forces’ command and control networks.  The JOE report advocates avoiding complete dependence on a networked environment, an easily-exploitable “Achilles’ heel” in military capabilities that could be defended with, for example, an unmanned defense craft that can stay in orbit for nine months at a time.

The Defense Department has been worried about a “Space Pearl Harbor” at least since 2001, and in 2007, China shocked the world by shooting down a weather satellite.  That the U.S., Russia and China possess ground-based anti-satellite (ASAT) capabilities isn’t in dispute, so adding a space-based anti-ASAT defense mechanism isn’t all that far-fetched.  Also, since Boeing recently tested a solid-state laser designed to disrupt or disable a boosting ballistic missile, the technology currently exists to build such a platform.

The Air Force release says that new technologies on board the X-37B will “will make our access to space more responsive, perhaps cheaper, and push us in the vector toward being able to react to warfighter needs more quickly” if they prove successful, according to Gary Payton, Air Force deputy undersecretary for space programs. From that statement, it sounds like the Air Force is testing at least one Prompt Global Strike (PGS) capability.

Last week, the White House confirmed that it was considering adopting a hypersonic missile like the X-51 (also built by Boeing) that is capable of striking a target anywhere in the world in less than an hour.  Prompt and precise strikes are a priority of Admiral Mike Mullen, who notes “Each time we kill a civilian inadvertently, we not only wreak devastation on the lives of their loved ones, we set our own strategy back months if not years. We make it hard for people to trust us.”

Even if the Air Force only plans to use the X-37B instead of the Space Shuttle to repair satellites in orbit, the program represents a major investment in America’s space capabilities, and programs like it might forestall our “slide to mediocrity.”

Walt Havenstein of SAIC

The new healthcare law is attracting scammers, according to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Northrop Grumman and Boeing won Navy deals.

Walt Havenstein commented on SAIC’s major donation to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Adm. Mike Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates both fully support the Nuclear Posture Review.

DoD revealed its open government plan.

This virtual protest crossed the line to cyber crime.

Don’t go breaking my heart…or stealing my money.

This Chinese city is taking steps to secure its assets in cyberspace.

Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The senate’s healthcare reform bill passed the House of Representatives yesterday.

SAIC won a deal with the U.S. Transportation Command.

QinetiQ NA named Jeffrey Beck CFO of its Technology Solutions Group.

Robert Gates and Adm. Michael Mullen are heading a U.S. crime-fighting delegation to Mexico.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano is pushing immigration reform.

Google released a cybersecurity scanner.

The Secret Service’s IT infrastructure is state of the art…by 1980 standards.

A Chinese grad student and his professor published a detailed plan for a crippling cyber attack against the U.S.

Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen outlined last Friday in the Chairman’s Corner of the DoD’s blog his three principles for the use of military force, drawn from a March 3rd speech at the Kansas State University.  He writes, “I have watched — and advised — two administrations as they have dealt with this struggle, and I have come to three principles, about the proper use of modern military forces.”

Below are his three principles for the use of military force:

Military power should not be the last resort of the state.

Admiral Mullen makes the point that, because of its flexibility and speed, the American military is the best tool to use in many situations.  “Military forces are some of the most flexible and adaptable tools to policymakers.  We can, merely by our presence, help alter certain behavior.”  He writes, “But it should never be the only tool.  Use of military forces must be accompanied by other instruments of national and international power.”

Force should be applied in a precise and principled way.

Admiral Mullen is clear that this maxim should not mean that we are unwilling to do what is necessary to win a conflict, but that we should bear in mind our end objective in each conflict.  “Each time we kill a civilian inadvertently, we not only wreak devastation on the lives of their loved ones, we set our own strategy back months if not years. We make it hard for people to trust us.”  He sums up, “Frankly, the battlefield isn’t necessarily a field anymore but the minds of the people.”

We should welcome a constant struggle between policy and strategy.

Admiral Mullen says that the experiences of nine years of fighting insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan tells us two things: “A clear strategy for military operations is essential, and that strategy will have to change as those operations evolve. In other words, success in these types of wars is iterative, not decisive.  We will win, but we will do so only over time and only after near-constant re-assessment and adjustment.”

He also rejects the notion that war policy cannot be changed once it has been set, or that doing so implies weakness or failure, saying that the notion is “not only as incompatible with our own history, but also as quite dangerous…the day you stop adjusting is the day you lose.”