Found below are a few military news items that caught my attention this past week. I am hopeful that the titles and short commentary will encourage SFTT readers to click on the embedded links to read more on subjects that may be of interest to them.

If you have subjects of topical interest, please do not hesitate to reach out. Contact SFTT at [email protected].

North Korea Reportedly Seeks Military “Equilibrium” with the U.S. 
North Korea said on Saturday it aims to reach an “equilibrium” of military force with the United States, which earlier signaled its patience for diplomacy is wearing thin after Pyongyang fired a missile over Japan for the second time in under a month. “Our final goal is to establish the equilibrium of real force with the U.S. and make the U.S. rulers dare not talk about military option,” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was quoted as saying by the state news agency, KCNA.  Read more . . .

Assessment of Russian Zapad Military Exercise
The large-scale Russian military exercise known as Zapad, which started in Belarus on Thursday, is already a propaganda success: It has alarmed Russia’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization neighbors and garnered so much Western media coverage that one might think it was an actual combat operation. But it has also provided an important insight into the fears of the Russian and Belarusian rulers, fears that are not necessarily groundless. To Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, the exercise is meant to “frighten” her country. To Finnish Defense Minister Jussi Niinisto, it’s about “information warfare” (“Western countries have taken the bait completely, they’ve plugged the exercises so much,” he said recently). To military experts, the quadrennial exercise is a chance to see how much the Russian army has progressed since 2013, when the last Zapad was held. To me, the most intriguing part of the exercise is its storyline.   Read more . . .

Is there a “Military Option” for North Korea?
President Trump’s top national security aide said Friday there is a military option for handling North Korea’s missile and nuclear testing, even though it’s an option the Trump administration does not want to employ. White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster said at the White House that the administration again wants new sanctions against North Korea to work. But he warned that the regime’s stepped up testing means that “we’re out of time.”  Read more . . .

Secretary James Mattis Warns on Budget Stopgap Measures
Defense Secretary James Mattis is warning Congress that a long-term continuing resolution to fund the government will lead to irrecoverable lost training time, delayed ship maintenance and critical personnel gaps. In a letter to defense committee leaders obtained by CNN, Mattis detailed the effects of a continuing resolution, which Congress frequently uses to keep the government funded at the previous year’s spending levels.  Read more . . .

Veteran Suicides Higher in the West and Rural Areas According to VA Study
Suicide among military veterans is especially high in the western U.S. and rural areas, according to new government data that show wide state-by-state disparities and suggest social isolation, gun ownership and access to health care may be factors. The figures released Friday are the first-ever Department of Veterans Affairs data on suicide by state. It shows Montana, Utah, Nevada and New Mexico had the highest rates of veteran suicide as of 2014, the most current VA data available. Veterans in big chunks of those states must drive 70 miles or more to reach the nearest VA medical center. The suicide rates in those four states stood at 60 per 100,000 individuals or higher, far above the national veteran suicide rate of 38.4. The overall rate in the West was 45.5. All other regions of the country had rates below the national rate.  Read more . . .

Vietnam War Documentary by Ken Burns May Be Too Intense for Some
“The Vietnam War” documentary – produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – is being billed as a rare cultural milestone. The filmmakers have been planning the series since 2006, meaning their production process was about as long as America’s involvement in the war. The series is designed to be intense. Each episode if preceded by a warning about strong language and graphic violence. But people who work with veterans say the documentary may be too intense for some of those who fought in Vietnam. “Some are going to watch it. Few will,” said Henry Peterson, a chaplain at the Department of Veterans Affairs in San Diego. He counsels people with PTSD.  Read more . . .

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