Ex-Missile Defense Chief To Keep His Rank Even After Being Criticized By The Inspector General

Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly, director of the Missile Defense Agency, briefs reporters at the Pentagon, December 2008. Photo: DVIDSHUB

Panetta Lets Ex-Missile Defense Chief Keep His Rank -- Bloomberg Businessweek

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta allowed the former director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency to retire at his current rank rather than demoting him after the Pentagon’s inspector general criticized his management style.

Lieutenant General Patrick O’Reilly stepped down Nov. 19 as agency head and after 38 years of Army service, including four as a West Point cadet, at the three-star rank.

“Secretary Panetta has determined that LTG Patrick J. O’Reilly” served “satisfactorily in the grade of lieutenant general and should be retired at the grade,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Lieutenant Commander Nathan Christensen said today in an e- mailed statement.

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Update: 3 star general O’Reilly, accused of bullying, allowed to retire without demotion -- Washington Post/AP

My Comment: What's the point of having an Inspector General if his criticisms are ignored ... at least he got a reprimand in his file.

U.S. Missile Defense Is Back In The Spotlight

Even as the nation frets over the fiscal cliff Congress is pushing along an $8.5 billion plan to protect the East Coast with a missile defense system, mainly to shield New York City and Washington from a possible Iranian strike. Reuters correspondent Jim Wolf explains how the system would work and why it’s under consideration again. (December 24, 2012)

Spotlight Returns To Missile Defense -- DoD Buzz

Missile defense programs have gained scant attention in the past decade as the U.S. has fought two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan where U.S. forces have faced little to no missile threat.

With the success of the Iron Dome missile defense system in Israel and the new defense strategy that shifts the focus to the Pacific, the spotlight is returning to missile defense.

The Iron Dome system shot down about 85 percent of the missiles Hamas lobbed at Israel in November. Its success has grabbed the attention of Pentagon leaders. Panetta said the U.S. military is considering whether to either develop a similar system or buy their own. Before, the U.S. had balked at the expensive price of the Iron Dome.

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More News On U.S. Missile Defense

Congress OKs increased funding for missile defense programs, National Defense Authorization Act awaits president's signature -- al.com
New U.S. Defense Bill Directs Washington to Consider New Missile Defense System -- Arirang
MDA lays out 2013 testing plans -- Defense Tech
Russia-US talks on anti-missile deployment in stalemate: defense official -- Global Times
It’s time to get serious about missile defense -- Rebeccah Heinrichs, Washington Times

Pentagon To Activate Global Missile Defense For NKorean Missile Test

Japan's missile defense assets deployed to Intercept the North Korean missile on its ascent trajectory (April 2012). Illustration: Daily Yomiuri

North Korean Missile Launch Set -- Washington Times

The Pentagon is preparing to activate global missile defenses for an expected test launch of another long-range missile by North Korea, U.S. defense officials said.

Intelligence agencies are closely watching a North Korean missile launch site amid signs a test-firing will take place in the next two months, U.S. officials said, echoing reports from South Korea and Japan.

One official said the indicators from the launch site appear to be “a replay of the April launch, hopefully with the same success.”

North Korea’s last Taeopodong-2 missile was test-fired April 13 in what defense officials said was a failure shortly after the first stage lifted off.

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My Comment: A prudent .... but expensive deployment.

NRC Report: Praise And Criticism Of The U.S. Missile Defense Program

NRC Praises Ship-Based BMD Potential In Pacific -- Aviation Week

The U.S. will most certainly reap rewards from its investments in Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) and the Navy Aegis for ballistic missile defense systems, especially in the Pacific regions, a recent National Research Council report concludes.

However, the nation should abandon or curtail other ballistic missile defense (BMD) efforts or concepts such as the space-based Precision Tracking and Surveillance System (PTSS) or those focused on boost-phase missile interceptions, the report notes.

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My Comment: This is a mixed report .... praise for Thaad and Aegis, criticism for BMD and PTSS. With more U.S. defense budget cuts being prepared, I view this as "laying down the groundwork" for the eventual cutting or limiting of BMD and PTSS funding.