ON THE FIGHT

Weary from years of kidnappings, the inhabitants of Algeria’s rugged Kabylie mountains are finally turning against the fighters of Al Qaeda’s North Africa affiliate in their midst and helping security forces hunt them down. And that turnaround is giving Algeria its best chance yet to drive the terror network from its last Algerian stronghold.

A car bomb exploded on Sunday in front of a police station in Benghazi, injuring three police officers in the latest in a series of attacks on security officials in Libya’s second largest city. A Reuters photographer saw three policemen receive first aid for small injuries in front of the station. Officials at the scene said there were no deaths. A policeman who refused to be identified said the explosion went off when a homemade bomb was attached to the bottom of a parked police car in front of the station.

The Afghan government said it is considering expelling the staff of an influential global conflict-resolution think tank over a recent critical report, fueling concerns about Kabul’s tolerance of dissent.

The Department of Defense, specifically the Defense Intelligence Agency, seems awfully interested in targeting and collection and all that dirty Neandrathal stuff, explicitly listing “previous experience with the F3EAD targeting cycle or supporting Special Operations Forces” as a prerequisite for employment.

ON THE FORCE 

TURNOVER: General John Allen and Joseph Dunford are set for confirmation hearings after the election, the committee announced Friday. Allen has been nominated to become NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe and head of U.S. European Command, and Dunford, currently assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, has been picked to replace Allen as U.S. commander in Afghanistan. The hearings start November 15.

TURNOVER PART DEUX: Although all senior officers have experience working with joint forces, their own military roots and early training can influence their strategic mind-set. Air Force General Mike Hostage, the current head of Air Combat Command and a former head of CENTCOM’s air component, is considered the Air Force candidate for the top Middle East military job, current and former officials said. No Air Force officer currently leads a regional combatant command. The Navy is offering up Admiral Bill Gortney, the former top aide to the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the current head of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. A senior defense official declined to comment on the succession plans for the Central Command, but said all three men were “outstanding officers.” The Darkhorse favorite remains Admiral Bob Harward, who previously served as a top deputy to Stan McChrystal, Bill McRaven and President Bush.

ON TECH

The In-Agency Technology Expo Ramstein Air Base/USAFE kicks off January 29, 2013.

Lawfare takes a peek at the draft cybersecurity executive order.

ON SECRECY – OR LACK THEREOF

The Department of Justice has sued Triple Canopy, a private security company for submitting false firearms proficiency test results in an effort to get paid for unqualified guards it hired in Iraq. Passage of the test was required under the contract.

Sunday night saw the the premiere of America’s Doomsday Secrets, a new documentary produced by in part by Angeleno Marc Ambinder on the Discovery Channel.

Emptywheel asks: if the annex run by the Central Intelligence Agency was so secret, why were their personnel being harassed on the regular? Apparently, everyone knew where the annex was — most notably, the enemy.

“[The] CIA station chief in Tripoli sent an emergency security force, with about a half-dozen agency operatives as well as two U.S. military personnel, to Benghazi aboard a hastily chartered aircraft while the attack was underway.”

BLUE SKIES

“At some point, the leader of the quick reaction force said, look, I’m going to go. This is taking too long.”

ON SANDY RESPONSE

National Guard

– The North Carolina National Guard has 20 Tarheel soldiers in New York and New Jersey, most of which are part of a N.C.-led helicopter task force.

– Connecticut Army and Air National Guard 

Marines

– 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit with elements from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., MCAS New River, N.C and Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Army

– Soldiers with the 10th Press Camp HQ and the 227th Preventive Health Team have deployed to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.

Joint 

– 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center)

– 62nd Aerial Port Squadron

Reserve

– The Army Reserve (itself based at Fort Bragg) mobilized three tactical water distribution units to aid with relief efforts. Among them was the 431st Quartermaster Team from Kinston, which consists of about 25 soldiers.

 

Robert Caruso is a veteran of the United States Navy, and has worked for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Business Transformation Agency and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

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Robert Caruso is a veteran of the United States Navy, and has worked for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Business Transformation Agency and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.