Author Archive

Ben Watson

Senior Multimedia Editor, Defense One

Ben Watson is an Army veteran who writes The D Brief daily newsletter and hosts the bimonthly Defense One Radio podcast. Since arriving in Washington in 2012, Ben has written and produced award-winning features on politics, international security, technology, and military history for NPR, The Atlantic and Defense One.
Threats

The D Brief: China’s 'rehearsals' for war; Gitmo update; DOD preps for DOGE; Court unfreezes foreign aid; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: ‘Start negotiations immediately’; Gabbard, intel chief; 5K troops at border; State Dept.’s armored Teslas?; And just a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Hegseth pans Kyiv’s ‘unrealistic objective’; Anti-ISIS airstrikes; USAID IG fired; ‘Stunning twist’ for Army headset; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Air Force efforts, on hold; Desk deficits as workers return; Foreign-aid monitoring, slashed; It’s Fort Bragg again; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Hegseth’s town hall; Trump: annex Canada; Purge reaches academies, schools; Full-year CR?; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: DOD plane crash kills 4 in the Philippines; Navy pauses SAPR training; Google jumps back into military AI; Musk-Trump’s ‘Deferred resignation’ deadline delayed; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

The D Brief: ‘Constitutional crisis’; IC workers pressed to quit; Musk adds control of sensitive personal data; N. Korean missiles improve; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Resignation deal offered to CIA; Trump’s Gaza pitch; Assault on USAID; Marines alter F-35 plan; And just a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: China’s retaliatory tariffs; ‘Constitutional crisis’ in DC; ‘No improvement’ in F-35 software; Latest natsec nominees; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: USAID lockout; Musk seizes US payment system; Global markets tumble; Army aviation’s bad year; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Crash update; May or June for next budget?; Navy’s nimble combat tuneups; China’s big new military HQ; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Featured eBooks
Connect Everything: JADC2 & networks
Training and Simulation
AI & Autonomy
Threats

The D Brief: Army helo, airliner collide; Trump orders Gitmo expansion; Natsec moves, polled; How DeepSeek may change military AI; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: WH offers buyout to Feds; F-35 crash in Alaska; Army contracting update; Trump and Hegseth vs. Milley; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Audrey Decker
Threats

The D Brief: NATO’s Baltic problem; Denmark ups military spending; MADIS vs. drones; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Meghann Myers and Audrey Decker
Threats

The D Brief: SecDef Hegseth’s first day; Trump’s deportation spat with Colombia; Trump’s DOD vs. DEI; Ukraine’s front-line shakeup; China’s new AI ‘breakthrough’?; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson, Patrick Tucker and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Hegseth’s $50K payout; Trump to NATO: spend 5% of GDP; DOD telework, cancelled; Boeing’s new losses; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: More troops to border; USAF’s ‘deportation flights’; DEI purge begins; After pardons, a new J6 inquest; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson
Threats

The D Brief: USCG to the border; Firings, removals begin; More Hegseth allegations; Executive orders, analyzed; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: ‘Seal the borders’; Insurrectionists, pardoned; Coast Guard leader, fired; Trump’s conflicts of interest; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston
Threats

The D Brief: Gaza ceasefire?; House intel chair, fired; INDOPACOM’s gen-AI test; Navy’s ‘embarrassing’ laser effort; And a bit more.

  • Ben Watson and Bradley Peniston