On the one year anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Libya, analyst Sim Tack writes about new initiatives at DOS to improve security at high threat Embassies around the world:  “While Washington has not been able to bring those behind last year’s attack to justice, it has initiated the process of improving security at high-risk diplomatic posts worldwide. The Sept. 11, 2012, attack illustrated the brilliance and simplicity of using a readily available tactic like fire, something directly addressed by expanded training of diplomatic personnel regarding fire suppression.”

Keep Reading:  A year after Benghazi attacks….

On July 11th, 2013, VxL Enterprises supported the H.E.R.O.E.S. (Honor Every Responsible Officer’s Eternal Sacrifice)  Annual Golf tournament and fundraiser of  in Waldorf Maryland.  HEROES is a non-profit charitable organization providing financial aid, scholarships, counsel, and support to the surviving members of Law Enforcement Officers who have died in the line of duty.  VxL was privileged to participate in this worthwhile charity, to show our thanks to HEROES for they provide the families of those officers and firefighters who have made the ultimate sacrifice.  Find our more about this great organization at www.heroes-inc.org.

The United States made a decision to withdraw from Afghanistan several years ago. That decision carried with it an inevitable logic. Once the United States resolved itself to leave at any cost, its failures up to that point were laid bare, as were the vulnerabilities of the government it had spent more than a decade building. The door was opened for the enemies of the regime of President Hamid Karzai — the man who has been synonymous with the post-Taliban government. All that was left to do was wait for the American pullback…….

Keep Reading:  The Reality of Afghanistan

On Wednesday, June 5th, Congress wasn’t working on the budget, the national debt, or relations with China. Instead, in a heated debate, committee members criticized the Pentagon over its management of camouflage development, which they described as focusing more on creating a visual brand rather than effective concealment.  A final vote was passed which  will end service-specific camouflage patterns by 2018.  Now – about that national debt…  -Source: www.military.com

On June 6, VxL leadership attended a talk with Tara Sonenshine, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy.  Secretary Sonenshine addressed the role public diplomacy plays at the intersection of civil and military transitions, before, during, and after conflict.  Also discussed was DoS’s newly established Bureau for Conflict Stabilization Operations (CSO).

VxL used the opportunity, which took place at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC, to meet with others involved in the security space and to better understand the future role VxL may have in supporting the U.S. Government mission in post conflict settings.