How Painful is the Cutting Edge?

Two explorations on the military's efforts to keep up with itself:

First, the executive summary of the 2010 McCain Conference, "New Warriors and New Weapons: The Ethical Ramifications of Emerging Military Technologies." The summary provides ethical concerns in the areas of unmanned systems, soldier enhancements, nonlethal weapons and cyberwarfare. Link here (scroll past the info/registration for this year's conference).

Second, Tim Kane's article in The Atlantic, "Why Our Best Officers Are Leaving." Get past the hyperbolic title and you'll find a recurring argument: "the military personnel system—every aspect of it—is nearly blind to merit." Link here.