THE F-35 FLIES ON: The Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program ever continues to take flak from both internal and external criticism, for its costs, performance and sustainability. But the reality is nothing is going to bring down the F-35 program, because the Pentagon has no Plan B when it comes to fielding the next generation of tactical aircraft. Will the F-35 turn out to be one of those planes that is constantly criticized right up until the point it’s considered indispensable? Read more from this week’s magazine.

MINIMUM HIGH ENTHUSIASM: CNN is reporting that the Army has come up with five options for a parade to respond to the president’s desire to honor the armed services with a display of U.S. military might. CNN says the initial options were described as "small, medium, heavy, hybrid and a multimedia display."

“The small and medium options could include varying levels of troops marching from ceremonial units stationed in Washington and some equipment located nearby from the Maryland and Virginia National Guard,” according to the report, “while the so-called heavy option would bring active duty units to Washington.”

But the network is not finding many fans of the idea among the nameless officials it has talked to. “We don't have troops and units sitting around waiting to do a parade," one official said. CNN says the Pentagon is considering seeking private donations to offset some of the costs associated with an event of this scale.

NIGER TIMELINE: Mattis said while he met with U.S. Africa Commander Gen. Thomas Waldhauser last week, he got a briefing on the investigation into deaths of four U.S. troops in Niger. “He gave me the timeline when he expects to be done with it, and when he expects to forward it to me, and the timeline will include the briefings to the families, the briefings to Capitol Hill, and the briefings, then, to everyone else,” Mattis said. “The families need to know what we found first.”

CONFIRMATIONS PICK UP: The Senate made its biggest move so far this year to fill empty appointee seats at the Pentagon with the confirmation last week of seven of Trump’s picks, including a top management post and weapons buyer.

By voice vote, the Senate on Thursday approved John Gibson as the Pentagon’s new chief management officer, the building’s third most senior position. Will Roper, who previously headed the military’s efforts to field new technology, was also confirmed by voice vote as the Air Force’s assistant secretary charged with acquisition.

More than a year after Trump took office, 41 of the Pentagon’s 57 Senate-confirmed positions have been filled, despite Republican complaints that Democrats have slow-rolled nominees in the chamber and set the pace of confirmations slower than under past administrations.

MONEY TO SPEND: The Pentagon is finally poised for a spending hike in March that could bankroll increased troop training and equipment maintenance, but the wrangling on Capitol Hill has delayed its annual budget by more than five months. Now, military leaders worry they might not have enough time in the remaining months of the fiscal year to spend all their extra cash.

Army Secretary Mark Esper said he has been meeting with members of Congress about relaxing a Sept. 30 deadline for using its annual operations and maintenance funds, an account that is about 40 percent of the total Pentagon budget.

Rep. Tom Cole, a member of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said new flexibility for spending the money will be part of the deliberations on the bill. “Hopefully, people have been planning for this kind of plus-up, but you don’t want to just flush money through the system,” Cole said. “You’re really going to have to sit down with the Pentagon and talk about OK, this is for a year, you’re going to have six months.”

ACADEMY APOLOGIZES: A top official at the Air Force Academy apologized for “microaggressions” that appeared in a school-wide email on haircut standards amid backlash to a reference to NBA great Michael Jordan. Cadets received the email on Wednesday from Master Sgt. Zachary Parish commenting on haircuts that did not meet the academy’s standards and cast a “negative impression” on the “cadet population and armed service members at large.”

"He was never seen with a gaudy chain around his neck, his pants below his waistline, or with a backwards baseball hat on during public appearances," the email read. A number of cadets saw the sergeant’s reference as a dig at African-Americans, stirring controversy on campus in Colorado, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. Vice-commandant of cadets, Col. Julian Stevens, sent an apology on behalf of the academy for the “inappropriate” comments, explaining they were in “no way reflective” of the Air Force Academy.

CYBER THREATS: A broad, worrisome assortment of cyber threats tops the U.S. intelligence community's latest “worldwide threat assessment,” but it's unclear whether the policymaking apparatus in Congress and the federal bureaucracy is keeping up.

“The intelligence community's threat assessment for cyber is basically what we have been saying for some time. The cyber threat is bad and is going to get much worse as the attackers are becoming much more sophisticated, blending nation-state and criminal activity, while the system they are attacking — already weak — is getting weaker,” said Larry Clinton, president of the industry-based Internet Security Alliance.

“Meanwhile,” Clinton said, “the economics of cybersecurity all favor the attackers as the intelligence community repeatedly indicates cyberattacks are a relatively inexpensive way to conduct all manner of nefarious activities.”

UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS: Chinese security officers attempted to stop the American military aide carrying the nuclear football from following Trump into the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in November. Axios reported Sunday the decision set off a chain of events that led chief of staff John Kelly to intervene and get in a physical altercation with a Chinese security officer.

According to the report, Chinese officials blocked the military aide carrying the nuclear football from following Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping into the Great Hall. The aide is supposed to be near Trump at all times. When made aware of the situation, Kelly intervened and told the aide to keep walking and entering the hall. One Chinese official grabbed Kelly and Kelly shoved the man’s hand back. A Secret Service agent then grabbed the Chinese official and tackled him to the ground.

SALES TO LATIN AMERICA: Russia plans to continue building military relationships in Latin America despite a warning from Tillerson that the U.S. would work to combat Russian and Chinese influence in the hemisphere. "Military cooperation is a common form of interaction between countries,” Alexander Shchetinin, who directs the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Latin America bureau, told state-run media.

Tillerson denounced Chinese and Russian involvement in South America on the cusp of a recent trip to the region. He said that warning was in the tradition of the Monroe Doctrine, a foreign policy principle articulated in 1823 in which President James Monroe announced that the United States would not allow European powers to colonize the Western Hemisphere.

BIBI’S THREAT: Israel is prepared for a direct conflict with Iran if the threat of the regime’s terrorist proxies increases, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned. "We will act if necessary not just against Iran's proxies but against Iran itself,” Netanyahu said Sunday at the Munich Security Conference.

Netanyahu reinforced the point by showing the assembly of diplomats and international leaders a piece of the Iranian drone shot down after entering Israeli airspace eight days ago. Israel responded to the drone incursion with airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria, but Syrian anti-aircraft defenses succeeded in downing an Israeli F-16.

THE RUNDOWN

CNN: Forensic team searches Syrian mass graves for American hostage remains

Daily Beast: One Woman’s Clumsy Attempt to Seduce an ISIS Jihadist Online

New York Times: ‘An Endless War’: Why 4 U.S. Soldiers Died in a Remote African Desert

Reuters: U.S. still unsure who directed Syria attack, despite Russian dead

Stars and Stripes: Turkey warns as Syrian government poised to enter Afrin

CNN: US show of force sends Russia a message in Black Sea

Defense News: Is momentum building for talks between the United States and North Korea?

Air Force Times: Air Force announces official retirement date for iconic MQ-1 Predator

Daily Beast: Robotic Gunner Screened Human Soldiers in U.S. Army War Game

Defense News: AI makes Mattis question ‘fundamental’ beliefs about war

Defense One: Foreign Disinformation is a Threat to Military Readiness, Too

Navy Times: Inside the Navy's fitful fight against cockpit oxygen loss

Navy Times: Report: EMALS might not be ready for the fight

Task and Purpose: Rep. Adam Smith: Trump’s Military Spending And Planning Needs A Reality Check

The Hill: Pentagon budget euphoria could be short-lived

USNI News: Navy Signs $1.4B Contract with Ingalls Shipbuilding for 13th San Antonio

Business Insider: These features make Air Force One an incomparable flying fortress

USNI News: Document: Pentagon Policy Restricting Public Appearances of Senior Military, Civilian DoD Leaders

War on the Rocks: Discrimination details matter: Clarifying an argument about low-yield nuclear warheads

Washington Post: Emails detail how senior U.S. military officers grappled with false Hawaii missile alert

USA Today: Army strips star from general over flirty texts with wife of enlisted soldier

Business Insider: Insane photos of US Marines drinking cobra blood during a jungle survival exercise in Thailand

Military Times: Meet Pako, the ‘zombie dog’