How Pentagon Turned ‘Top Gun’ Sequel Into Recruitment And PR Vehicle

Files on “Top Gun: Maverick” detail the influence the Pentagon had over the sequel to Top Gun, how that affected the storyline and character arcs, and which “key talking points” became part of the script.

How Pentagon Turned ‘Top Gun’ Sequel Into Recruitment And PR Vehicle

Related:

Op-Ed: Why does the Pentagon give a helping hand to films like ‘Top Gun’?

Documents on Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun for hire: why Hollywood is the US military’s best wingman

Talk about grooming children (re: Transformers and Marvel)! 🙄

Congress and Pentagon seek to shore up strategic mineral stockpile dominated by China

Congress has repeatedly authorized multimillion-dollar sell-offs of the U.S. strategic minerals stockpile over the past several decades, but Washington’s increased anxiety over Chinese domination of resources critical to the defense industrial base has prompted lawmakers to reverse course and shore up the reserve.

The stockpile was valued at nearly $42 billion in today’s dollars at its peak during the beginning of the Cold War in 1952. That value has plummeted to $888 million as of last year following decades of congressionally authorized sell-offs to private sector customers. Lawmakers anticipate the stockpile will become insolvent by FY25.

“A lot of what happened is Congress just getting greedy and finding politically convenient ways to fund programs that they weren’t willing to raise revenue for,” said Moulton.

Congress and Pentagon seek to shore up strategic mineral stockpile dominated by China

Blame China for their greed?! 🙄

Expanded NATO will “shoot billions” to U.S. arms merchants

Expanded NATO will “shoot billions” to U.S. arms merchants

If Finland and Sweden are accepted into NATO the countries would join their Nordic neighbors, Denmark, Norway and Iceland. The five countries currently work together under the Nordic Defense Cooperation pact. Bringing NORDEFCO inside NATO would facilitate joint planning, cut off Russian maritime access to St. Petersburg, and strengthen defense of the North Atlantic and Artic sea routes.

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The Port of St. Petersburg and Its Impact on Global Trade

Russia’s second largest city, Saint Petersburg, is among the most crucial locations for shipping and logistics on the planet. It serves as the maritime capital of Russia, being the biggest industrial and transportation center in the nation.

The Port of St. Petersburg also serves as the most vital shipping location between the eastern hemisphere and the west, which is part of the reason it’s also known as the European Gateway of the nation of Russia. Given its importance to global logistics operations, there are major benefits to getting a better understanding of the Port of St. Petersburg.