Author Archive

Kevin Baron

Kevin Baron

Executive Editor

Kevin Baron is the founding executive editor of Defense One. Baron has lived in Washington for more than 20 years, covering international affairs, the military, the Pentagon, Congress, and politics for Foreign Policy, National Journal, Stars and Stripes, and the Boston Globe, where he ran investigative projects for five years at the Washington bureau. He is a frequent on-air contributor and previously was national security/military analyst at NBC News & MSNBC. Baron cut his muckraking teeth at the Center for Public Integrity and he is twice a Polk Award winner and a former vice president of the Pentagon Press Association. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Baron earned his M.A. in media and public affairs from George Washington University, B.A. in international studies from the University of Richmond, and studied in Paris. Raised in Florida, Baron now lives in Northern Virginia.
Kevin Baron is the founding executive editor of Defense One. Baron has lived in Washington for more than 20 years, covering international affairs, the military, the Pentagon, Congress, and politics for Foreign Policy, National Journal, Stars and Stripes, and the Boston Globe, where he ran investigative projects for five years at the Washington bureau. He is a frequent on-air contributor and previously was national security/military analyst at NBC News & MSNBC. Baron cut his muckraking teeth at the Center for Public Integrity and he is twice a Polk Award winner and a former vice president of the Pentagon Press Association. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Baron earned his M.A. in media and public affairs from George Washington University, B.A. in international studies from the University of Richmond, and studied in Paris. Raised in Florida, Baron now lives in Northern Virginia.
Defense

Biden Orders New Review of Sexual Assault Policies in Military

Combatant commanders are to send plans and best practices within two weeks.

  • Kevin Baron
Defense

Purity Tested, Senators Confirm General Austin for Secretary of Defense

With little actual opposition in the end, members voted for the waiver and the man.

  • Kevin Baron
Defense

Viewpoint: Pentagon Won’t Throw Traditional Farewell Ceremony for Trump

It’s a shame, and a missed opportunity — not despite recent events but because of them.

  • Kevin Baron
Management

Viewpoint: This is Not a Coup

The mob riot on the Capitol Building was disgusting, violent, and deadly. It’s still not a coup. And that matters.

  • Kevin Baron
Defense

Biden Selects Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin for Defense Secretary, Reportedly

Austin, the last commander of the Iraq War, would be the nation's first Black defense secretary.

  • Kevin Baron
Defense

As Spotlight Fades, What's Next for Special Operators?

Under Trump, the Pentagon's "service secretary" in charge of special operation forces has changed hands eight times between seven people.

  • Kevin Baron
Defense

Viewpoint: The Danger of Treating National Security Like a Political Sideshow

Monday was a dangerous day.

  • Kevin Baron
Featured eBooks
The Post-Covid Workforce
Toward the AI-Enabled Fight
The State of State and Local Budgets
Defense

From Racism to Russia, Top General Says Army Must Change

Gen. McConville addressed the nation’s internal unrest, trust of the military, even QAnon, in a wide-ranging interview with Defense One.

  • Kevin Baron
Defense

Service Chiefs Acknowledge Racism in the Ranks, Pledge Dialogue, Change

After days of civil unrest and several Esper missteps, each one of the service branch chiefs has begun to speak out.

  • Kevin Baron, Marcus Weisgerber and Bradley Peniston
Defense

62% Disapprove of Trump’s Coronavirus Response, Reader Survey Finds

Most respondents feel “less safe” because of the president’s actions. Esper gets higher marks, but many fear premature reopening.

  • Kevin Baron
Defense

Aircraft Carrier Captain Fired For ‘Poor Judgement’ In Sending Coronavirus Letter

Acting Secretary Modly’s Thursday decision to sack the skipper of Theodore Roosevelt was quickly criticized as retaliation for embarrassing Navy leaders.

  • Kevin Baron and Bradley Peniston
Defense

Pentagon Bars Most Guests, Travelers Starting Monday

New restrictions apply to visitors, foreigners, ceremonies. International travelers must wait 14 days for entry.

  • Kevin Baron
Defense

General Takes Blame for ‘No Injuries’ Declaration After Jan. 8 Iran Strike

“I was never under any pressure at any time to shade this reporting,” CENTCOM’s Gen. Frank McKenzie told Congress. More than 100 troops later were diagnosed with TBI.

  • Kevin Baron
Defense

Now It's 64. Wounded Troop Tally from Iran Missile Strike Rises Again

Trump “understands the nature” of brain injuries, says Defense Secretary Esper after the president downplayed Americans’ wounds as not “serious.”

  • Kevin Baron
Featured eBooks
The Post-Covid Workforce
Toward the AI-Enabled Fight
The State of State and Local Budgets
Defense

Eleven U.S. Troops Were Injured in Jan. 8 Iran Missile Strike

The troops were medevaced this week to Germany and Kuwait to be treated for traumatic brain injury after experiencing concussion symptoms.

  • Kevin Baron
Defense

Pentagon Vows to Guard the Syrian Oil That Trump Wants to Seize

That includes warding off Syrian and Russian forces, SecDef Esper says, with murky justification under domestic and international law.

  • Kevin Baron and Katie Bo Williams
Defense

ISIS Leader Baghdadi Killed Himself During U.S. Special Ops Raid, Trump Confirms

Trump claims, against the evidence, that killing Baghdadi was administration's "top national security priority."

  • Kevin Baron and Katie Bo Williams
Defense

Trump Declares Victory in Syria, Claims Credit for It All

“Let someone else fight over this long-bloodstained sand,” the president says, as Congress fumes.

  • Kevin Baron
Defense

Viewpoint: The Mattis Two-Step

The forever general’s attempt to "stay out of politics" is bringing him right into it.

  • Kevin Baron
Defense

General’s Sexual Assault Accuser Was Deemed a ‘Toxic, Self-Centered Abuser,’ New Docs Reveal

Hundreds of previously unseen pages of two investigations paint Army Col. Kathryn Spletstoser as an abusive coworker with motive for revenge against Gen. John Hyten.

  • Kevin Baron and Marcus Weisgerber