By Austin Wright

Steve Strobridge, director of government relations at the Military Officers Association of America, notes our “translating” segment from yesterday and sends us a translation of his own:
Panetta, on proposed fee increases for health benefits: Service members will accept the changes because “they go when they are told to go and do what they are supposed to do.”
“In other words,” Strobridge writes, “they’re used to abuse, so we can – and plan – to abuse them again.”

THE NAVY — There’s a battle brewing over the service’s size. Danger Room’s Spencer Ackerman: “The Navy is supposed to get way busier in Asia over the next five years… That’s got the moneymen in the House of Representatives thinking the Navy needs more ships … [But] Mabus said size didn’t matter that much — and fought back against the implication that they needed more cash. (While that may seem weird, to say otherwise would get them crosswise with the White House…)” http://bit.ly/ynVnoQ

McKeon to C-SPAN: “We have the smallest Navy we’ve had since World War I.”

MEDAL OF HONOR — Duncan Hunter and six other lawmakers are pressing Mabus to re-nominate fallen Marine Sgt. Rafael Peralta for the nation’s highest military honor. Gina Cavallaro of Marine Corps Times: “Peralta posthumously received the Navy Cross after being denied the Medal of Honor when his actions in his final moments of life were called into question.” http://bit.ly/wL1w0i
Hunter, in a statement: “The burden should not be on the Navy or Marine Corps to prove that Sergeant Peralta did what the evidence and witness accounts say he did.” Read the letter. http://1.usa.gov/x41XXf

CNN’s Security Clearance, “Report: Hackers seized control of NASA computers,” by Dan Merica: “Hackers with IP addresses originating from China took control of computers in NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory last November, according to a report from the space [agency’s] inspector general. The attack led to led to intruders gaining access to 150 NASA employee credentials. Additionally, the report stated that the ongoing investigation into the incident found that the hackers gained the ability to ‘modify, copy or delete sensitive files’ and ‘upload hacking tools to steal user credentials and compromise other NASA systems.'” http://bit.ly/yQW7xK