One of the bigger changes is that the Obama administration's position is that Congress does not need to be notified under the War Powers act about the remote-controlled wars America is involved in because no one is in immediate danger of being harmed or killed on the battlefield. Granted this is only moderately different than previous covert wars, but still Congress (and thus the people) had token oversight authority. The new position is that they (we Americans) have none.

The other significant change is for American civilians. In the past, the soldiers actively engaged in combat were in theater. Now, they can be stateside.

Perhaps these changes are too subtle to make any real difference. They are, of course, a progression of the larger militarization transformation that has been happening in the United States since the country's entry into the WW2 at the end of 1941.