“Weapons Away”: 
Lt. Col. Jim Hecker dropped the first bomb from an operational F/A-22 Raptor, entering USAF record books, announced USAF officials on Oct. 21, three days after the fact. Hecker, commander of the 27th Fighter Squadron, Langley AFB, Va., dropped an inert 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition against a dummy target at the Utah Test and Training Range during Air Combat Command’s first deployment of its F/A-22 squadron. (DR, 10/17/05)
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.