If the F-22A Shoe Fits: 
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) puts the blame where it’s due—squarely on the Office of the Secretary of Defense—in describing what he calls “one of the most unusual year-to-year budget changes I think I have ever seen.” Hunter, as Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, on Wednesday was decrying the procurement life of the F-22A at the first budget hearing with the Air Force’s top two leaders. Duncan repeatedly referred to “OSD action” in the turbulent and questionable Raptor acquisition saga. Hunter says that last year’s decision to cut F-22A production and this year’s plan to extend the line both will lead to “a billion dollars more in program cost.”
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.