There were hints during a House Armed Services Committee hearing earlier this week that Senate and House defense authorization bill conferees were having trouble reaching agreement on a fee-for-service aerial refueling pilot program provision. As Rep. Robin Hayes (R-N.C.) put it both sides are engaged in “telling you what to do and how to do it.” On the other hand, Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Tex.) laid blame on the Senate participants for now wanting to dictate “the criteria for number of hours, the number of contractors, [and] the number of aircraft.” Megan Scully of CongressDaily reports it is “one of the most contentious issues” in the 2008 policy bill. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley told lawmakers during the Oct. 24 hearing that he’s concerned what started as a “proof of concept” had taken “an immediate leap to an operational template that drives us into a force structure discussion before we know the impacts after the proof of concept.”
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
