Fires are raging across Oklahoma and Texas and National Guard Bureau officials say they have Air Guard and Army Guard helicopter crews on alert in both states to provide assistance. States officials have said the fires are the worst in the region in five years. As of Dec. 28, blazes had broken out in 12 counties in Oklahoma and 39 in Texas. NGB leaders also pressed Louisiana Guard members into action, sending some helos and crews to Texas.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
