Another reason Gen. Bruce Carlson isn’t a long shot to head US Pacific Command (see above) is that his immediate predecessor, Gen. Gregory Martin, originally was picked for the PACOM job. He withdrew when Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) threatened to turn Martin’s confirmation process into a circus over USAF’s tanker lease program and the Darleen Druyun affair. Martin did nothing wrong, but wanted to spare the service a public rehash of the tanker soap opera. The Pentagon then tapped Adm. William Fallon to replace Martin as the PACOM nominee.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.