The Air Force has adopted a centralized approach toward managing its computer network operations, making the switch to a single commander on July 5. An Air Combat Command statement says that Lt. Gen. Robert Elder, new 8th Air Force commander, also holds the title Air Force Network Operations commander. Lt. Gen. Michael Peterson, the Air Force’s Chief Information Officer, previewed the service’s plan during a May speech, in which he told a Capitol Hill audience that the Air Force was taking an incremental approach toward streamlining its network operations apparatus.
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.