Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Senators today that President Bush has decided to constitute an Africa Command. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Administration’s 2008 defense budget request, Gates said the current construct—dividing responsibility among three unified command—is an “outdated arrangement left over from the Cold War.” The Pentagon plans to work with Congress and allies on setting up the new command.
The Air Force has finished resurrecting a B-1B Lancer, completing a yearslong process to transform a bomber that had been stored for parts in the Arizona desert into the new flagship of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.