In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee March 7, Adm. William Fallon, head of US Pacific Command, stated that the Pacific region has “a shortage of responsive strategic air and ship lift to support force sustainment and deployment to operating areas. Fallon, who is soon moving to take over US Central Command, specifically complained that an “insufficient” number of C-17 and C-5 aircraft “could cause delays in the arrival of critical cargo and passengers.” He said he’d like to see more Pacific-based C-17s than the 16—eight at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, and eight at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska—already promised.
A legislative standoff has led to a lapse in a $4.26 billion small business innovation contracting program widely used by the Air Force and could spell the end of it entirely, industry sources warned Air & Space Forces Magazine.
