Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton officially took charge of US Strategic Command on Oct. 3, but DOD held the command transfer ceremony at Offutt AFB, Neb., Oct. 17 after Defense Secretary Robert Gates returned from recent travels. Donna Miles reports that Gates said Chilton’s “trail-blazing career” would serve well at STRATCOM. Chilton called his new command the “most responsive combatant command in the US arsenal.”
It'll take up to 18 months for Lockheed Martin to deliver the 100 or so F-35s that went directly from production line to storage, awaiting the completion of Tech Refresh 3 testing. Customers haven't complained about the order in which the backlog is being delivered.