At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday, chairman to-be Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) continued to demand that the Administration start laying down a troop withdrawal plan. Facing him was US Central Command chief, Army Gen. John Abizaid, who wants to hold out for more “flexibility.” Abizaid would not be drawn into revealing whether CENTCOM advocates sending more US forces to Iraq or beginning a withdrawal, saying he had yet to provide his recommendations to the Administration, which reportedly has asked for DOD, State, and other parties to provide reports on the Iraq situation next month. Levin, in his opening remarks, said: “We were assured by the President over a year ago that ‘as the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.’” Even though the Pentagon claims that almost 90 percent of the Iraqi Security Forces are now trained and equipped, our troop level remains about the same.”
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.