In his first interview, new Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. William Mullen declared that the US military must have more money to reconstitute after years of war and to prepare for future challenges, reports Thom Shanker of the New York Times. Mullen asserted that he considered it one of his key roles to argue to sustain higher military budgets. He said, “I think as a country we’re just going to have to devote more resources to national security in the world that we’re living in right now.” Air Force leaders already have stated that the service needs an additional $20 billion per year to recapitalize and sustain rising operations and maintenance costs.
Under a late summer sun, Air Force basic trainees practice safely rearming a retired F-16 Fighting Falcon at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, with mock AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles. Nearby, a bulldozer levels the ground where the rest of this first new airbase training range will sit.
