Vice President Dick Cheney visited Offutt AFB, Neb., Tuesday, praising US Strategic Command and 55th Wing personnel and other military personnel for their displays of “courage and character,” which he said are the US military’s “decisive element” not its equipment. He commended “Team Offutt” in its role in the war on terror. The core of his remarks was the sentiment expressed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to the American Legion, namely that the enemy at hand cannot be “ignored, or negotiated with, or appeased.” (Read Cheney’s remarks here.)
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth vowed to undertake far-reaching reforms on the way the U.S. military buys weapons, promising a sweeping overhaul of the way the Defense Department determines requirements, handles the acquisition process, and tests its kit. The fundamental goal, which Hegseth underscored in a 1-hour and 10-minute speech…


