The House Armed Services Committee has alerted the Administration that it wants to form a special commission to examine the US strategic posture, “particularly regarding nuclear weapons policy.” Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), committee chairman, and Rep. Ellen Taushcer (D-Calif.), head of the strategic forces panel, sent a letter to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice last week following their release of the Administration’s nuclear strategy. Skelton and Tauscher said they “take issue with your assertion” that a delay in the reliable replacement warhead program would mean the US must sustain the current nuclear stockpile through costly and risky life extension efforts and potentially return to underground testing. They conclude that it is “too early to know whether RRW can deliver on the objectives that have been established for the program.” And, they suggest that “the prudent course” is “rigorous study” of the feasibility of the objectives.
U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles have roared out of Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass., for the last time. The 104th Fighter Wing’s last three F-15Cs departed the base Oct. 23 for the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., ending the aircraft's era on the frontlines of homeland defense.
