Pete Geren, the acting Secretary of the Air Force, may be in for an indefinite stint as the top Air Force civilian because the Senate Armed Services Committee appears to be in no great hurry to move along with a confirmation hearing for Air Force nominee-in-waiting Michael Wynne or, for that matter, for a hearing on Donald Winter, nominated for Navy Secretary. Congress Daily reports that a staffer says it’s a procedural and paperwork thing, but the committee will see to it “in the next few weeks.”
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.