Joining the ranks of individuals who provide Pentagon top leaders with independent advice on defense policy issues are John Hamre, former deputy defense secretary in the Clinton Administration; J.D. Crouch, former deputy National Security Advisor; Robert Joseph, former undersecretary of State; retired Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, past Joint Chiefs Chairman; William Perry, former Defense Secretary; and Peter Rodman, former assistant secretary of defense. They join returning members, including Harold Brown, Henry Kissinger, retired Gen. Richard Myers, and James Schlesinger. Defense Secretary Robert Gates chose Hamre, who currently heads the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to chair the board.
Happy Birthday US Air Force: 78 Today
Sept. 18, 2025
Seventy-eight years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1947, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson swore in Stuart Symington as the first ever Secretary of the Air Force, and the Air Force officially became the first new military service since the Revolutionary War.