Air Force Reserve Col. Lindsey Graham—Republican senator from South Carolina—spent part of his August break serving in Afghanistan, where as a military lawyer he helped instruct Afghan military judges and lawyers. McClatchy Newspapers’ James Rosen reports that Graham has become “the first sitting member of Congress in decades to perform military duty in a war zone.” Rosen also writes that the South Carolina Senator’s homespun humor lost something in the translation.
The new defense reconciliation bill includes $7.2 billion for Air Force and Navy aviation accounts, almost half of which will buy more F-15EXs. While electronic warfare, drones, connectivity and airlift all get attention, the F-35 was conspicuously absent from the package, with no explanation given.