The Pentagon wants the Defense Science Board to tackle the question of whether the nation is able to sustain an adequate nuclear deterrent workforce. Pentagon acquisition chief Kenneth Krieg has instructed the DSB to form a task force to build upon the 1999 Chiles Commission report on maintaining nuclear weapons expertise and subsequent efforts by the Energy Department and the DSB’s own recent report covering DOD’s strategic forces skills. Krieg has appointed retired Adm. Henry Chiles as task force chairman.
An F-16 pilot was awarded a Silver Star for a harrowing mission in which he dodged multiple surface-to-air missiles during the opening weeks of the operation against the Houthis in Yemen earlier this year.



