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.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.