The Pentagon’s new Inspector General, Claude Kicklighter, took office April 30, replacing Thomas Gimble, who has served as acting IG since September 2005. Kicklighter, who received his Senate confirmation on April 12, is a retired Army lieutenant general and previously served as chief of staff for Veterans Affairs. Earlier his served on State Department and DOD joint teams dealing with stabilization efforts in Southwest Asia.
It'll take up to 18 months for Lockheed Martin to deliver the 100 or so F-35s that went directly from production line to storage, awaiting the completion of Tech Refresh 3 testing. Customers haven't complained about the order in which the backlog is being delivered.