The Air Force and Army’s top information officers spoke at a conference in Tyson’s Corner, Va., last week, saying their approaches to network modernization mirror each other. Army Lt. Gen. Steven Boutelle joined Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Peterson to let information technology professionals know that they are working toward the same end. Peterson said, “If General Boutelle and I set our architectures down beside each other, and our vision for where we are going, I think the difference you’d see is that his slides have a green tinge.” Both officials maintained that the Air Force, Army, and Navy networks will be tied together as part of DOD’s Global Information Grid expansion.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.