The Defense Department named Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Bickel for the best in DOD for financial management initiative as an individual contributor. Bickel is the deputy director for USAF’s new Financial Management Center of Expertise at Buckley AFB, Colo. He is credited with most of the leadership effort to take the new center from conception to initial operational capability.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.