Defense Secretary Robert Gates told the House Armed Services Committee Feb. 7 that he “has a problem” with elevating the National Guard Bureau chief to a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff because of “unity of command issues.” He is, however, “very open to the possibility” of giving the NGB chief a fourth star. The Commission on the National Guard and Reserves expects to make its report to Congress on this issue by March 1.
While the Pentagon is halfway through its review of the Air Force’s new Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program in the wake of “critical” cost and schedule overruns, the service has declared a similar issue for the helicopters meant to provide security and transport across those ICBM fields. The Air Force recently…