At the Projection Forces Subcommittee hearing last night, Rep. Jim Marshall (D-Ga.) asked whether the Air Force would prefer to buy more C-17s or recapitalize its tanker fleet. Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman, military deputy for acquisition, said the service is serious about recapitalizing the KC-135 fleet effectively and quickly. (Read his written testimony here.) Hoffman revealed that on Monday when he met with the Chief of Staff, Gen. Michael Moseley, Moseley said, “I’ll take the first tanker before I take the 181st C-17.”
Retired Col. Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, known for introducing the "tap code" by which American POWs in North Vietnam could surreptitiously communicate with one another, died July 6. Harris was brutalized by the North Vietnamese over almost eight years of captivity.