President Bush has nominated Army Gen. William Ward to become the first commander of the new US Africa Command, which when initially operational in October will be a sub-unified command under US European Command. The Pentagon expects Ward, who currently serves as EUCOM deputy commander, to usher in AFRICOM as a separate unified command by Sept. 30, 2008. He has been instrumental in helping craft the new command’s agenda and operating structure, which will include a State Department official as one of its deputy commanders.
The Air Force is in talks with Boeing to modify requirements for its new VC-25B presidential aircraft, in a push to get them into service by 2027. Boeing has given the Air Force a revised timeline that could bring the VC-25B aircraft earlier “if adjustments are made to requirements,” a…