Carrying through with its plan to root out military capabilities duplication, the House Armed Services Committee has formed a panel to investigate the state of roles and missions. In a joint statement, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), committee chairman, and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) announced the bipartisan membership for the new Roles and Missions Panel. Congressman Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) will lead the effort, joined by ranking member Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.). The House Armed Services Committee proposed in its version of the 2008 defense authorization bill that DOD conduct a mission scrub every four years. Skelton says, “Ensuring that the military services are working on the appropriate roles and missions is key to our national security, and Congress has an important role to play in this effort.”
Air Force exercises in the Indo-Pacific may soon get even bigger and more robust, as lawmakers move to invest more than $620 million in such efforts. The bulk of that money, contained in a $150 billion reconciliation package currently making its way through Congress, is $532.6 million for earmarked for…