There’s been some shifting of members on and new members added to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) switched from chairman of the strategic forces panel to chairman of the emerging threats and capabilities panel. Replacing him on strategic forces is Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who turned over chairmanship duties for the personnel panel to Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.). New committee member Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) is now ranking member of the emerging threats panel. The former leaders of emerging threats, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), chairman, and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), ranking member, have taken the leadership positions on the seapower panel. (Committee release)
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.