President Obama has nominated Army Gen. Raymond Odierno to take command of US Joint Forces Command. Odierno has been the top US general in Iraq since September 2008. He would replace Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, who had led JFCOM since November 2007. JFCOM, headquartered in Norfolk, Va., leads the US military’s activities in joint concept development and experimentation, joint training, and joint capabilities development. It is also the joint provider of conventional forces to combatant commanders. (DOD release)
The U.S., South Korea, and Japan flew an unusual trilateral flight with two U.S. B-52H Stratofortress bombers escorted by two Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2s, and two ROK Air Force KF-16 fighters—both countries’ respective variants of the F-16—July 11. That same weekend, the top military officers of the three nations…