The two Republican Senators from Ohio are protesting the Pentagon plan to curtail development of an alternate Joint Strike Fighter engine. According to the Dayton Daily News, Sen. Mike DeWine and Sen. George Voinovich wrote to Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, saying the plan will force General Electric “to exit the fighter engine arena,” leaving the Pentagon with a single source. “This is not sound business,” they wrote. British Prime Minister Tony Blair already had petitioned President Bush directly over the issue and was rebuffed. GE had teamed with Rolls Royce to produce the second F-35 engine.
Trainees in Basic Military Training and technical school no longer have the option to try alternate PT drills if they fail an initial assessment, according to a policy change the Air Force made in April. The move is part of a larger shift out of the classroom and into hands-on,…