There could be a shortfall in funding for brain injury patients—of which there are quite a few coming out of Southwest Asia—at the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, reports the Raleigh News & Observer. Current funding ran $14 million, but the Pentagon only asked for $7 million in its 2007 budget request. A Senate appropriations staffer told the newspaper that the Pentagon failed to “respond properly” when queried about the mismatch. The paper also notes that military officials say the number of brain injuries is higher in ongoing operations than in previous wars, primarily because troops now live through the many attacks by improvised explosive devices and suicide bombers because of better equipment.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
