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Senate has confirmed Lt. Gen. Stanley Clarke to be the Air National Guard’s next director, succeeding Lt. Gen. Bud Wyatt, who is retiring later this month. Senators voted in favor of Clark’s nomination on Jan 1, according to the Senate’s website. “I look forward to the opportunity to lead the best Air National Guard in our nation’s history,” said Clarke in a Jan. 2 release. He added, “The Air National Guard and the 106,000 men and women who make it work have served our nation and our communities with great distinction in combat and during numerous domestic crises.” President Obama last month tapped Clarke for the post. Clarke has been commander of the Continental US NORAD Region and 1st Air Force at Tyndall AFB, Fla., since August 2011. He was the Air Guard’s deputy director from May 2007 to June 2008. Wyatt has led the Air National Guard since February 2009. He began his Air Force career in January 1972.
House and Senate lawmakers say they’re hopeful Congress will pass a defense appropriations bill in the coming weeks to avoid a repeat of last fall’s government shutdown, with only having a handful of working days remaining before the Jan. 30 deadline. Yet legislations still have to release a compromise version of defense spending legislation, which will have to…
