According to Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell, the confidence Defense Secretary Robert Gates has in Air Force leadership is “unchanged,” despite the service’s recent problems, including the Pentagon Inspector General’s revelations of senior leader influence in contracting for a Thunderbirds video presentation and the high profile transport from North Dakota to Louisiana of nuclear weapons aboard a B-52 bomber. Of the latest revelation, Morrell said April 23 that Gates “was briefed on this a while ago” and is “for now” satisfied that USAF is “taking corrective measures.” However, Morrell observed, “These things don’t take place in a vacuum,” and added that Gates is keeping an eye on still ongoing investigations and will reserve judgment until they report out.
In a brief email Nov. 6, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid out a new Cyber Force Generation plan, meant to give U.S. Cyber Command more authority over the employment, training, and equipping of U.S. troops preparing for and waging cyber war. Former Air Force officers and national security officials say the…
