Lt. Gen. Daniel Darnell has been nominated to become deputy commander of US Pacific Command at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, the Defense Department announced May 11. He would remain a lieutenant general in that position. Darnell has been serving as deputy chief of staff for air, space, and information operations, plans and requirements since November 2007. He would replace Lt. Gen. Douglas Fraser at PACOM. Fraser has been tapped for a fourth star to head US Southern Command.
Air Force exercises in the Indo-Pacific may soon get even bigger and more robust, as lawmakers move to invest more than $620 million in such efforts. The bulk of that money, contained in a $150 billion reconciliation package currently making its way through Congress, is $532.6 million for earmarked for…