The Oregonian has published an encomium to retired Air Force Gen. Tony McPeak, a former USAF Chief of Staff, who has opted—against what some would say is conventional wisdom for a military man—to support Barack Obama vice Vietnam War veteran John McCain in the upcoming Presidential race. The article touches on anecdotes from McPeak’s early life and on his days as a Misty FAC (forward air controller) during the Vietnam War. There’s more about McPeak on the campaign trail with the Obama crowd, who he says calls him to make an appearance with “about’ five minutes’ notice” McPeak left the Republican party, but as he describes it: “I was tossed out. I was tossed out by foolishness in Washington.” Of Obama, McPeak says, “He has gut-fighting sidewalk smarts that have allowed him to prevail when people said he couldn’t.”
The Air Force is leaning toward a less-sophisticated autonomous aircraft in the second increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the services chief futurist said. He also suggested that the next increment of CCA may be air-launched, a la the "Rapid Dragon" experiments conducted by the service in recent years.