Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), incoming House Armed Services Committee chairman, has announced the Republican members who will preside over the HASC subcommittees during the new Congress that convenes on Wednesday. They are: air and land forces, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (Md.); military personnel, Rep. Joe Wilson (S.C.); oversight and investigations, Rep. Rob Wittman (Va.); readiness, Rep. Randy Forbes (Va.); seapower and expeditionary forces, Rep. Todd Akin (Mo.); strategic forces, Rep. Michael Turner (Ohio); and terrorism, unconventional threats, and capabilities, Rep. Mac Thornberry (Tex.). “Each member brings a wealth of experience and a tremendous knowledge base to the jurisdiction and interests of their respective subcommittees,” stated McKeon in a release. As is the normal practice, members of the full committee will ratify the subcommittee structure and jurisdictions during an organizational meeting this month.
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
